UFC 289: Nunes vs. Aldana Fight Card Odds and Picks

Last Updated on June 8, 2023 6:10 pm by Erwin Noguera

The UFC is taking a trip to Vancouver, Canada, as we get an exciting fight card for a Numbered Event, which will have a title clash as a main event when the Females step in to fight for the Bantamweight Title.

This event will be taking place in the Rogers Arena, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with 11 fights for all fans to enjoy,

We are not only getting an exciting co-main event fight with Charles Oliveira and Beneil Dariush, but we have an exciting fight with fresh blood as Mike Malott clash with Adam Fugitt.

We also get clashes with Seasoned fighters, as Dan Ige faces Nate Landwehr. That means we have a lot to cover on what is an exciting event, so let's get ready to break down what will be taking place this Saturday afternoon.

You can check all the UFC/MMA bets, the analysis of each fighter, and the final bet you can make in this fight.

When:

Saturday, June 3rd, at 6:00 pm ET

Moneyline odds:

Amanda Nunes vs. Irene Aldana +237

Charles Oliveira +118 vs. Beneil Dariush -151

Mike Malott +160 vs. Adam Fugitt -208

Dan Ige +198 vs. Nate Landwehr -263

Eryk Anders +112 vs. Marc-Andre Barriault -142

Nassourdine Imavov -161 vs. Chris Curtis +126

Jasmine Jasudavicius +240 vs. Miranda Maverick -322

Aiemann Zahabi -106 vs. Aoriqileng -119

Blake Bilder -256 / Kyle Nelson +192

David Dvořák -285 / Steve Erceg +216

Diana Belbiţă -114 / Maria Oliveira -109

Where can I watch it?

UFC Fight Pass

Nunes (22-5) is universally regarded as the top female fighter in MMA history, and her journey is well-documented. She went 7-3 in her first 10 professional fights but then rose to prominence behind a run in the UFC that has gone unmatched.

Nunes came out flat and was upset by an inspired Julianna Pena at UFC 269 in December 2021. However, the 35-year-old earned her revenge and reclaimed the bantamweight belt with a dominant decision against Pena in their rematch at UFC 277 last July.

A trilogy match against Pena was originally scheduled for the main event on Saturday, but Julianna had to withdraw due to an injury suffered in training camp. Now the champion welcomes the Mexican challenge as she stays active in defending one of her belts.

Aldana (14-6) lost her first two UFC fights by close decisions before winning five of her next six to emerge as a legitimate title contender. The 35-year-old Mexican fighter is widely regarded as one of the best boxers in the women's game to go along with a serviceable ground game. Her durability and resilience have often drawn comparisons to Nunes.

At this point, it's clear Nunes has the tools to beat anybody at bantamweight or featherweight. She's proved that by making almost everyone she's fought look average. Still, it's hard to shake the feeling she has one foot out the door—even if she looked refocused in her rematch with Peña.

While Aldana will be at a technical disadvantage in most phases of this fight, she is the sharper boxer of the two women on paper, and she has plenty of knockout power to boot. And after she watched Grasso dethrone Shevchenko at flyweight earlier this year—an accomplishment on par with beating Nunes—she knows the upset is possible.

The Nunes we last saw on the cage was a far more motivated one than we had seen in her most recent loss, and if we see that level of motivation again, she should add yet another successful title defense to her name.

Former lightweight champion Charles Oliveira has not competed since his title loss to Islam Makhachev in October of last year. Since then there has been a developing doubt about if the Brazilian can recapture his greatness over the last few years. At UFC 289 he will look towards doing so, and against a high-level foe.

Dariush is in his best version heading into Saturday and is in the midst of an eight-fight win streak. However, during that hot run, he has never faced an opponent like the one he faces now. While he has what it takes to win this fight, he will need to make no mistakes to come out on top.

Oliveira's lopsided loss to Makhachev last year distracted a lot of people from everything he has accomplished over the last few years. Let's not forget he beat Justin Gaethje, Dustin Poirier, and Michael Chandler at the end of his 11-fight win streak.

We can, however, question Dariush's level of competition during his current eight-fight unbeaten run. His best win was against Mateusz Gamrot and although he was really good in that fight, it's hard for us to point to it and say that will be enough against someone like Oliveira.

Canadian prospect Mike Malott is getting a surprising main card slot against Adam Fugitt in what is likely a showcase opportunity from the UFC. "Proper" has been impressive in his two Octagon appearances and scored first-round finishes in both bouts.

There's a lot to like about Fugitt. He's got good size, veteran confidence and presence, and underrated power and wrestling. He's also not a great athlete and is already 34 despite being just two fights into his UFC career.

