The UFC returns to Canada for the first time since 2019 for the UFC 289 pay-per-view event taking place in Vancouver, British Columbia. The card features a women’s bantamweight title fight between current champion and greatest woman’s fighter of all time Amanda Nunes and challenger Irene Aldana. The co-main event, meanwhile, features a ranked lightweight encounter between Charles Oliveira and Beneil Dariush.
With plenty of other great fights on the card, let’s take a look at all of the action.
UFC 289 Prelim Card
Diane Belbita and Maria Oliveira kick things off in a women's strawweight encounter. It’s a very close one, but Oliveira is just about edging it as per the oddsmakers.
David Dvorak faces Stephen Erceg in a flyweight encounter. Dvorak is favored to come out on top in this one.
Featherweights are also in action as Kyle Nelson faces Blake Bilder. Bilder is expected to remain undefeated against the more experienced Nelson.
Aiemann Zahabi battles Qileng Aori in a bantamweight tilt. This fight is an extremely competitive one and basically a pick ‘em with Aori having the slightest of edges.
Miranda Maverick meets Jasmine Jasudavicius in a women's flyweight bout. This should be a relatively straightforward win for Maverick.
The featured prelim sees Nassourdine Imavov take on Chris Curtis in a middleweight battle. All indications point to this being a stand-up battle and Imavov is just about favored to get the dub.
UFC 289 Main Card
Marc-Andre Barriault (15-6, 1NC) vs Eryk Anders (15-7, 1NC)
The main card opens up with a middleweight bout between Marc-Andre Barriault and Eryk Anders. Barriault recently returned to the win column with a second-round TKO win over Julian Marquez at UFC 285 earlier this year in March. Prior to that, he had been alternating between wins and losses but will be looking to embark on his first winning streak since 2021.
Anders returned to the win column with a second-round TKO victory over Kyle Daukaus back in December. Prior to that, he had suffered two defeats in a row with just one win in his last five outings. The former football player will also be looking to make it two in a row but for the first time since 2019.
Dan Ige (16-6) vs Nate Landwehr (17-4)
An intriguing featherweight matchup is also featured on the main card as Dan Ige battles the always entertaining Nate Landwehr. Ige recently returned to the win column with an emphatic second-round knockout win over Damon Jackson. In the process, the 145-pound veteran snapped a three-fight losing streak that saw him suffer defeat to The Korean Zombie, Josh Emmett and Movsar Evloev.
Landwehr, meanwhile, is on an impressive three-fight winning streak since his TKO defeat to Julian Erosa in February 2021. He submitted Ludovit Klein before earning the majority decision win over David Onama in a Fight of the Year contender last year. He followed that up with a submission win over Austin Lingo in March earlier this year.
With that said, Ige is arguably the toughest matchup he’s had in his career as well as a major step up from his recent opponents. The smart money is on an Ige decision who is a solid betting favorite to make it two wins in a row.
Mike Malott (9-1-1) vs Adam Fugitt (9-3)
Welterweights are also in action as Mike Malott takes on Adam Fugitt. Malott is 2-0 in the UFC following a TKO win over Mickey Gall in April 2022 which was followed up by a submission victory over Yohan Lainesse in February this year.
Fugitt, meanwhile, is 1-1 in the UFC. The 34-year-old suffered a TKO defeat in his UFC debut against Michael Morales in July 2022. However, he bounced back with a first-round TKO win over Yusaku Kinoshita in February. He is expected to make it two wins in a row and inflict Malott’s first defeat in the UFC.
Charles Oliveira (33-9, 1NC) vs Beneil Dariush (22-4-1)
The co-main event features probably the most anticipated fight of the card as former champion Charles Oliveira battles Beneil Dariush in a lightweight encounter. Oliveira is coming off a second-round submission defeat to Islam Makhachev in their vacant lightweight title fight at UFC 280 in October. It was the Brazilian’s first defeat since December 2017 in a run that saw him become the lightweight champion and embark on an 11-fight winning streak.
Dariush, meanwhile, is on an eight-fight winning streak and could make it nine with a win over Oliveira. He last competed at UFC 280 in October last year when he comfortably outpointed Mateusz Gamrot. Prior to that, he earned wins over the likes of Tony Ferguson and Carlos Diego Ferreira. It should be a close fight that can go pretty much either way. That said, Dariush is just about favored and is likely to get the decision win over three rounds for his first-ever lightweight title shot.
Amanda Nunes (22-5) vs Irene Aldana (14-6)
The main event sees double champion Amanda Nunes look for another defense of her 135-pound crown against Mexican boxer Irene Aldana. Nunes only regained her women's bantamweight title at UFC 277 last July when she dominated Julianna Pena on her way to a lopsided unanimous decision. The trilogy was set for this event only for Pena to pull out due to suffering broken ribs.
Instead, Aldana steps in as she looks to become UFC champion on her first attempt. The 35-year-old has finishes in her last two fights with knockout wins over Yana Kunitskaya and Macy Chiasson. Overall, she has won four of her last five outings as well as seven of her last nine.
It’s a fresh matchup for Nunes who continues to clean out the division, but the result still looks likely to be the same. Aldana has good cardio and boxing skills, so could be interesting if it goes deeper into the rounds. Nunes is a major favorite and the only real question is how motivated is the mother that has talked about stepping away from fighting to focus on her family.
If you want to roll the dice on a big underdog, root for another Mexican champion to upset the greatest woman MMA fighter of all time. Enjoy this battle, because it might be the last time we see Nunes in action.
