If you're looking for an early Fight of the Night contender at UFC 228, Irene Aldana and Lucie Pudilova gave you a classic.
#12 and #13Pudilova went to war for three rounds, with Pudilova pushing the pace, and Aldana adjusting accordingly. In the end, Aldana was able to squeak out a split decision victory on the show.
You can see an excerpt from our Fightful.com live coverage of UFC 228 below.
Round One: The round begins with the fighters jabbing away at each other, Aldana starts attacking Pudilova with some leg kicks. Pudilova charges at Aldana while swinging away at her, Aldana picks Pudilova apart with jabs from a distance. Pudilova nails a swinging Aldana with a counter right, Aldana catches a swinging Pudilova with a counter right of her own. Pudilova charges at Aldana and she swings wildly at her, Pudilova attempts a few high kicks against Aldana. Pudilova and Aldana continue nailing each other with rights, Pudilova gets Aldana against the cage wall while throwing a combination, Pudilova nails Aldana with a front kick to the face. Aldana nails Pudilova with a spinning back fist as the round ends.
Fightful scores the round 10-9 for Pudilova
Round Two: The round begins with Aldana attacking Pudilova with some leg kicks, Aldana lands a combination before eating a counter right from Pudilova. Pudilova continues attacking Aldana with a variety of high kicks, the fighters exchange a ton of jabs to the face. Pudilova barely connects with a superman punch against Aldana, Pudilova continues coming forward and swinging away at Aldana. Aldana keeps Pudilova at a distance by attacking her with leg kicks, Aldana nails a swinging Pudilova with a counter uppercut. Pudilova nails Aldana with a kick to the midsection, Aldana goes for the takedown and Pudilova nails her with an elbow strike as the round ends.
Fightful scores the round 10-9 for Aldana (Overall Score: 19-19 for Draw)
Round Three: The round begins with Aldana attacking Pudilova with some leg kicks, Pudilova charges at Aldana and swings away at her. Pudilova then nails a kicking Aldana with a few rights, Pudilova continues attacking Aldana with punching combinations. Aldana and Pudilova exchange some rights to the face, Pudilova charges forward as both fighters swing away at each other. Aldana cracks a swinging Pudilova with a counter right uppercut, the fighters attack each other with a plethora of jabs. Pudilova backs Aldana into the cage wall with a combination followed by a knee strike, Aldana destroys Pudilova with several knee strikes to the face before separating. Pudilova cracks a swinging Aldana with a superman punch as the round ends.
Fightful scores the round 10-9 for Pudilova (Final Score: 29-28 for Pudilova)
Official Result: #12 Irene Aldana def. #13 Lucie Pudilova by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
The former Invicta FC Bantamweight Title challenger Aldana moves to 9-4 with a winning streak of two after starting off her UFC run with two straight losses.
Check out our full, live coverage of UFC 228 a this link, and check out our live, post-show podcast after the event.
