Irene Aldana’s career as a professional fighter was put on hold after she tested positive for COVID-19.

The UFC women’s bantamweight title contender was supposed to headline Saturday’s UFC on ESPN+ 31 event in Las Vegas in an important divisional bout against former champion Holly Holm. Aldana’s fight with Holm was postponed, however, and has been kept as a five-round main event for a future card to be determined.

Aldana (12-5 MMA, 5-3 UFC) is disappointed to not be able to showcase her skills this weekend, but she’s focusing her efforts on a strong return.

“Yeah, it’s a very sad thing,” Aldana said in Spanish on the first episode of MMA Junkie’s “Hablemos MMA” podcast. “The truth is that I was very excited, and I was ready for that fight on August 1st, but unfortunately I started feeling the symptoms: headache, fever, body aches.

“I decided to take the test so I could make sure, and it turned out positive. We were in contact with the UFC, and we were waiting for a second test just to be sure, and the second test came back positive. 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.”

The Mexican fighter tested positive for the virus about three weeks out from her fight. Aldana did her best to try to salvage the matchup with Holm, hoping she’d be free of the virus come fight week.

However, the symptoms greatly affected her ability to properly prepare in the final and most important weeks of training camp, forcing her to pull out.

“From what I can tell you personally, I had very bad headaches, fever of 38 degrees (100 degrees Fahrenheit), I was sweating a lot because of the fever, dizziness. I felt very fatigued from very simple things like going up and down the stairs, chest congestion. I lost the sense of smell,” Aldana explained. “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.”

Aldana, 32, is still battling with the virus today but is showing improvement and feeling much better than days prior. “Robles” wants to use her platform to encourage people to take care of themselves and do their best to stop the spread of COVID-19, as she had a rough time with the virus while being in what many would consider a low-risk part of the population.

“It’s very important, and I’m happy to use my experience and this platform to tell people,” Aldana said. “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 we 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.”