Aldana Eyes Fresh Start In 2021 After Undergoing Foot Surgery

Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC

After coming up short against Holly Holm at UFC Fight Island 4 on Oct. 3, 2020 (see it again here), Irene Aldana revealed a couple of days later that she wasn’t quite at full speed going into the fight, stating that her left left foot wasn’t responding, at all.

After undergoing tests, it was revealed that she had a broken bone in her foot. After undergoing successful surgery, the Mexican-born Bantamweight says she is now eyeing a return in February or March of 2021.

“Everything went well with the surgery,” Aldana told MMA Junkie. “Doctors are asking for three days of rest and after the fourth day I have a check up to see how everything is going. After that day, I will start therapy, rehabilitation, and gradually training at least upper body.”

The loss snapped Aldana’s two-fight win streak and dashed her hopes of competing in her first-ever title fight against 135-pound champion, Amanda Nunes, which she would’ve earned with the victory. Instead, she will now look to start from scratch and fight her way back up.

“On the second week I might be able to start light training full body gradually. If all goes well, I should be able to start training camp in a month and I should be ready to fight in February or March,” she added. “It all depends how my body reacts to the operation. But if all goes well, I should be back around February or March. I’m eager to reclaim an opportunity to fight for the belt.”

Since Nunes will next be defending her Featherweight strap at UFC 245 this December, that means that Holly Holm and Germaine de Randamie are on a collision course to battle it out in a No. 1 contender bout.

As for Nunes, the landscape of the division will likely change in the four or five months shell be on the sidelines, but if you had to pick an opponent for her comeback fight, who would it be?