Bantamweight Division
Holly “The Preacher’s Daughter” Holm will be headlining this weekend’s UFC Fight Night event alongside Mexico’s Irene Aldana. The #2 ranked Holm’s is hoping to bounce back after a … not so spectacular victory in January of this year, while #6 Aldana hopes to keep her momentum going, with her third straight win.
Holm's introduction to the UFC was an impressive one, becoming the women’s bantamweight champion within her first three fights. She would defeat Ronda Rousey in remarkable fashion, and put herself on the map. Ronda Rousey absolutely dominated the bantamweight division and completely annihilated anyone she faced. Assuming she believed this fight would be no different, the two would headline UFC: 193 and Rousey’s world would be rocked!
If you were living under a rock during Rousey’s reign, let me tell you that Rousey was deemed the greatest and best female athlete in the UFC. Prior to this fight, UFC commentator Mike Goldberg said that “She [Ronda Rousey] is known just as simply the greatest and most dominant combat athlete in sports today”. That is why the outcome of this fight was such a big deal! Holm's was able to expose the holes in Rousey’s stand up game, and ultimately knocked her out with a head kick in 4:09 of the second round. This was a total shock to the MMA world, and a new champ was crowned. This loss would be the beginning of the end for Rousey …but that’s another post for another day.
Just 6 months later in her first title defense, she would lose the belt to Miesha Tate by submission in the fifth round. This was the start of her 3 fight losing streak, fighting and losing to top ranked contenders. Holm's last fight was a rematch of her UFC debut against Raquel Pennington, which she won both times. I did mention before that the fight was less than spectacular, and the crowd let the fighters know they weren’t amused. Holm's spent most of the fight clinching Pennington, and won in a unanimous decision. A win is a win. This fight comes after a loss to Amanda Nunes, the current two division bantamweight and featherweight champion and the #1 women’s pound for pound top ranked fighter. While Holms is a fantastic fighter, Nunes has been dominating the division, with only one loss so far in the UFC, and is currently on an 11 fight win streak. An upset victory would have been amazing, but it just wasn’t her time.
Quick analyst moment here...
As I look through Holm’s UFC wins and losses, all of her losses have come against top ranked prospects. She’s been defeated by Amanda Nunes, Cris Cyborg, Germaine De Randamie, Valentina Shevchenko and Miesha Tate. All top current of former bantamweight/featherweight champions and contenders. That’s just something to think about when considering how much of a challenge Aldana might be for Holms.
Mexico’s Irene Aldana hasn’t fought Since December of 2019, however her last fight against Brazil’s Ketlen Vieira is still etched in the mind of fight fans! A vicious head kick led to a TKO victory in the first round for Aldana and gave Vieira the first loss of her career. This solidified Aldana as a serious contender in the bantamweight division, and has her moving closer to title contention. Aldana has also fallen victim to ranked bantamweights, with losses against Raquel Pennington and Kaitlyn Chookagian. A win for Aldana would set her up for the title shot she believes she deserves.
I am a Holly Holm fan naturally, you see the video of her in the gym, you see her training hard and you know she’s a phenomenal athlete. She’s been a champion, she’s fought the best and has that level of experience. She lost her belt and her ultimate goal is to get it back. However, I see big things coming from the underdog here. I think Irene Aldana shows up, fights smart and does what she has to do against Holm. I’m a little on the fence about my prediction though. They’re virtually identical: Holm is 5’8”, 69” reach, and Aldana is 5’9” with a 68.5” reach. Im going to cheat here and say, I believe, based on facts that Holly Holm will win this matchup. But for the sake of the underdog, I’m hoping Irene Aldana wins! Am I allowed to do that? Uh yeah…it’s my blog!!
Hammer: Holly Holm
Nail: Irene Aldana
Prediction: I predict that Holly Holm will get a knockout in this fight . She played it very safe in her previous fight, and I think she wants to show her hands and redeem herself. I say 3rd rd TKO in favor of Holm.
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