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Michael Bisping recently reacted to Irene Aldana suffering one of the worst cuts ever seen in MMA during her fight against Norma Dumont at UFC 306 last weekend. The former UFC champion argued against those using the incident to call for better fighter pay.
For context, Aldana went to war against Dumont in their women's bantamweight bout at The Sphere in Las Vegas. During the fight, Aldana suffered a nasty cut on her forehead due to an unintentional clash of heads.
Dumont made this cut worse by landing multiple strikes to Aldana's head. Despite losing the fight, Aldana was later lauded for her tenacity and durability.
Given the extent of her injuries, many prominent voices in MMA called for better fighter pay to prevent such injuries from affecting athletes in the long term. MMA journalist Luke Thomas was among them and shed light on the fighter pay issue in an X post. He wrote:
"This is broken record material, but it's another situation where the importance of fighter pay stands out. The cut on Irene Aldana is all-time bad. Arguably the worst in UFC history. What did possible lifelong disfigurement earn her?"
Intriguingly, Bisping wasn't convinced and responded to Thomas' post outlining how any fighter could have suffered this cut in any promotion. He wrote:
"Bad take. Fighters, boxers, mma, whatever we take risks. Could have happened on the regional scene for 50 bucks. Boxers on the prelims of the biggest fights ever have died for extremely little. These are the risks we take as fighters, and we are fully aware."
Irene Aldana points out exact moment her UFC 306 cut opened up
Irene Aldana recently pointed out the exact moment she suffered her UFC 306 cut and expressed gratitude to her fans for their support after her gruesome fight against Norma Dumont. In the aftermath of her fight against Norma Dumont, many fans claimed the fight should've been stopped and lauded Aldana for her durability.
Reacting to the fans' response, Aldana took to Instagram and shared a slow-mo video of the head-butt moment when the cut on her face opened up. She clarified that she was "happy" despite the situation and wrote:
"For those wondering what caused the cut... That's the way it is... Thanks again for so much support, I'm very happy."
