After having a “really bad” case of COVID-19, Irene Aldana eyes stoppage win over Holly Holm to earn title shot

Irene Aldana is glad she will still be the main event against Holly Holm.

Aldana was supposed to fight Holm in Las Vegas on August 1, yet she had tested positive for COVID-19 and was forced to pull out of the fight. It was also a bad case of the coronavirus and Aldana said it had impacted her training quite a bit.

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“It was really disappointing because I was ready to fight. When I started to feel really bad we needed to decide what we would do and I did some tests and I tested positive,” Aldana said on Just Scrap Radio on BJPENN.com. “I realized my health was the priority and I needed to take care of that. I’m happy it got rescheduled.

“It was really bad. I was having a bad time, headache, temperature, I found to hard to breathe and was getting tired going up a flight of stairs. I lost my smell and taste,” she later added. “Just simple things, it was really hard.”

For Aldana, a fight against Holm will no doubt be the toughest test of her career. “The Preachers Daughter” is a former world champion and a decorated striker. So, for the Mexican, she knows she will have to fight a near-perfect fight to beat her.

“I think every fight is my toughest fight since I started this career,” Aldana said. “This is my hardest fight, she is well-rounded, strong, experienced, and has fought great fighters. I am here for a reason and I think it is a great matchup.

“It is MMA and anything can happen. That is what makes it really fun as you don’t know what will happen,” she added. “It is not a secret that I love to keep it standing and exchange punches. We Mexicans love that, and I would love for it to be that kind of fight.

Yet, the hope for Irene Aldana is to get another stoppage and cement her case to be next in line for Amanda Nunes.

“A knockout always feels so good and a submission feels so good. A victory is a victory so I want to do my best and take my fighting to the best level,” she explained. “The best way to win a fight is by getting a finish and I’m always with that mentality. I’m not forcing a finish, though. If I have the opportunity, I will finish her.”

For Aldana, her only focus is on Saturday night and fighting Holly Holm and knows she can’t look past her.

“That is the main goal to go for that title and I am doing everything I can to earn it. At this moment I am just focusing on this fight,” Aldana concluded.

Do you think Irene Aldana will beat Holly Holm?