Heading into her UFC Fight Night main event tilt against Irene Aldana, Holly Holm was tired of hearing chatter about when she was going to retire. Holm's only focus is getting another crack at becoming a world champion once again.
The former women's bantamweight champion showed that she has plenty in the gas tank to make another run at the gold, dominating Aldana from start to finish to win by unanimous decision (50-44, 50-45, 50-45) from 'Fight Island' at the Flash Forum in Yas Island, Abu Dhabi.
"I'm still very green," Holm said in her post-fight interview. "I'm learning. I'm putting it all together."
The opening round set the tone for what Holm would do for 25 minutes. Holm started things off using her lateral movement to be able to outstrike Aldana. Holm threw multiple combinations and pressed forward. After missing on her first takedown attempt, Holm took Aldana down to the mat with seconds remaining.
Aldana came out in the second, trying to let Holm know that she was there to fight, blasting Holm with a straight right hand. Holm connected on two stinging overhand lefts that sent Aldana down. Because of Holm's power, Aldana worried about getting hit with Holm's left hand. The former champion sensed Aldana's hesitation and secured another takedown.
The third round saw Holm assert her dominance on the feet. A minute into the round, Holm ragdolled Aldana back to the canvas. From there, Holm went for the finish and attempted a kimura. Unable to lock the submission in, she transitioned into full mount and rained down a series of hammerfists and elbows, but Aldana somehow survived.
Knowing she had dominated the first three rounds, Holm used her experience to get to the finish line with relative ease. Any time it looked as if Aldana was going to gain momentum, Holm would counter with the harder shot followed by a body kick for good measure.
In the final 45 seconds, Holm (13-5) rocked Aldana with a left hand and unloaded with a barrage of shots until the final buzzer. The former champion secured back-to-back wins for the first time in nearly five years.
In the co-main event, Carlos Felipe defeated Yorgan De Castro by unanimous decision (30-37, 30-37, 29-28) in heavyweight action. The entire fight was contested on the feet, with Felipe landing the more massive shots and being more active throughout to bounce back after suffering the first defeat of his career back in July.
Here is what happened at UFC Fight Night: Holm vs. Aldana.
UFC Fight Night: Holm vs. Aldana fight card results
Main card
- Holly Holm def. Irene Aldana via UD (50-44, 50-45, 50-45)
- Carlos Felipe def. Yorgan De Castro via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
- Germaine de Randamie def. Julianna Pena via submission (guillotine choke) at 3:25 of the third round
- Kyler Phillips def. Cameron Else by TKO at 0:44 of the second round
- Dusko Todorovic def. Dequan Townsend via TKO at 3:15 of the second round TKO
Preliminary card
- Carlos Condit def. Court McGee via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Charles Jourdain vs. Joshua Culibao go to a split draw (27-30 Culibao, 29-28 Jourdain, 28-28)
- Nassourdine Imavov def. Jordan Williams via unanimous decision (29-28. 29-27, 29-27)
- Loma Lookboonmee def. Jinh Yu Frey by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
- Casey Kenney def. Alateng Heili via unanimous decision (30-25, 30-26, 30-27)
- Luigi Vendramini def. Jessin Ayari by TKO at 1:12 of the first round