Irene Aldana

Irene Aldana (born March 26, 1988) is a Mexican professional mixed martial artist. She currently competes in the Women’s Bantamweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of July 2, 2024, she is #4 in the UFC women's bantamweight rankings.

Background
Aldana graduated from college with a degree in graphic design. During her college studies, she grew an interest in mixed martial arts and started training at local Lobo Gym.

Jungle Fight
In her lone fight with Brazilian mixed martial arts promotion Jungle Fight, Aldana faced Larissa Pacheco for the vacant JF Women's Bantamweight Championship at JF: Jungle Fight 63 on December 21, 2013. She lost the fight via third-round TKO, giving her the first loss of her professional career.

Invicta Fighting Championships
Aldana signed with Invicta FC in mid-2014, and made her debut against Peggy Morgan at Invicta FC 8: Waterson vs. Tamada on September 9, 2014, submitting Morgan with a rear-naked choke in the first round.

She was then expected to face Marion Reneau at Invicta FC 10: Waterson vs. Tiburcio on December 5, 2014, but Aldana was forced out of the bout due to an illness and the fight was taken off the card.

Aldana was scheduled to face Melanie LaCroix at Invicta FC 11: Cyborg vs. Tweet on February 27, 2015, however, LaCroix withdrew from the bout for undisclosed reasons and was replaced by promotional newcomer Colleen Schneider. She won the fight via first round rear-naked choke.

Ultimate Fighting Championship
On November 6, 2016, it was announced that Aldana was signed to the UFC and would face Leslie Smith on December 17, 2016 at UFC on Fox 22. Aldana lost the fight by unanimous decision. Despite the loss, the bout earned Aldana her first Fight of the Night bonus award in the UFC.

Aldana faced Talita Bernardo on January 14, 2018 at UFC Fight Night: Stephens vs. Choi. Aldana won the fight via unanimous decision.

Aldana was scheduled to face Bethe Correia on August 4, 2018, at UFC 227; however, the bout was pulled when Correia withdrew due to injury. Instead, Aldana faced Lucie Pudilová on September 8, 2018, at UFC 228, winning a close fight via split decision and earning her and Pudilová Fight of the Night award.

Her bout with Bethe Correia was rescheduled and is expected to take place on May 11, 2019 at UFC 237. At the weigh-ins, Correia weighed in at 141 lbs, 5 pounds over the bantamweight limit of 136 lbs. She was fined 30% of her fight purse and the bout proceeded at catchweight. Aldana won the fight via submission in round three.

Aldana faced Raquel Pennington on July 20, 2019 at UFC on ESPN 4. Aldana lost the fight via split decision.

Aldana was scheduled to face Marion Reneau on September 21, 2019 at UFC on ESPN+ 17. However, Reneau pulled out of the bout on September 11 for undisclosed reasons. Reneau was replaced by promotional newcomer Vanessa Melo. At the weigh-ins, Melo weighed in at 140 pounds, 4 pounds over the bantamweight non-title fight limit of 136. She was fined 30% of her purse and her bout with Aldana proceeded at a catchweight. Aldana won the fight by unanimous decision.

Aldana faced Ketlen Vieira on December 14, 2019 at UFC 245. Aldana won the fight via knockout in round one. This win earned her the Performance of the Night award.

Aldana was scheduled to face Holly Holm on August 1, 2020 at UFC Fight Night 173. However, it was reported on July 22 that Aldana pulled out of the fight for undisclosed reasons. Mere hours after the news surfaced, Aldana revealed that the reason for withdrawal was testing positive for COVID-19. As a result, Holm was removed from the card as well and the pairing was left intact and rescheduled for October 4, 2020 at UFC on ESPN: Holm vs. Aldana. Aldana lost the fight via unanimous decision.

Aldana faced Yana Kunitskaya on July 10, 2021 at UFC 264. At the weigh-ins, Aldana weighed in at 139.5 pounds, three and a half pounds over the bantamweight non-title fight limit. Her bout proceeded at catchweight and she was fined 30% of her purse, which went go to her opponent Kunitskaya. Aldana won the fight via technical knockout in round one.

Aldana was next expected to face Germaine de Randamie at UFC 268 in New York, NY. However, de Randamie withdrew in early September due to injury.

Aldana was scheduled to face Aspen Ladd on April 9, 2022 at UFC 273. However, Aldana withdrew in late March for unknown reasons and was replaced by former UFC Women's Bantamweight Championship challenger Raquel Pennington.

Aldana faced Macy Chiasson on September 10, 2022 at UFC 279. She won the fight via knockout in the third round via an upkick to Chaisson's body. The win earned Aldana her second Performance of the Night bonus award.

Aldana was scheduled to headline UFC Fight Night 223 in a rematch with Raquel Pennington on May 20, 2023. On May 2, 2023, it was announced that Aldana would replace Julianna Peña in headlining UFC 289 on June 10, 2023, in a Bantamweight Championship match against champion Amanda Nunes. Aldana lost the bout via unanimous decision, after being dominated for all five rounds.

Aldana faced Karol Rosa on December 16, 2023, at UFC 296. She won the bout via unanimous decision. This fight earned them the Fight of the Night award. The two women set a single-fight women’s bantamweight record for 349 significant strikes. Rosa also broke the record for most leg kicks landed in a single UFC bout with 95. The previous record was 76.

Aldana is scheduled to face Norma Dumont on September 14, 2024, at UFC 306.

Championships and accomplishments

 * Ultimate Fighting Championship
 * Fight of the Night (Three times) vs. Leslie Smith, Lucie Pudilová and Karol Rosa
 * Performance of the Night (Two times) vs. Ketlen Vieira and Macy Chiasson
 * Tied (Amanda Nunes) for third most Post-Fight bonuses in UFC Women's Bantamweight division history (4)
 * Third most total fight time in UFC Women's Bantamweight division history (2:57:50)
 * Second most significant strikes landed in UFC Women's Bantamweight division history (959)
 * Second most total strikes landed in UFC Women's Bantamweight division history (1105)
 * Invicta Fighting Championships
 * Performance of the Night (three times) vs. Peggy Morgan, Colleen Schneider, and Faith Van Duin
 * MMAJunkie.com
 * 2019 December Knockout of the Month vs. Ketlen Vieira