Aldana vs Kunitskaya Analysis and Prediction

Irene Aldana (12-6) vs Yana Kunitskaya (14-5)

Women’s Bantamweight (135)

Irene Aldana

Utilising her height, Aldana draws upon her boxing chops to out-jab opponents. A strong counter-puncher, Aldana shines when opponents walk onto her sharp combinations. Jerky lateral movement combines with a snapping jab for much of the early proceedings. After making the necessary reads, Aldana is more willing to commit with her powerful right hand.

Unfortunately for Aldana, she has regularly failed to dominate affairs when forced onto the front foot. Both Raquel Pennington and Holly Holm forced the Mexican to close distance, which left her gun shy and nullified her exceptional volume off the back-foot. By fighting to her opponent’s game plan, Aldana needlessly drops rounds. Still, with a lovely liver shot, Aldana remains one of the more entertaining fighters if matched up correctly.

Yana Kunitskaya

It is such a shame then that Kunitskaya often brings the absolute worst fight possible. Not in terms of game planning, the Russian is one of the savviest fighters on the roster. No, Kunitskaya instead willingly fights tediously if it ensures victory. While I’m sure no one would begrudge a fighter for choosing the path posing the least damage, Kunitskaya must also understand that no fan wishes to watch it.

Disgustingly patient on the outside, Kunitskaya happily drags fighters into point-style kickboxing. More often though, Kunitskaya snatches up a neck and pushes opponents against the cage. With slappy punches in the clinch that just about justify ‘work’, opponents often pull guard to escape off their back. Instead, Kunitskaya adopts a lay and pray approach which… ugh.

Predicted Result: Kunitskaya Decision

In the right match-ups, Aldana is one of the more entertaining fighters at Women’s Bantamweight. Jerky lateral movement combined with a snapping jab offers Aldana enough time to make necessary reads. Opening up with her right hand over the ensuing rounds, Aldana carries surprising power and makes a committed effort to dig into the body. Kunitskaya, unfortunately, will drag this fight into an ugly grappling affair. Safe enough to survive on the outside, Kunitskaya can easily force Aldana into fighting against the cage from where the Russian will adopt her lukewarm dirty boxing and lay n pray approaches.

---

---

Tipping Jar

Pintsized Interests is just a baby finding its first steps in the big, bad world of sports journalism. If you enjoy the content that is regularly uploaded then please consider donating via the link below. Any amount is greatly appreciated, and will go towards ensuring the survival of Pintsized Interests in the long-term.

---