UFC on ESPN: Holly Holm vs. Irene Aldana Betting Guide (2020)
The main event to this point in the fall has come and gone for the UFC, with Israel “Stylebender†Adesanya TKO’ing Paulo Costa to retain the middleweight belt at UFC 253 last week. Like that event, Saturday’s will be held at the Flash Forum on “Fight Island,†as the company brings another handful of fights overseas so international fighters can partake.
In this weekend’s event, UFC on ESPN: Holm vs. Aldana, a pair of women’s bantamweight fighters will face off in the main draw of the evening. The fight was originally scheduled for July before Aldana fell victim to a positive test for COVID.
Let's take a closer look at the tale of the tape and see where we can spot the edge.
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Holly Holm (13-5-0) vs. Irene Aldana (12-5-0)
Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook
Joining the company in 2015 as woman’s events started to become a mainstay in the sport, Holly Holm as morphed into one of the faces of the company. Winning the bantamweight championship in just her third fight, Holm held it for just one before dropping four of her next five in what was and still is a relatively shallow pool of competition.
The last time we saw her inside the octagon was a unanimous decision win over Raquel Pennington at UFC 246 in January, a fight that moved her to #2 in the bantamweight rankings. A win in this one would most likely set her up for a rematch with the current champion, Amanda Nunes, who she lost to last summer in quick order (first-round TKO).
For Irene Aldana, since losing her first two fights with the company in late 2016/early 2017, the wins have done nothing but rack up. Winning five of her last six, Aldana is known for her power which was most recently on display in her KO victory over the previously unbeaten Ketlen Vieira.
A win for Aldana in this one, however, would be by far the biggest victory of her career and put her in a great position for a crack at Nunes herself.
Bottom Line?
For me personally, Holm has always been a flash in the pan type fighter in the UFC and at 38, time is no longer on her side in the sport. While I do think her footwork is enough to dance around for most of the evening, I think Aldana’s striking and aggressiveness gets the best of an aging superstar in Holm.
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TJ Perun is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from TJ, check out his archive and follow him @JohnnyCovers.