UFC — Jun 9, 2023

UFC 289: Nunes vs Aldana - Pick, Prediction & Favorite Prop Bets

By 
@OddsSmokerSteve
WagerWire Contributor

The UFC will be making its return to Canada tomorrow for the first time since 2019 with UFC 289 taking place in Vancouver. The card currently has eleven scheduled fights and will be headlined by Amanda Nunes and Irene Aldana for the UFC Women’s Bantamweight title. Let’s take a deeper look at the two fighters in the main event and how things could play out:

The Fighters

Amanda Nunes is 22-5 with 17 of her wins coming via stoppage and she is the only current two-division champion on the promotion’s roster. She has won 13 of her last 14 fights, including regaining the Bantamweight title in her last fight against Julianna Pena (Nunes’ only loss during that stretch came to Pena in their first meeting). Nunes is pound-for-pound one of the best female athletes in combat sports and she’ll be looking to add another jewel to her title with a win over Aldana this weekend.

Irene Aldana is 14-6 with 11 wins coming via stoppage and has won four of her last five fights, with the last three coming via KO/TKO. She’s currently ranked #5 in the Bantamweight division and received her shot at the title by stepping into this fight for Pena, who was originally scheduled to face Nunes in a trilogy fight at this event before having to drop out due to injury. Aldana is a more than capable replacement who has had plenty of time to prepare for the event and should be a worthy opponent for Nunes in this spot.

Prediction

This should be an entertaining matchup between two fighters who pack plenty of stopping power with a combined 21 wins on their resumes coming via KO/TKO. While Aldana will certainly be a threat to Nunes on the feet early, particularly with a nasty left hook in her arsenal, I think this fight will significantly lean towards Nunes’ favor after the opening minutes. Aldana is 5-6 when she has gone past the opening round, and she was soundly beaten by Holly Holm in her only five-round UFC experience.

Meanwhile, Nunes has a wealth of 25 minute experience in the UFC and will be the more well-rounded fighter in this matchup. She will likely look to mix in takedowns with her striking and try to work this fight to the ground early. Although Aldana has shown pretty solid takedown defense overall in her UFC career, she’s been taken down eight times in her past three fights. If Nunes has that type of success with her wrestling in this fight, I think she will get Aldana out of there sometime in the middle rounds via a ground and pound TKO.

Pick: Amanda Nunes (-340)

Favorite Props: Nunes by KO/TKO or on Points (-190), Nunes by KO/TKO (+140), Nunes by KO/TKO in R2/3/4 (+370)

Current Odds via FanDuel Sportsbook



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