Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports
Aldana and Holm are scheduled to meet in the main event of UFC on ESPN+ 37 on October 3rd.
A new title challenger for UFC women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes could emerge in October.
On the upcoming UFC on ESPN+ 37 card, a pair of fights between Holly Holm and Irene Aldana and Germaine de Randamie and Julianna Peña are expected to take place. Seeing as though all of these women are currently ranked inside of the top ten of the division, it could very well mean that one of them could be the next No. 1 contender for the reigning champion.
UFC president Dana White suggested this as he spoke to media (video via MMA Junkie) following the most recent episode of Dana White’s Contender Series. When asked about these fights, White briefly touched on what could happen in the division depending on the outcome of the Holm and Aldana.
“I would imagine if Aldana won, yeah. [A title shot] would make sense.”
If Aldana were to win her fight against Holm, and be granted a championship opportunity, it would be her first one since joining the promotion back in 2016.
Holm and Aldana were supposed to meet earlier this year in what would have been the headliner for UFC on ESPN+ 31, but the fight was scrapped after Aldana withdrew due to testing positive for COVID-19. Now that it has been rescheduled, it is also supposed to serve as the headliner for UFC on ESPN+ 37.
Holm (13-5) last competed at UFC 246, earlier this year, where she picked up a unanimous decision win over Raquel Pennington. Prior to the Pennington win, Holm challenged Nunes for the bantamweight title at UFC 239, but lost by way of first-round technical knockout.
Aldana (12-5) has not competed in 2020, but she will be entering the Octagon in October off the back of two wins over the likes of Vanessa Melo and Ketlen Vieira.