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Horse Racing UFC 289 Amanda Nunes vs Irene Aldana Best Bet: The Lioness Stands Tall
UFC 289 Amanda Nunes vs Irene Aldana Best Bet: Saturday, June 10th
UFC 289 takes place this weekend in Vancouver’s Rogers Arena, and the main event will feature a title fight in the Women’s Bantamweight division between Amanda Nunes and Irene Aldana.
Nunes has made 6 successful title defences so far in this division, but the challenger is poised to win her first-ever title shot. The bookmakers are expectedly favouring Nunes to get the job done, but MMA experts are calling this her toughest test yet.
Have a look below for our analysis of the fight and a pair of best value bets for the main event of UFC 289.
In this article:
UFC 289 Amanda Nunes vs Irene Aldana Preview
Sun, Jun 11th. 04:00 (UK time)
Amanda ‘The Lioness’ Nunes is firmly back on the throne of the UFC Bantamweight division after her unanimous decision victory against Julianna Pena. She lost her title back in late 2021 against the ‘Venezuelan Vixen’ via submission, but she returned looking better than ever, landing 6 takedowns and winning the striking battle decisively.
Amanda Nunes has been the most dominant force in women’s MMA over the past decade and for good reason. Her striking technique and power are unmatched and her grappling is always a deadly weapon, landing 2.61 takedowns per 15 with a brown belt in Judo as well as a black belt in BJJ. Nunes boasts an MMA record of 22-5 as well as 13 career KO/TKO victories.
The challenger, Irene Aldana is heading into this fight following a KO win over Macy Chiasson. She was losing the fight up until landing an up-kick right in the liver of her opponent. She is 4-1 over the last 4 years and this will be her first time fighting for UFC gold.
Aldana’s primary fighting focus has always been striking, landing 5.39 strikes per minute, as well as 8 career KO/TKO victories. Her wrestling has always been an issue, although we have seen significant improvements in her defensive grappling. She allowed 3 takedowns in her most recent fight against an opponent who isn’t as good as Nunes, and her takedown defence will be a huge focus point in this one.
UFC 289 Amanda Nunes vs Irene Aldana Best Bet
Nunes is coming into this one as a big favourite at 1.32 odds while Aldana is available at 3.68. However, this isn’t as big of a discrepancy as we are used to seeing in Nunes’ fights, and a lot of pundits are calling this fight the toughest yet for the current champion.
I disagree. Although Aldana has made a lot of progress during her UFC tenure, she has yet to win a 5-round event. Nunes has very dangerous kicks as well as excellent offensive striking pressure. Aldana can do some damage off the back foot, but if her takedown defence isn’t at 100%, this will be a long 5-rounder.
We expect Nunes to come into this fight with some leg kicks from long rage, followed by some power shots in the pocket. Eventually, Nunes will start hunting for takedowns and when she lands them, it will be game over.
- Selection: Nunes by KO/TKO
- Best Odds: 2.75 (Unibet)
- Stakes: 1/10
- Bonus: Nunes by Decision at 4.10 odds @ Unibet and 1/10 stakes.
Odds as at 2:00 pm on June 7th, 2023. Odds may now differ.
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