Don't tell Holly Holm her MMA career is finished just year. Fighting Irene Aldana in the main event of Saturday's UFC card at Fight Island in Abu Dhabi, Holm looked nearly flawless in her unanimous decision victory.
For five rounds, Holm danced around the octagon, remaining out of range of Aldana's power, while consistently landing combinations of strikes and kicks. Holm used lateral movement and body kicks to keep her opponent at bay while mixing in effective combinations and later on multiple takedowns.
In the end the judges scored it 50-44 and 50-45 twice for the No. 2-ranked Holm (14-5), who has now won two straight fights.
Holm is seeking a title shot against bantamweight champion but she wasn't dead set on that being her next match.
“I’m going to keep working hard,” Holm told reporters in her post-fight interview. “That’s what I’m going to do. I know (Amanda Nunes) got a lot doing on right now, with another fight already scheduled. There’s some tough girls coming up. I feel like the 135-pound division’s always pretty stacked, so I’m not going to set my sights on something too hard. I’m going to let the opportunity come and the next fight after the next fight. And whatever that may be, I’m going to put my heart and soul into it and do it again.”
One possible opponent for Holm could be Germaine de Randamie, who also had an impressive showing during the night. Randamie is currently the No. 1-ranked bantamweight and picked up a submission win over No. 4-ranked Julianna Pena.
Holm and Randamie previously fought at UFC 208 in February 2017. Randamie won the fight in a controversial decision, claiming the inaugural women's featherweight title. Holm told reporters she wouldn't be opposed to running it back.
“That’s definitely an option,” Holm said. “I think everybody probably thought her and I might meet up again in there, so we’ll see what happens. We’ll see where it goes from here.”