UFC 289
Mixed martial arts event in 2023
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UFC 289: Nunes vs. Aldana was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on June 10, 2023, at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.[2]
| UFC 289: Nunes vs. Aldana | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
The poster for UFC 289: Nunes vs. Aldana | ||||
| Promotion | Ultimate Fighting Championship | |||
| Date | June 10, 2023 | |||
| Venue | Rogers Arena | |||
| City | Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada | |||
| Attendance | 17,628[1] | |||
| Total gate | $3,834,893.25[1] | |||
| Event chronology | ||||
| ||||
Background
The event marked the promotion's 32nd overall visit to Canada and sixth to Vancouver, returning to the country for the first time since UFC Fight Night: Cowboy vs. Gaethje in September 2019.[2]
A UFC Women's Bantamweight Championship trilogy bout between current two-time champion (also current UFC Women's Featherweight Champion) Amanda Nunes and former champion (also The Ultimate Fighter: Team Rousey vs. Team Tate bantamweight winner) Julianna Peña was expected to headline the event.[3] However on May 2, Peña pulled out due to broken ribs and was replaced by Irene Aldana, who was scheduled to headline UFC Fight Night: Dern vs. Hill in a rematch against former title challenger Raquel Pennington.[4] The latter served as a backup for the title bout.[5]
A lightweight bout between former UFC Lightweight Champion Charles Oliveira and Beneil Dariush took place as the co-main event.[6] They were originally booked at UFC 288, but Oliveira withdrew due to injury.[7]
A middleweight bout between Chris Curtis and Nassourdine Imavov took place at the event. The two fighters were scheduled to face each other pre-UFC at ARES FC 2 in October 2020, but the event was canceled due to COVID-19 complications.[8]
A welterweight bout between former UFC Welterweight Championship challenger Stephen Thompson and Michel Pereira was expected for this event.[9] However, contracts were never signed and the bout is expected to take place at UFC 291 instead.[10][11]
Matt Schnell and David Dvořák were scheduled to meet in a flyweight bout on the preliminary card.[12] However, Schnell pulled out due to injury and was replaced by Stephen Erceg.[13]
A featherweight bout between Hakeem Dawodu and Lucas Almeida was expected to take place at the event.[14] However, the bout was scrapped for unknown reasons and Almeida was instead scheduled to face Pat Sabatini at UFC on ESPN: Vettori vs. Cannonier.[15]
Chris Daukaus was expected to make his light heavyweight debut against Khalil Rountree Jr. at the event.[16] However, Daukaus withdrew in early June due to injury.[17] The bout was rescheduled for UFC on ESPN: Luque vs. dos Anjos.[18]
Results
| Main card | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight class | Method | Round | Time | Notes | |||
| Women's Bantamweight | Amanda Nunes (c) | def. | Irene Aldana | Decision (unanimous) (50–44, 50–44, 50–43) | 5 | 5:00 | [a] |
| Lightweight | Charles Oliveira | def. | Beneil Dariush | TKO (punches) | 1 | 4:10 | |
| Welterweight | Mike Malott | def. | Adam Fugitt | Submission (guillotine choke) | 2 | 1:06 | |
| Featherweight | Dan Ige | def. | Nate Landwehr | Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Middleweight | Marc-André Barriault | def. | Eryk Anders | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Preliminary card (ESPN / ESPN+) | |||||||
| Middleweight | Nassourdine Imavov | vs. | Chris Curtis | No Contest (accidental clash of heads) | 2 | 3:04 | [b] |
| Women's Flyweight | Jasmine Jasudavicius | def. | Miranda Maverick | Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Bantamweight | Aiemann Zahabi | def. | Aori Qileng | KO (punches) | 1 | 1:04 | |
| Featherweight | Kyle Nelson | def. | Blake Bilder | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Early preliminary card (ESPN+ / UFC Fight Pass) | |||||||
| Flyweight | Steve Erceg | def. | David Dvořák | Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Women's Strawweight | Diana Belbiţă | def. | Maria Oliveira | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
- Accidental clash of heads rendered Curtis unable to continue.
Bonus awards
The following fighters received $50,000 bonuses.[20]
- Fight of the Night: Marc-André Barriault vs. Eryk Anders
- Performance of the Night: Charles Oliveira, Mike Malott, and Steve Erceg
