Video: Did Irene Aldana upkick her way to a title shot at UFC 279?

Two straight wins doesn’t normally put someone into title contention, but there are exceptions to the rule.

In the UFC, some divisions are less deep than others, and that might benefit Irene Aldana. Then there’s the memorable way in which she won her second straight fight. Recency bias could play a part, too.

Aldana (14-6 MMA, 7-4 UFC) finished “Ultimate Fighter” winner Macy Chiasson (8-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC) with a third-round TKO this past Saturday at UFC 279. Chiasson had Alanda on the canvas, but while she was thinking of her next move, Aldana launched a perfectly placed upkick that hit Chiasson in the liver.

Chiasson quickly buckled, fell to the canvas, and just like that, the fight was over.

But was that enough to warrant a women’s bantamweight title shot for Aldana against champion Amanda Nunes, who recaptured the belt earlier this year from Julianna Peña? Aldana’s win was a big one, for sure, and she’s won four of her past five. But the win over Chiasson was her first bout in more than a year, and in July 2021, she missed weight for her win over Yana Kunitskaya.

Did the Mexican standout do enough to get a shot at Nunes, or did she merely put herself into the conversation? That’s what we asked our “Spinning Back Clique” panel of Brian “Goze” Garcia, Mike Bohn and Danny Segura, who discussed the topic with host “Gorgeous” George Garcia. You can watch their conversation in the video above, or check out this week’s full episode below.