Irene Aldana completely “sh*t the bed” in her bantamweight title fight with Amanda Nunes.
That is according to the former UFC-referee-turned-Bellator MMA commentator ‘Big’ John McCarthy. On Saturday night, Aldana stepped into the main event spotlight for a long-awaited showdown with the general consensus women’s MMA GOAT, Amanda Nunes. While Aldana went into the contest as a considerable underdog, nobody expected her to take the shellacking that ‘The Lioness’ handed her in the Great White North.
Through five rounds, Nunes outstruck Aldana 196 to 57 and landed six of 13 takes in the process, amassing seven minutes of control time. It was such a one-sided affair that one judge even scored it 50-43 in favor of Nunes.
Irene Aldana has been the subject of significant criticism following her stagnant performance at UFC 289. Appearing on his Weighing In podcast alongside Josh Thomspon, John McCarthy offered his take on Aldana’s performance and pulled no punches in the process.
“She sh*t the bed. Let’s just be honest,” McCarthy said. “No disrespect, the moment got to her. She gave too much respect. It was overwhelming. She didn’t throw… just no output. How are you expecting to win if you’re not f*cking throwing things back at her (Nunes)? Setting things up, making things happen. You’ve gotta go. This is your chance. This is it. You have been waiting for this. Now is your opportunity, and you just let it go by” (h/t MMA News).
Irene Aldana Apologizes For Poor Performance at UFC 289
Following the decisive defeat, Irene Aldana took to Instagram and issued an apology to her fans and coaches for the uninspired showing.
“I’m sorry to have failed my coaches and all of you, I assure you that this does not stay like this… it was a bad night,” Aldana said in a statement on social media. “But the goal is still clear and the objective is still that 4th belt… I promised you and I’m going to fulfil it… whatever the cost.”
After having her hand raised, Amanda Nunes promptly announced her retirement from mixed martial arts, laying down her UFC title belts and gloves inside the Octagon. With ‘The Lioness’ now out of the picture, the bantamweight division is wide open with multiple fighters chomping at the bit to get their shot at the newly vacated title. Julianna Pena, the woman who was originally scheduled to scrap with Nunes at UFC 289, will likely find herself in the next bantamweight title tilt, but who will it be against?
All signs point toward veteran Raquel Pennington who served as the official backup for Saturday’s main event between Irene Aldana and Amanda Nunes. Streaking standout Erin Blanchfield has also thrown her name into the hat of potential contenders.
Who would you like to see square off with the ‘Venezuelan Vixen‘ for the 135-pound crown?