UFC women's bantamweight Irene Aldana was supposed to fight Holly Holm in the main event of UFC on ESPN+ 31 on Saturday, but she contracted COVID-19 so the fight was delayed. During a recent appearance on MMA Junkie’s “Hablemos MMA” podcast, "Robles" talked about it.
“From what I can tell you personally, I had very bad headaches, fever of [100 degrees Fahrenheit], I was sweating a lot because of the fever, dizziness," said Aldana, as translated by Danny Segura for MMA Junkie. "I felt very fatigued from very simple things like going up and down the stairs, chest congestion. I lost the sense of smell. I can say I had it good considering what other people have gone through. The fact that I didn’t need a respirator, I didn’t need to go to the hospital, it went well within the things that could’ve happened.
“There are many people that don’t believe in the virus and that believe that for being young and healthy nothing will happen to them. Yes, the chances are low, but something can happen, and the virus is highly contagious. It could’ve came from anywhere. You can get it at any point, so you have to take care of yourself and take care of those who are at a high risk.”
“I’m happy to use my experience and this platform to tell people. I was in the best shape of my life. I was ready for five rounds. I was training two, three times a day. My diet was on point. My nutritionists were sending me a very healthy and measured diet. I disinfected everything. I was only training at home.
“The truth is that I took all preventive measures and even then I caught it. So you can’t be too confident because you’re young and you take care of yourself or have no underlying conditions. I’m not diabetic or obese, which are some of the conditions of high risk, and even then I had a very rough time, and I still have some existing effects. I still have the virus in me, and I’m still battling with it. The fact that I’m an athlete, and I have a healthy diet, I didn’t need a respirator, I didn’t need to say goodbye to my family to go to a hospital, so it’s something we need to take seriously and not dismiss it.”
"Right now I’m focused on recovering, and I feel better, but not 100 percent. It seems I’m getting better, so right now just focused on the recovery so I can start training again.”