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Women’s bantamweight standout Irene Aldana has spoken out about her loss to Holly Holm at UFC Fight Island 4.
A loss to Holly Holm in the main event of UFC Fight Island 4 has set Irene Aldana back just a little bit, but the No. 5 ranked women’s bantamweight contender is vowing to come back “stronger than ever” in her next appearance.
Aldana, who competed in her first UFC headliner this past weekend, was given the task of dealing with a former champion in a fight that was said to be considered a No. 1 contender match to see who would challenge current champion, Amanda Nunes next. Aldana would have been a fresh challenger for Nunes, who has already met and defeated Holm previously, but she was unable to get the job done on Saturday night.
Holm dominated Aldana for the better part of five rounds, which saw her earn an unanimous decision win. Aldana, who had her two-fight win streak snapped, took to social media days after the fight to address her performance and outline her next steps as it relates to her career.
“Today things didn’t go my way. First of all I want to apologize to my corner because we had a very specific fight plan that I could not execute,” Aldana said in a statement posted on Instagram (translation by MMA Junkie). “I felt that something was wrong with my left foot; it wasn’t responding since the beginning of the fight. No excuses, I still know that I faced the best version of Holly, and I congratulate her for winning. I am proud to know that I am competing with the best in the world. This is how this is. This is how sport is: We win, we lose. But as I’ve always shown, the only thing that’s next for me is to train harder, improve and come back stronger than ever.
“Thanks to all the people who have shown me their support in good and bad times. Thanks to my sponsors for their incredible support always! Ready for what’s next.”
Since her initial statement, Aldana has followed up with more comments regarding her loss, stating that she does not view it as much of a setback, but rather “the beginning of the chapter of my life where I become unstoppable”.