Holly Holm dominates Irene Aldana en route to unanimous decision victory
Holly Holm looked her dominant best again on Saturday as she out-thought and out-fought Irene Aldana en route to a unanimous decision win.
The Jackson-Wink MMA product was elusive, leaving Aldana visibly frustrated as she threw strikes at air, while Holm also expertly countered with kicks to the body and crisp boxing.
Holm also mixed things up with takedowns to keep Mexico’s Aldana guessing even more.
What ever question Aldana threw Holm’s way, the latter had the answer for the entirety of their five-round bout.
Holm was deservedly awarded the unanimous decision victory after running rings around her opponent.
There was a lot of hype behind Aldana’s name going into the fight and she will have to make some adjustments on the basis of this contest. As for Holm, this win once again propels the former UFC women’s bantamweight champion back into the title picture.
Germain de Randamie snatches third-round guillotine choke to defeat Juliana Pena
Germaine de Randamie may be known for her striking abilities, but it was a submission which saw her emerge from the Octagon victorious against Juliana Pena.
In fact, it was the Dutch kickboxer’s first submission win in her MMA career which has spanned close to 12 years.
De Randamie started the contest brightly and badly hurt Pena with a right hand in the opening five minutes, but Pena targeted de Randemie’s perceived deficiencies in grappling with a takedown to try and steal the round.
Pena continued to fight in that vein, taking de Randamie with a trip early in the second stanza, before landing ground and pound and attempting a guillotine choke.
“The Venezuela Vixen” tried getting de Randamie down once again in the third round, but it was her opponent who had success with a guillotine choke this time round.
De Randamie snatched at Pena’s exposed neck on the takedown attempt and any attempts the latter made to escape were futile as she soon went limp as she was choked unconscious.
This will be a satisfying win for de Randamie who was beat down and taught a lesson on the ground by two-weight UFC champion Amanda Nunes in her last fight.
UFC on ESPN 16: Holm vs. Aldana full results
Women’s Bantamweight: Holly Holm def. Irene Aldana Decision by unanimous decision after five rounds
Heavyweight: Carlos Felipe def. Yorgan De Castro by unanimous decision after three rounds
Women’s Bantamweight: Germaine de Randamie def. Julianna Peña by Technical Submission (guillotine choke) at 3:25 of round three
Bantamweight: Kyler Phillips def. Cameron Else by TKO (punches and elbows) at 0:44 of round two
Middleweight: Duško Todorović def. Dequan Townsend by TKO (punches) at 3:15 of round two
Welterweight: Carlos Condit def. Court McGee by unanimous decision after three rounds
Featherweight: Charles Jourdain and Josh Culibao fought to a split draw after three rounds
Middleweight: Nassourdine Imavov def. Jordan Williams by unanimous decision after three rounds
Women’s Strawweight: Loma Lookboonmee def. Jinh Yu Frey by unanimous decision after three rounds
Bantamweight: Casey Kenney def. Heili Alateng by unanimous decision after three rounds
Lightweight: Luigi Vendramini def. Jessin Ayari by TKO (head kick and punches) at 1:12 of round one