This should be a terrific bout, though, regardless of how familiar viewers are with either competitor. Ten of Malott's 11 fights have ended in the first round, while 10 of Fugitt's 12 have resulted in a finish. Don't expect this to last long.

That said, we are counting on Malott's quick starts, outstanding submission game, and the Canadian crowd to overwhelm Fugitt early.

Dan Ige is at a bit of a crossroads in his career, having lost four of his last six, but those losses came against Calvin Kattar, Josh Emmett, Korean Zombie, and Movsar Evloev who are all top featherweights. He is one win removed from a three-fight skid, and another loss will just about kill his dreams of fighting for the featherweight title in his lifetime.

Landwehr isn't the mindless bruiser he's often made out to be. There's intelligence in his approach. And once he gets flowing, he's difficult to stop, much like his nickname of "The Train" would indicate. However, it takes him a bit to get going. Both his UFC losses were first-round finishes, not to mention being knocked down in the first round against David Onama.

The big concern about Landwehr is that he gets wild at times, making it easy to get caught by someone with precise power like Ige. The latter should be able to pull this one out, but we are betting it goes the distance. The Hawaiian has some good knockouts on his record, but he's not exactly Edson Barboza, and Landwehr has proved he can take a shot.

Barriault and Anders may not be huge names, but they’ve both been involved in some fun scraps over the years, and they will probably start this PPV with a bang. Eryk has fought the superior competition—largely a product of the fact that he's been in the UFC for longer—but Marc-Andre is the better pick at this point. He can wrestle, and he has proved he has the skill and killer instinct to end fights on the feet and the mat. He will probably have a tough time finishing a durable veteran like Anders, but he should be able to convince the judges over three rounds.

Nassourdine Imavov (12-4) put together a 4-1 UFC start to earn his first-ever main event slot in Jan. 2023. When Kelvin Gastelum withdrew due to injury, Sean Strickland took his place, resulting in "Russian Sniper's" second Octagon defeat.

Chris Curtis (30-10) roared onto the UFC scene with consecutive wins over Phil Hawes, Brendan Allen, and Rodolfo Vieira. He now sits at 1-2 in his last three, including a "Fight of the Night" decision loss to Chris Curtis in April 2023. "The Action Man" has knocked out 15 professional opponents and submitted three others.

In Imavov's fight with Strickland, it was baffling to see how quickly he ran out of ideas. He looked decently sharp early but spent most of the last four rounds fruitlessly headhunting. It's not like there's any particular depth to Strickland's one-two combinations, so while Curtis has been out-maneuvered in the past, it's easy to see him bullying Nassourdine into the kind of close-quarters slugfest he thrives in.

Curtis’ slow start could potentially doom him once again, but he should be tough enough to weather the early storm and take over once Imavov's technique begins to devolve. In short, he punishes "Russian Sniper's" midsection to return to the win column.

After grinding her way past Kay Hansen in her UFC debut, Jasmine Jasudavicius (8-2) fell short in a clash of Contender Series graduates against Natalia Silva. Next came Brazilian striker Gabriella Fernandes, whom Jasudavicius out-wrestled to earn her second Octagon decision victory.

A bogus decision loss to Maycee Barber and an indisputable one to Erin Blanchfield left Miranda Maverick (13-4) with an even split (2-2) in the world's largest mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion going into 2022. Her efforts last year proved more fruitful, resulting in one-sided victories over Sabina Mazo and Shanna Young. Her seven professional finishes include six by submission.

This seems like a god-awful style matchup for Jasudavicius. She's too slow and lumbering to keep up with Maverick on the feet and is woefully out-classed on the mat. Though Miranda has struggled with persistent takedown artists in the past, Jasmine's wrestling is a step below the likes of Gillian Robertson and Erin Blanchfield.

Jasudavicius is heavily reliant on being able to control her opponents from the top, which she lacks the skills to do against a wrestler of Maverick's caliber. In the end, expect "Fear The" to run circles around her taller foe, pot-shotting in the standup and racking up takedowns to secure a one-sided victory.

Six consecutive first-round finishes earned Aiemann Zahabi (9-2) a spot in the Octagon in 2017. He's fought just five times in the last seven years, though he does make the walk this Saturday amid a two-fight win streak that saw him upset Drako Rodriguez and Ricky Turcios. Five of his seven stoppages came via knockout, three of those in less than a half-round.

Qileng Aori (20-9) struggled his way to a winless (0-2) UFC start highlighted by his bonus-winning debut war with Jeff Molina. A subsequent move to 135 pounds paid quick dividends, resulting in back-to-back wins over Cameron Else and Jay Perrin.

