Update – Nunes retained the title by unanimous decision.
UFC 289 concludes with a main event featuring the women’s bantamweight championship on the line. Champion Amanda Nunes will face Irene Aldana, who was added to the card a little over a month ago. The main event will likely get started around the midnight hour on the ESPN+ PPV.
Nunes was slated to fight Julianna Peña in the rubber match of their trilogy of bouts. Peña stunned Nunes with a submission win at UFC 269 that cost her the bantamweight title. Nunes rebounded seven months later with a unanimous decision at UFC 277 to reclaim the title. Peña suffered broken ribs in training leading up to UFC 289 and Aldana replaced her.
Aldana is fighting in her first title bout since joining UFC in 2016. She’s 7-4 in her seven years in UFC. Prior to that, she lost a pair of title fights, one for the Invicta FC bantamweight title and one for the Jungle Fight bantamweight title.
Nunes is favored to win in this bout with -325 moneyline odds at DraftKings Sportsbook. Aldana is +270. The favored outcome is Nunes by KO/TKO/DQ at +120. A Nunes decision is +275 and a Nunes submission is +400. An Aldana decision is +650, a win by KO/TKO/DQ is also +650, and an Aldana submission win is +1600.
We’ll be providing live updates throughout the fight with round-by-round scoring until a winner is determined.
Amanda Nunes vs. Irene Aldana round-by-round results
Round 1: Nunes
In what was a feeling out round for both fighters, Nunes was surgical despite not landing any huge strikes. She did get caught by Aldana toward the end of the round but it wasn’t enough to sway the round.
Round 2: Nunes
Nunes went to work on Aldana’s legs in the second round, which opened the champion up to start attacking the head — including a nice combo that was capped off with a knee to the face.
Round 3: Nunes
Nunes got bored of dominating in the stand-up game, so she took Aldana to the ground midway through the round. Aldana couldn’t get much of anything going.
Round 4: Nunes
This is a beatdown. Aldana can’t get anything going while Nunes continues to play with her food.
Round 5: Nunes
This fight was over before it started. The fifth round was just a formality as Nunes continued her domination to retain the title.