Irene Aldana details upkick body shot KO at UFC 279: ‘We trained the kick a lot’
Irene Aldana had a unique win at UFC 279.
Aldana was taking on Macy Chiasson at a 140lbs catchweight fight and in the first round, the Mexican clearly won, while the second went to Chiasson. In the third round, it was back-and-forth but as Aldana was on her back, she landed an upkick liver shot that dropped Chiasson and the fight was stopped.
When Aldana landed the kick and Chiasson dropped many were confused as to what happened, including Aldana but she says she does practice that kick.
“It was bizarre. I knew the kick hit well, and it hit in the liver, but it was a little confusing for me to see her reaction like that,” Aldana said after UFC 279. “So I was like, ‘I’m sure I kicked her in the liver, but maybe I kicked her somewhere else. I’m not sure because of her reaction.’ But we trained the kick a lot, I’m glad it came out this night.”
With the win, Irene Aldana improved to 14-6 and is now on a two-fight winning streak. She’s currently ranked fourth at women’s bantamweight and is now in the top-15 on the women’s pound-for-pound list. With that, there is a chance she could earn a crack at the title and if that is next she would gladly take it but is open to whatever.
“I’m open to whoever the UFC wants me, but I’m obviously chasing the title fight,” Aldana said. “I’m ready for the title fight. If that’s the next step, I’m ready.”
Prior to the win over Chiasson, Aldana had scored a first-round TKO win over Yana Kunitskaya at UFC 264 to return to the win column after losing to Holly Holm in her first UFC main event. The Mexican also holds notable wins over Ketlen Vieira, Bethe Correira, and Vanessa Melo.
