Former UFC women’s bantamweight champion, Holly Holm took on the rising star of the division Irene Aldana in the main event of UFC Fight Night 4. This was a huge fight for Irene Aldana. She was on a two-fight winning streak and a win over the former champion would have taken her one step closer to the title shot.
However, she was completely outclassed by Holly Holm on the judges’ scorecard. A couple of judges even gave one 10-8 rounds to Holm. Credit must be given to Holly Holm for making it look so easy. But, what went wrong in Aldana’s gameplan in the biggest fight of her MMA career.
Irene Aldana is an experienced boxer. Though Holly Holm might look more accomplished with her boxing title wins and UFC title reign Aldana’s skillset should have presented way more trouble in the fight.
Irene Aldana made a fundamental mistake against Holly Holm
Aldana is known for her pressure and she tried to do the same against Holm. And that ended up being the reason for her loss. Aldana kept chasing Holly Holm throughout the fight. Holm would back up and Aldana would chase her into the center of the octagon, which is a great spot to be for Holm.
Holm was catching Aldana with hooks easily while moving away. Instead of chasing Holm, Aldana should have cut the cage and then put the pressure on her.
She also did not look impressive in her takedown defense. Holm is no wizard on the ground but years of training MMA has helped her picked the basics of ground control and takedown attempts. Aldana’s takedown defense did not look good and Holm did some damage on the ground.
It’s hard to take away anything from the win of Holly Holm. But, Aldana did not showcase her full potential against the former champion. It’s not something Holm did that put Aldana off her gameplan. But, it seems Irene Aldana did not fight a smart fight.
The consequences of this loss for Irene Aldana are huge as she has lost the opportunity to fight for the title. She will have to stack up a few more wins to get back into the title picture again.
On the other hand, Holly Holm vs Germaine De Randamie makes the most sense after UFC Fight Island 4. GDR also picked up a victory on the main card and both of them can battle it out for the number one contender spot.