Holly Holm turned to her wrestling against Irene Aldana and rolled to an easy unanimous decision victory Saturday night in the main event of UFC Fight Night on Saturday on Yas Island.
The judges scored the bout 50-44, 50-45 and 50-45 for Holm.
Holm, known for her skills as a striker, mixed things up against Aldana by scoring takedowns in all five rounds.She had Aldana in trouble in Round 3, landing several big shots from full mount, though Aldana was able to get back to her feet.
The five takedowns were Holm’s most ever in a fight.
Holm (14-5), the former UFC women’s bantamweight champion, was coming off a unanimous decision win over Raquel Pennington at UFC 246 in January. The New Mexico native has won four of her last six fights, with the losses during that span coming to current UFC women’s bantamweight and featherweight champ Amanda Nunes and former UFC women’s featherweight champion Cris Cyborg.
Holm, 38, famously ended Ronda Rousey’s undefeated streak, knocking her out at UFC 193 on Nov. 14, 2015.
The surging Aldana (12-6) entered the night with two straight wins and five of her previous six. She is the first Mexican-born woman to headline a UFC event.
ESPN has Aldana ranked No. 5 and Holm ranked No. 6 in its women’s bantamweight MMA rankings.
