Irene Aldana vs. Yana Kunitskaya targeted for UFC 264 in July

A top-five matchup in the women’s bantamweight division is heading to the UFC’s July PPV event.

Multiple people with knowledge of the promotion’s plans confirmed to MMA Fighting that a fight between Irene Aldana and Yana Kunitskaya is being targeted for UFC 264. The event takes place July 10 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. ESPN Deportes was first to report the booking.

Aldana will look to get back in the win column after an impressive 5-1 run led to her first main event bout. Following a first-round KO win over Ketlen Vieira at UFC 245, Aldana, the current No. 4 ranked 135er, took on Holly Holm at UFC Fight Island 4 this past October and dropped a five-round unanimous decision to the former UFC bantamweight champion, snapping a two-fight winning streak.

Kunitskaya has won two straight and four of her last five bouts to jump into the No. 5 spot in the rankings. After a TKO loss to Aspen Ladd in December 2019, “Foxy” picked up back-to-back unanimous decision wins over Vieira and Julija Stoliarenko. A win could put Kunitskaya in a position to get a shot at a UFC world title for the second time.

UFC 264 is headlined by the rubber match between Dustin Poirier and Conor McGregor.