After making her mark in Invicta Fighting Championship, Mexican Bantamweight Irene Aldana announced her UFC arrival in the best way possible. Sportskeeda’s Renjith Ravindran caught up with her for a little tete-a-tete.
A month back at UFC on Fox: VanZant vs. Waterson, Aldana made her UFC debut when she went up against UFC veteran Leslie Smith. In what proved to be a slugfest, Smith took the fight via a unanimous decision but winning the Fight of the Night honors showed how good Aldana’s performance was.
Irene Aldana: Yes I didn't get the win but I believe I started with the right foot. It was a fun fight that I really enjoyed it. I lost some focus because in the fight I got too excited to be there, and also I fought a great opponent, that too in her best version, with a big record, so to get FOTN with someone with that experience really means a lot to my career.
I’m not being conformist, I hate to lose but this is part of the game, this experience just helps me to grow and I know I will be back being a better athlete,
The year 2016 has been a memorable one for Aldana. Before losing to Smith, she had two wins in Invicta and she is excited about what comes next.
Irene Aldana: Well, It has been a crazy year. I grew up a lot as an athlete, after a title loss in 2015, I came back in March with a KO win, then a KO win in September, then move and fight in the UFC.
All of this has been great; the best part is all the improvements, all the learning and I’m excited for what's to come.
While the WMMA scene in general made huge leaps in 2016, one that stuck out was the return of Ronda Rousey at UFC 207. With the whole world buzzing about the UFC 207 showdown between Amanda Nunes and Ronda Rousey, Aldana also voiced her opinion about the phase that Rousey is currently going through.
Irene Aldana: I don't know what happened. Maybe she didn’t evolve enough and the competition is still growing, more talent is coming, the division is getting better, is evolving, there’s more competition, so to think you are invincible to that is just wrong.
But we don't know what happens with a fighter, there’s a lot behind the scenes that we don't see, so we can't judge, I do respect her, and she has done great things to WMMA, she is a great athlete and we need to respect whatever decision she makes.
Now that her debut turned out to be a talking point among the MMA fans, Aldana heads into 2017 with many hopes. The UFC Bantamweight division is still wide open when it comes to making a statement and Aldana knows that her fans will be one of her biggest strengths as she goes forward.
Irene Aldana: I just want them to know that I’m so grateful for the support and love they show to me, thank you for being with me when I win or lose, means a lot to me and motivates me to keep going, to be strong in defeat so I can share more victories with them.
