Former Champion Holly Holm Outshines Irene Aldana in UFC on ESPN 16 Main Event

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Holly Holm was not ready to pass the torch just yet.

The former Ultimate Fighting Championship women’s bantamweight titleholder ran literal circles around Irene Aldana in the UFC on ESPN 16 headliner, where she cruised to a unanimous decision on Saturday at the Flash Forum in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. All three judges sided with Holm (14-5, 7-5 UFC): 50-44, 50-45 and 50-45.

A failure to cut off the cage proved costly for Aldana (12-6, 5-4 UFC), who grew increasingly frustrated as time went on. Holm was brilliant from a tactical perspective. The Jackson-Wink MMA mainstay steered clear of the lethal Aldana left hook, attacked the body with kicks and directed sharp punches at the head. Perhaps most importantly, she incorporated takedowns in all five rounds. When the fifth round arrived, Aldana appeared to be overcome by resignation. Holm struck for another takedown, blasted her with a head kick when she exited to her feet and uncorked a violent flurry of punches and kicks to ice her latest victory inside the Octagon.

Holm, 38, finds herself in possession of consecutive wins for the first time since she started her career a perfect 10-0.

Unyielding Felipe Outduels De Castro

High-velocity punching combinations and relentless forward pressure spurred Carlos Felipe to a unanimous decision over Dana White’s Contender Series graduate Yorgan De Castro in the three-round heavyweight co-main event. Felipe (9-1, 1-1 UFC) swept the scorecards with 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28 marks from the judges.

De Castro (6-2, 1-2 UFC) tried to fight fire with fire but could not match the Brazilian’s pace, output or impact. Felipe was quicker on the draw, pushed him backwards for two-plus rounds, wobbled him with more than one overhand right and zeroed in on the body with punches from both hands. De Castro bailed on the standup exchanges in the third round, where he attempted to pin the Shooto Brazil alum to the cage in a series of clock-consuming clinches. Referee Kevin Sataki was wise to his plans and routinely restarted the two men at range once the action stalled along the fence.

After a 6-0 start to his career, De Castro has suffered two straight defeats.

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De Randamie Chokes Pena Unconscious

Germaine de Randamie continued her evolution as a mixed martial artist and put “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 18 winner Julianna Pena to sleep with a guillotine choke in the third round of their featured women’s bantamweight affair. Pena (9-4, 5-2 UFC) lost consciousness 3:25 into Round 3, as she lost for the second time in three outings.

De Randamie (10-4, 7-2 UFC) dropped the Sikjitsu standout to a knee with a clean right hand in the first round, only to see her momentum interrupted by a late takedown. Pena tripped the decorated muay Thai practitioner to the floor less than 90 seconds into the middle stanza, applied her ground-and-pound and fished for a guillotine of her own before surviving an attempted Von Flue choke from the Dutchwoman. “The Venezuelan Vixen” scored with a right cross-left hook combination to start the decisive third round, moved into clinch range and changed levels for a takedown. However, she left her neck exposed in her haste to return to the mat, and de Randamie laced her arms into the guillotine before her opponent could respond. Soon after, Pena went limp.

The 36-year-old de Randamie has won six of her past seven bouts, a decision loss to reigning UFC women’s bantamweight and featherweight champion Amanda Nunes her only misstep.

Phillips Buries Newcomer Else

Promising MMA Lab product Kyler Phillips disposed of organizational newcomer Cameron Else with elbows and punches in the second round of their bantamweight feature. A short-notice substitution for Danaa Batgerel, Else (10-5, 0-1 UFC) bowed out 44 seconds into Round 2, the setback closing the book on his six-fight winning streak.

Phillips (8-1, 2-0 UFC) engaged the Jackson-Wink MMA rep on the feet in a few early standup exchanges but did the vast majority of his work on the ground. He took down Else in the first round, transitioned to advantageous positions and had him reeling with elbow strikes in the waning moments. Phillips connected with a partially blocked head kick after the one-minute respite between rounds, delivered another takedown and moved to back mount before a merciless stream of punches and elbows forced referee Marc Goddard to intervene.

An emerging threat at 135 pounds, Phillips will enter his next assignment on the strength of back-to-back-to-back victories.

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Unbeaten Todorovic Obliterates Townsend

Secutor MMA prospect Dusko Todorovic kept his perfect professional record intact and looked dominant in doing so, as he put away Dequan Townsend with punches in the second round of their middleweight showcase. Still winless inside the Octagon, Townsend (21-12, 0-4 UFC) succumbed to blows 3:15 into Round 2.

Todorovic (10-0, 1-0 UFC) broke down the Murcielago MMA export with body-head combinations in the first round, pursued him in the clinch and eventually pinned him to the fence with a ferocious volley of punches. He struck for a takedown inside the first 90 seconds of the middle stanza, softened him with ground-and-pound and transitioned from half guard to side control to full mount without much difficulty. Todorovic unleashed his hands and threatened the neck, first with an arm-triangle and then with a rear-naked choke, before he cut loose with a sustained barrage of punches from the mount to prompt the stoppage.

The 26-year-old Todorovic now sports nine finishes among his 10 career victories.

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