A combatant who battled Amanda Nunes for UFC gold is no longer a UFC contracted athlete. As reported by MMA Fighting, Irene Aldana is the fighter in question who will not be continuing her journey with the Ultimate Fighting Championship as of this juncture.
The Mexican standout has not competed since a Fall 2024 setback to Norma Dumont, but Aldana still remained in the top ten rankings for contenders at 135 pounds before her departure from the promotion. The 38-year-old debuted in the UFC on the heels of notching multiple first-round finishes via strikes inside the Invicta FC cage.
Aldana began her UFC run in a bit of an inauspicious fashion with back-to-back losses to Leslie Smith and Katlyn Cerminara before then embarking on a three-fight winning streak. That stretch saw victories secured over Talita Bernardo, Lucie Pudilova, and Bethe Correia before Aldana lost a split decision to eventual UFC champion Raquel Pennington.
Irene Aldana’s UFC run continued
Aldanda bounced back with wins over Vanessa Melo and Ketlen Vieria before taking a loss to former UFC bantamweight titleholder Holly Holm. The defeat saw Irene Aldana recalibrate and put together consecutive wins over Yana Santos as well as Macy Chiasson. This led to the aforementioned title shot, which saw Aldana fall short to women’s MMA icon Amanda Nunes by way of a unanimous decision at UFC 289.
A win over Karol Rosa eventually gave way to the aforementioned Dumont defeat on the UFC’s first-ever Noche event. Overall, Aldana had fourteen bouts in the promotion.
Of note, that June 2023 title defense still marks the last time that Amanda Nunes has stepped into the cage to compete. There were discussions around a superfight with Nunes vs. Kayla Harrison in January before the former two-time Olympic gold medalist had to pull out of the high-stakes bout with Nunes. The Brazilian legend is targeting a return, possibly for later this year, as Nunes aims to battle Harrison for the latter’s UFC bantamweight belt.
