Injuries are inevitable in combat sports but sometimes they get really serious, and that is exactly what happened at Noche UFC. Norma Dumont raced past Irene Aldana with a unanimous decision win, but not without giving a gruesome cut on the veteran’s forehead in the second round. The cut seems to be so bad that when the former bantamweight title challenger shared a video update, fans couldn’t handle that well.

Irene Aldana’s fight against Norma Dumont was a bloodbath for the former. As the fight came to a close, her entire face was covered with blood, like a mask, but she continued to fight through it, showing her grit and, and elite mentality. People believe Aldana’s cut to be the nastiest cut a UFC fighter has ever suffered as it stretched from the top of her forehead to her right eyebrow.

However, the bantamweight veteran is healing well, as she showed the status of her injury “3 days later,” and it seems all stitched up and bandaged. Irene Aldana seemed to be in good spirits even though this was the most horrifying injury she’d ever faced inside the Octagon. However, fans weren’t really happy after witnessing her current state.

The UFC fans were already calling for referee Herb Dean to be fired since he let the fight continue even after seeing how deep Irene Aldana’s cut really was. But now, some fans have gotten so worried that they believe it’s time for the 36-year-old UFC veteran to hang up those gloves.

Is it time for Irene Aldana to retire? Fans react

The only thing that came to fans’ minds when they saw Irene Aldana’s gruesome cut was “holy sh-t.” Nevertheless, she had all the support from the fans for showing great resilience and putting up a great fight against the up-and-coming Norma Dumont. Hence, a couple of fans reacted by saying, “She’s a warrior. Massive respect for her And wishing her speedy recovery,” and, “she looks proud,” highlighting the love for the veteran fighter.

On the side of the story, One fan commented, “this makes me really sad,” as he was horrified to see Irene Aldana’s current state. The Mexican star is going to experience worse moments according to fans who have asked her not to continue with her career. They may not be wrong because there are other fighters who’ve been in similar situations. “She should retire now,” requested one fan of the 36-year-old veteran.

If Irene Aldana doesn’t listen, maybe her husband will because fans requested him to make her consider retirement only because of how bad her injury is. He said, “She’s so cute. Her husband need to convince her to stop fighting. That damage is too much.” 

The loss also knocked her out of the top 5 in the rankings. Just two fights ago, she was testing her mettle against Amanda Nunes in a title bout at UFC 289. Fast forward a year, her prospects are looking much darker despite securing a win over Karol Rosa in December 2023.

Even if she does come back for some more action inside the Octagon, a fan believes that it could take her a significant amount of time to nurse the injury. “Most likely but I doubt we will be seeing her for a while that will take a while to heal,” that fan commented.

Even if fans love to see UFC fighters battle like gladiators, seeing someone hurt like Irene Aldana isn’t what they wish to witness. It remains to be seen how long she sits on the shelves and if she listens to the fans and hangs up her gloves. What do you think she should do? Drop your comments below.