Irene Aldana has always been known as an incredibly tough competitor in the UFC’s bantamweight division but she took that to another level at UFC 306. In her three-round war with Norma Dumont, the Mexican fighter suffered one of the worst cuts in UFC history.
The cut stemmed from an accidental headbutt in the second round and with how big it was, no one would have been surprised to see the doctor wave the fight off before Aldana went out for the third and final round.
That didn’t happen and the former title challenger has got some issues with the way that she was treated in that moment when she looks back at her September outing. In an exclusive Spanish interview with MMA Junkie’s Danny Segura, Aldana says that in her opinion, the doctor and cutman didn’t do their jobs effectively.
“I’ve seen fights stopped for smaller cuts, at least for the doctor to get called to check the cut to see if the fighter should continue,” Aldana said. “Honestly, I thought the approach from the cutman and the commission in the corner was very strange.
“I don’t remember the doctor checking on the cut, and I didn’t get Vaseline. The cutman was putting his weight onto the cut, and I feel like that opened it more. I remember having to posture firmly so I wouldn’t go back because his body weight was on me. I do think it would’ve been best to check the replay and have the doctor check on the cut. On that aspect, I do think it was poorly managed.”
Aldana went on to express that overall, she has mixed feelings on the whole situation and the way it was handled. She is happy that she got the opportunity to continue fighting but also can’t help but weigh up what the potential risks could have been as a result.
“It was risky to continue after seeing he cut and the videos, I mean you could basically see my skull. It was a risk, I could’ve gotten a facial paralysis or had big consequences of it, but that’s how things played out, and fortunately, I’m OK. I do hang on to the fact that I got a small chance to go finish the fight. I’m happy with that. But on the way things were handled by the commission, I do have my doubts.”
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