NEWARK, N.J. – Irene Aldana is honored that her first UFC bantamweight title opportunity is coming against Amanda Nunes.
Aldana (14-6 MMA, 7-4 UFC) will step in for injured Julianna Peña against Nunes (22-3 MMA, 15-3 UFC) in the UFC 289 headliner on June 10 at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Nunes, who’s also the UFC women’s featherweight champ, is widely considered the greatest female fighter of all time – which present a golden opportunity that Aldana relishes.
“I’m fighting the greatest of all time,” Aldana said during the UFC 289 news conference. “I respect Amanda a lot. I’m grateful for the opportunity, and we’re ready.”
So what would be bigger for Aldana: winning the UFC title or beating the greatest of all time?
“Having the opportunity is already big for me,” Aldana said. “To be able to perform and to share the octagon with Amanda is already the biggest accomplishment ever.”
Dethroning Nunes will be no easy task. If Aldana is successful, she will join teammate Alexa Grasso, Brandon Moreno, and Yair Rodriguez among Mexican fighters to claim UFC gold this year.
“Definitely that’s a big motivation for me,” Aldana said. “Having three Mexican champions here, having Alexa as my teammate as a flyweight champion, this is a great time for Mexicans. I’m glad to have the opportunity to also represent Mexico here.”
Aldana wasn’t the UFC’s original choice for a shot at Nunes, which came as a surprise to the champion. Aldana was booked to headline UFC Fight Night 224 against Raquel Pennington on May 20 but was pulled from her bout to faces Nunes when Peña was forced out.
“I wasn’t mad at all,” Aldana said. “Julianna deserves it too, and I was OK with that. If I had to have another fight just to get to the title shot, I was OK with that. It doesn’t matter to me at all, but I’m glad the opportunity came.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 289.
