Irene Robles Aldana (born March 26, 1988) is a Mexican professional

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorp ...

. She currently competes in the Women’s Bantamweight division in the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

(UFC). As of May 23, 2022, 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.

Mixed martial arts career

Jungle Fight

In her lone fight with

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

ian mixed

martial arts Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; a ...

promotion

Jungle Fight Jungle Fight is a Brazilian mixed martial arts and kickboxing promotion. It was created in 2003. The name is derived from its origin, the Amazonas state in Brazil. History Jungle Fight was founded by pioneering MMA fighter and long-time Brazi ...

, Aldana faced

Larissa Pacheco Larissa Moreira Pacheco (born September 7, 1994) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist who competes in the Lightweight division of the PFL. Since 2020, Pacheco was ranked within the top 10 of the Women's Featherweight+ rankings by Fight Matrix, ha ...

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 Invicta Fighting Championships, also known as Invicta FC, is an American professional mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion dedicated to Women's mixed martial arts that was founded in 2012 by Janet Martin and Shannon Knapp. The promotion is current ...

in mid-2014, and made her debut against

Peggy Morgan Peggy Morgan (born December 16, 1981) is an American former mixed martial artist who competed in the Featherweight division. She has fought in UFC and Invicta FC. Mixed martial arts career Ultimate Fighting Championship In August 2013, Peggy Mo ...

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 Marion Elizabeth Reneau-Perez (born June 20, 1977) is a retired American professional mixed martial artist who competed as a Bantamweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Mixed martial arts career Reneau began her professional mixed martia ...

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 Colleen Schneider (born March 12, 1982 in Syracuse, New York) is a retired American professional mixed martial artist. Colleen was a contestant in season 18 of The Ultimate Fighter reality competition television show. Early life She attended C ...

. 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 ''UFC on Fox: VanZant vs. Waterson'' (also known as ''UFC on Fox 22'') was a mixed martial arts event promoted by the Ultimate Fighting Championship and held on December 17, 2016, at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California. Background After pr ...

. 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 Talita de Oliveira Neves Bernardo (born March 4, 1987) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist (MMA) who competed in the Bantamweight division in the UFC. Background Talita started training Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) at the age of 22, after she took ...

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 ''UFC 227: Dillashaw vs. Garbrandt 2'' was a mixed martial arts event that was produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship and held on August 4, 2018, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. Background A UFC Bantamweight Championshi ...

; however, the bout was pulled when Correia withdrew due to injury. Instead, Aldana faced

Lucie Pudilová Lucie Pudilová (born June 13, 1994) is a Czech female mixed martial artist who competes in the Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). She was the Gladiator Championship Fighting Bantamweight female champion in Czech R ...

on September 8, 2018, at

UFC 228 The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

, 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 ''UFC 237: Namajunas vs. Andrade'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on May 11, 2019, at Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Background The event was originally expected to be held ...

. 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 Raquel Len Pennington (born September 5, 1988) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in Ultimate Fighting Championship women's featherweight division. She has previously fought for Invicta Fighting Championships. As of May 23, 2022, ...

on July 20, 2019 at

UFC on ESPN 4 UFC on ESPN: dos Anjos vs. Edwards (also known as ''UFC on ESPN 4'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on July 20, 2019 at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas. Background The event ma ...

. Aldana lost the fight via split decision. Aldana was scheduled to face

on September 21, 2019 at

UFC on ESPN+ 17 The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

. However, Reneau pulled out of the bout on September 11 for undisclosed reasons. Reneau was replaced by promotional newcomer

Vanessa Melo Vanessa De Melo Silva (born March 27, 1988) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist who competes in the Lightweight division of Professional Fighters League (PFL). She is most known for her time spent fighting in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (U ...

. 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 Ketlen Vieira da Silva (born August 26, 1991) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist and currently competes in the Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of January 17, 2023, she is ranked #4 in the UFC women's bantam ...

on December 14, 2019 at

UFC 245 ''UFC 245: Usman vs. Covington'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on December 14, 2019 at T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area, United States. Bac ...

