Irene Aldana is back on the win column.
The UFC women’s bantamweight contender scored a TKO win over Yana Kunitskaya at Saturday’s UFC 264 event in Las Vegas. Aldana (13-6 MMA, 6-4 UFC) stopped Kunitskaya (14-6 MMA, 4-3 UFC) at the 4:35 mark of Round 1.
The women’s bantamweight bout was part of the UFC 264 main card at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. It aired on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and ESPN+.
It was a dominant showing by Aldana.
Kunitskaya pressured the Mexican fighter right off the bat, trying to initiate the clinch and smother Aldana against the cage. Aldana did a good job at getting out of close quarters and keeping her space. In an exchange, Aldana connected with a short left hook, dropping Kunitskaya.
Dropped her and 𝗣𝗢𝗨𝗥𝗘𝗗 𝗜𝗧 𝗢𝗡 😳 @IreneAldana_ #UFC264 pic.twitter.com/fl3n0ybqLC
— UFC (@ufc) July 11, 2021
From there, Aldana jumped on a downed Kunitskaya and began to drop ground-and-pound. Kunitskaya did a good job at keeping Aldana off for a few seconds, but eventually, she caved in to the shots.
With this win, Aldana successfully bounced back from a decision loss to Holly Holm back in October. She’s 6-2 in her past eight trips to the octagon.
Back in the win column for @IreneAldana_ 🙌
[ #UFC264 | We're LIVE on E+ PPV: https://t.co/DZxtGSEqWu ] pic.twitter.com/pxYRMi6rPP
— UFC (@ufc) July 11, 2021
Aldana did miss weight on Friday morning, coming in 3.5 pounds over the bantamweight limit. Aldana forfeited 30 percent of her purse to Kunitskaya, as a penalty for the weight miss.
Meanwhile, Kunitskaya saw a two-fight winning streak come to an end. She’s now 2-2 in her past four performances.
Up-to-the-minute UFC 264 results include:
- Irene Aldana def. Yana Kunitskaya via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 4:35
- Sean O’Malley def. Kris Moutinho via TKO (punches) – Round 3, 4:33
- Max Griffin def. Carlos Condit via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
- Michel Pereira def. Niko Price via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Ilia Topuria def. Ryan Hall via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 4:47
- Dricus Du Plessis def. Trevin Giles via knockout (punches) – Round 2, 1:41
- Jennifer Maia def. Jessica Eye via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
- Brad Tavares def. Omari Akhmedov via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Zhalgas Zhumagulov def. Jerome Rivera via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 1, 2:02
