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This is an intriguing matchup, and in the UFC, you just never know. With that being said, Nunes has a case to be considered the greatest MMA fighter ever, and it seems Aldana is in over her head in this fight. The odds are long in this fight for a reason, and anything other than a convincing Nunes win would be a huge shock. The intrigue is the fact that not much is known about Adana, but it will be by Saturday night.
Amanda Nunes will attempt to successfully defend her bantamweight title against Irene Aldana at UFC 289 as part of its main event.
Nunes’ two-fight series against Julianna Pena effectively illustrates how anyone can have an off night and why we shouldn’t put too much stock in any individual performance. “The Lioness” made her comeback last summer in Dallas after suffering her first loss since what seems like forever by dominating Pena from start to finish and maintaining an astounding feat: defeating every previous bantamweight title holder along the way.
Aldana had initially planned on facing Raquel Pennington for a title eliminator on the May 20 fight card in Las Vegas, but Pena’s injury allowed Aldana to enter as an opponent here instead. She has posted four consecutive stoppage victories and four of five wins overall since her debut, giving her plenty of experience to match up well against Nunes on her feet.
With all due respect to Pena, this matchup is more intriguing: It’s brand new and fresh; Aldana may present challenges that increase intrigue surrounding this contest; in 2023 alone we have already witnessed Mexican fighters such as Yair Rodriguez and Alexa Grasso compete for UFC gold; now Aldana could make history as yet another Mexican champion!
Nunes is too good not to win this fight, but the -350 odds make this a bad value bet. I will take Nunes on points at +310
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