. Aldana won the fight via knockout in round one. This win earned her the ''

Performance of the Night UFC Bonus Awards are three separate cash bonuses usually awarded to four fighters after each UFC event, based on internal decisions by UFC management. More/fewer bonuses have been awarded at some events, especially when no knockouts or submissions ...

''award. Aldana was scheduled to face

Holly Holm Holly Rene Holm (born October 17, 1981) is an American mixed martial artist, who competes in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. She is the former UFC Women's Bantamweight Champion, and a former professional boxer. She was a multiple-time wor ...

on August 1, 2020 at

UFC Fight Night 173 ''UFC Fight Night: Brunson vs. Shahbazyan'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 173'', ''UFC on ESPN+ 31'' and ''UFC Vegas 5'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on August 1, 2020 at the UF ...

. 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 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. 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 Iana "Yana" Kunitskaya (born November 11, 1989) is a Russian mixed martial artist competing in the bantamweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of September 19, 2022, she is #6 in the UFC women's bantamweight rankings. ...

on July 10, 2021 at

UFC 264 ''UFC 264: Poirier vs. McGregor 3'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on July 10, 2021 at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area, United States. ...

. 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 is expected to proceed at catchweight and she will be fined 30% of her purse, which will go to her opponent Kunitskaya. Aldana won the fight via technical knockout in round one. Aldana was next expected to face

Germaine de Randamie Germaine Martha de Randamie (born April 24, 1984) is a Dutch mixed martial artist and former kickboxer. Undefeated in sanctioned kickboxing bouts, she competes in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and was the first UFC Women's Featherwe ...

UFC 268 ''UFC 268: Usman vs. Covington 2'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on November 6, 2021, at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York, United States. Background A UFC Welterwe ...

in New York, NY. However, de Randamie withdrew in early September due to injury. Aldana was scheduled to face

Aspen Ladd Aspen Kohl Ladd (born March 1, 1995) is an American professional mixed martial artist who is competing in the Featherweight division of Professional Fighters League (PFL). A professional since 2015, Ladd started her professional mixed martial arts ...

on April 9, 2022 at

UFC 273 ''UFC 273: Volkanovski vs. The Korean Zombie'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on April 9, 2022, at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida, United States. Backgroun ...

. However, Aldana withdrew in late March for unknown reasons and was replaced by former

UFC Women's Bantamweight Championship Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships. Historical notes At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight classe ...

challenger

. Aldana faced

Macy Chiasson Macy Chiasson (born July 27, 1991) is an American mixed martial artist (MMA). She was the Women's Featherweight winner of '' The Ultimate Fighter 28'' and currently competes in the Bantamweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) ...

on September 10, 2022 at

UFC 279 ''UFC 279: Diaz vs. Ferguson'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on September 10, 2022, at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area, United States. ...

. 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.

Championships and accomplishments

** Fight of the Night (Two time) vs. Leslie Smith and

(Two times) ** Second best takedown defense in UFC history (93.5%). *

Invicta Fighting Championships Invicta Fighting Championships, also known as Invicta FC, is an American professional mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion dedicated to Women's mixed martial arts that was founded in 2012 by Janet Martin and Shannon Knapp. The promotion is currentl ...

** Performance of the Night (three times) vs.

, and

Faith Van Duin Faith Van Duin (born 6 June 1986) is a New Zealand mixed martial artist currently competing in the Featherweight division. She most notably fought in Invicta Fighting Championships. Mixed martial arts career Early career Van Duin made her profe ...

MMAJunkie.com MMA Junkie is a news website that covers the sport of mixed martial arts (MMA). It was founded in 2006, and is owned by Gannett Company since 2011. The site and its content have been featured in ''Time (magazine), Time'' magazine'', ''ESPN The Ma ...

**2019 December Knockout of the Month

Mixed martial arts record

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Katlyn Chookagian Katlyn Chookagian (born December 28, 1988) is an American professional mixed martial artist. She has formerly competed in the Bantamweight division and currently competes in the Flyweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As o ...

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References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Aldana, Irene 1988 births Living people Mexican female mixed martial artists Bantamweight mixed martial artists Ultimate Fighting Championship female fighters Sportspeople from Culiacán