3 questions that will be answered at UFC Fight Island 4: Holly Holm vs. Irene Aldana
By Ivan Surlina
UFC Fight Island 4: Holly Holm vs. Irene Aldana is right around the corner, so here are just three of the reasons why you should tune in.
While Holly Holm vs. Irene Aldana is the main event of UFC Fight Island 4, there are certainly a few other storylines to watch out for come fight night.
While not the only bout on the card involving a former champion, this one certainly has more at stake than the other. A win here for Aldana would not only project her into the top-5 at bantamweight, but perhaps into a title shot as well. The rest of the card is not exactly as stacked as the previous few weeks, but most of the matchmaking is spot on in terms of where these fighters are at in their careers.
These are three reasons to watch UFC Fight Island 4
1. Is Irene Aldana the next title contender at bantamweight?
Aldana (12-5) is coming off the biggest win of her career after she knocked out top prospect Ketlen Vieira in one round at UFC 245. Aldana was able to touch Vieira with the jab early on before putting her out with a powerful lead left hook. Aldana’s boxing has always been crisp, but her striking improves with every appearance in the Octagon. The Guadalajara-native is set to take on former bantamweight champion Holly Holm in the main event, a bout that had to be rescheduled due to a positive coronavirus test for Aldana back in July. Holm has alternated wins and losses dating back to her featherweight title fight loss to Germaine de Randamie at UFC 208. Holm has found mild success since losing her title, but was recently TKO’d when she fought Amanda Nunes after being hit with a headkick. Holm’s career is slowly winding down while Aldana’s is just heating up, and a win for Aldana could see her take on Nunes for the 135 lb strap next year. However, Holly Holm is no stepping stone and has only lost top the cream of the crop, so don’t be surprised if this ends up being a tightly contested fight. Anyone could tell you that winning a straight up kickboxing match against Holm is a very hard ask, but Aldana does have three submissions to her name, so she might be able to utilize her ground game should it end up on the mat at some point.
2. Is Carlos Condit going to his lose his sixth fight in a row?
Carlos Condit has had a heck of a career, but his last victory came in May of 2015. Perhaps if he had won that split decision over Robbie Lawler for the title at UFC 195 things could have been different, but either way it’s been a rough road for The Natural Born Killer since then. Time off, injuries, and having to face top-level competition have all contributed to his recent 0-5 record, but maybe the opponent this time around grants a different type of challenge. Court McGee has had his own struggle with injuries, leading to a 1-4 record in his last five, but has not been finished since 2016. Both Condit and McGee are both at the tail end of their careers now, and I’m not saying this is the swan song for either guy, but it would be hard not to go out on a win. The former interim welterweight champion has not looked all that competitive in his last couple of fights, and an almost two-year layoff probably doesn’t do most fighters any good, but only time will tell if Condit loses his sixth in a row or if he gets back in the win column with a victory over a longtime UFC staple in McGee. Condit has also recently been talking about a rematch with Nick Diaz, and with Diaz expressing interest in returning to the cage, why not?
3. Will Jinh Yu Frey grab her first UFC win?
Former Invicta FC atomweight champion Jinh Yu Frey stumbled in her promotional debut, but is poised to grab her first UFC win this Saturday. Frey dropped her last bout to fellow Invicta FC alum Kay Hansen via submission, and the betting odds are very similar for her upcoming bout against Loma Lookboonmee. Lookboonmee is 1-1 in the UFC, with her last bout being a unanimous decision loss to Angela Hill. Frey won the Invicta FC title back in 2018 against Minna Grusander, defended it against Grusander, but was then stripped of her title for missing weight at Invicta 39 where she was scheduled to defend against Ashley Cummins. The bout continued as a non-title fight for Frey where she won via decision after 25 minutes. Frey certainly needs a win here, and although she is by no means a big strawweight considering she fought her whole career at 105 lb, neither is her opponent. Tune into the prelims to see if Frey can get it done the second time around and get her first official UFC win.
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