Irene Aldana Snaps Back at Fan Who Told Her to Retire

Irene Aldana has hit back at a fan who suggested she should retire from mixed martial arts.

Last weekend, the 36-year-old Irene Aldana went head-to-head with Norma Dumont. She wound up losing via decision, but that wasn’t the biggest story. The big story was that Aldana came out of that fight looking as disfigured as any fighter ever has in the Octagon.

Ever since then, many have been concerned about her health and her future. After all, she suffered the kind of scars and bruises that some fighters never recover from. Alas, despite this, the veteran posted a defiant message on social media that indicated she was far from done.

Then, a fan replied – and Irene was quick to reply.

Irene Aldana hits back

Fan: “Please retire”

Aldana: “You retire :)”

Nobody in their right mind would question the strength and heart of Irene Aldana. We’re talking about a fighter who endured about as much punishment as we’ve seen in the cage, and yet, she walked out of UFC 306 with her head held high.

There are bound to be doubters and critics in the aftermath of something like that. It was so emphatic, even, that it even reignited the discussion surrounding fighter pay in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

If she’s going to insist on pushing forward, she needs to go back to the drawing board. That’ll likely include a prolonged period of time off and given everything that happened, absolutely nobody can blame her for making that move.

It’s unclear as to whether or not she’ll ever be in a position to challenge for a title again. With that being said, maybe that isn’t the real challenge. Maybe the real challenge is for Irene Aldana to showcase her warrior spirit and inspire the next generation of women to test themselves.