Neither Else nor Perrin managed to secure a victory during their respective UFC tenures; beating them says very little about Aoriqileng's abilities. Still, this looks like a doable task.

Zahabi lacks the wrestling to exploit Aoriqileng's most prominent weakness and isn't likely to overwhelm him with technique on the feet. The latter's berserker style may be one-note, but it's damn effective when you can't reliably take him down or out-maneuver him.

While Aiemann did manage to completely shut down another come-forward aggressor in Ricky Turcios, Aoriqileng figures to be far more determined in his pursuit, and will overwhelm his rival with volume en route to a decision win.

Four months after knocking out Regivaldo Carvalho for CFFC gold, Blake Bilder (8-0-1) choked out Alex Morgan on Contender Series to earn a UFC contract. His promotional debut pitted him against Shane Young, whom Bilder out-worked to a decision victory.

Kyle Nelson (13-5-1) made his way to the Octagon amid a six-fight win streak, stepping up on short notice to battle the surging Diego Ferreira at UFC 231. "The Monster" currently finds himself 1-4-1 in UFC, most recently battling Doo Ho Choi to a majority draw in Feb. 2023 thanks to a bizarre point deduction.

His professional finishes are split 5:4 between knockouts and submissions.

This one boils down to whether Bilder can escape the first round. Nelson packs enough of a punch to crack the first's questionable chin and is a strong wrestler to boot, but tends to slow down dramatically as fights progress. So long as Blake doesn't get clipped by an overhand right, he's golden. Indeed, he's too sharp on the ground for Kyle to finish him there, and even if the latter does have a takedown advantage early, that should even up once the gas tank starts to flag.

Again, it would not be shocking at all to see Nelson lamp Bilder before the latter can get any momentum going. Considering his complete inability to fix his cardio no matter how many times it fails him, though, odds are that he once again flamed out and allows Blake to grapple and potshot his way to victory in the latter two rounds.

David Dvorak (20-5) extended his win streak, which dated back to 2012, to 16 with three consecutive Octagon victories. An attempted jump into contention proved too ambitious, resulting in back-to-back decision losses to Matheus Nicolau and Manel Kape. His professional finishes are split evenly between knockouts and submissions.

Steven Erceg (9-1) proved himself the peak of Australia's Flyweight scene with eight straight wins and a reign as Eternal MMA champion. He was slated to make his UFC debut against Contender Series graduate, Clayton Carpenter, in March 2023, but missed his chance when Carpenter withdrew. Now "Astro Boy" steps in for Matt Schnell on less than two weeks’ notice.

Erceg had a great shot of upsetting Carpenter, possessing both the counter-striking to punish the second's poor striking defense and the submission skills to capitalize on his shaky wrestling. Dvořák also gets hit too often, so a quick club-and-sub from Erceg wouldn't be surprising. That said, David also hits a heck of a lot harder than Carpenter, and his heavy right-hand looks to synergize painfully with Steve's tendency to keep his own left low.

On top of that, Dvořák is incredibly difficult to finish and Erceg has slowed down before, so things will rapidly go downhill for the latter if the first-round stoppage isn't there. In the end, expect "Astro Boy" to rock David early, but fail to capitalize and ultimately succumb to the Pole's power down the stretch.

Diana Belbita (14-7) kicked off her UFC tenure with consecutive losses to Molly McCann and Liana Jojua, the latter of whom caught "Warrior Princess" in an armbar to hand her a fourth career submission defeat. She finally reached the scoreboard by beating down Hannah Goldy one year later but fell short in a subsequent striking battle with Gloria de Paula. She fights for the first time in nearly 16 months.

Two years after a technical knockout loss to Marina Rodriguez on Contender Series, Maria Oliveira (13-6) made her first Octagon walk, dropping a decision to countrywoman, Tabatha Ricci, at UFC APEX. She's since scored a controversial decision over Gloria de Paula and fallen short against fellow Contender Series alum, Vanessa Demopoulos, five months later. Seven of her professional wins have come via knockout.

As promising as Belbiţă is, she still needs to tighten up her grappling and improve her ability to hunt down elusive opponents if she wants to become a contender. Oliveira is a willing scrapper, and luckily for Diana, "Warrior Princess" has a clear edge in punching power and durability.

Belbiţă throws enough volume that Oliveira can't expect to out-land her, and if they exchange for any length of time, the first will figure out how to do quite a bit more damage. In short, Diana punishes Maria's awkward blitzes with power punches and body shots to secure either a decision or mid-round stoppage.