''UFC 289: Nunes vs. Aldana'' was a

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, inc ...

event produced by the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

that took place on June 10, 2023, at the

Rogers Arena Rogers Arena is a multi-purpose arena located at 800 Griffiths Way in the downtown area of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Opened in 1995, the arena was known as General Motors Place (GM Place) from its opening until July 6, 2010, when Ge ...

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

, Canada.

Background

The event marked the promotion's 32nd overall visit to Canada and sixth to Vancouver, returning to the country for the first time since UFC Fight Night: Cowboy vs. Gaethje in September 2019. A

UFC Women's Bantamweight Championship Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships. Historical notes At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight classe ...

trilogy bout between current two-time champion (also current UFC Women's Featherweight Champion)

Amanda Nunes Amanda Lourenço Nunes (born May 30, 1988) is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist. She competes in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where she is the current UFC Women's Featherweight Champion and two-time UFC Women's Bantamw ...

and former champion (also The Ultimate Fighter: Team Rousey vs. Team Tate bantamweight winner)

Julianna Peña Julianna Nicole Peña (born August 19, 1989) is an American professional mixed martial artist who competes in the bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, where she is the former UFC Women's Bantamweight Champion. Peña is th ...

was expected to headline the event. However on May 2, Peña pulled out due to broken ribs and was replaced by

Irene Aldana Irene Robles Aldana (born March 26, 1988) is a Mexican professional mixed martial artist. She currently competes in the Women’s Bantamweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of May 23, 2022, she is #4 in the UFC women ...

, who was scheduled to headline UFC Fight Night: Dern vs. Hill in a rematch against former title challenger

Raquel Pennington Raquel Len Pennington (born September 5, 1988) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in Ultimate Fighting Championship women's featherweight division. She has previously fought for Invicta Fighting Championships. As of May 23, 2022, ...

. The latter served as a backup for the title bout. A lightweight bout between former

UFC Lightweight Champion Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships. Historical notes At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight classe ...

Charles Oliveira Charles Oliveira da Silvahttp://boxing.nv.gov/uploadedFiles/boxingnvgov/content/results/2014_Results/12-12-14MMA.pdf (born October 17, 1989) is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist and Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner. He currently comp ...

and

Beneil Dariush Beneil Khobier Dariush (born May 6, 1989) is an Assyrian-American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Lightweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of October 24, 2022, he is #4 in the UFC lightw ...

took place as the co-main event. They were originally booked at

UFC 288 ''UFC 288: Sterling vs. Cejudo'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on May 6, 2023, at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Background The event marked the promotion's ninth visi ...

, but Oliveira withdrew due to injury. A middleweight bout between

Chris Curtis Chris Curtis (born Christopher Crummey; 26 August 1941 – 28 February 2005) was an English drummer and singer who was best known for being with the 1960s Beat music, beat band The Searchers (band), The Searchers. He originated the concept be ...

and

Nassourdine Imavov Nasourdin Abdoulazimovitch Imavov (born March 1, 1995) is a French mixed martial artist who competes in the Middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. As of April 11, 2023, he is #12 in the UFC middleweight rankings. Backgro ...

took place at the event. The two fighters were scheduled to face each other pre-UFC at ARES FC 2 in October 2020, but the event was canceled due to

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

complications. A welterweight bout between former

UFC Welterweight Championship Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships. Historical notes At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight classe ...

challenger Stephen Thompson and

Michel Pereira Michel Pereira (born 6 October 1993) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist currently competing as a Welterweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional competitor since 2011, he formerly competed for 300 Sparta, Akhmat Fight Club, ...

was expected for this event. However, contracts were never signed and the bout is expected to take place at UFC 291 instead.

Matt Schnell Matthew Christopher Schnell (born January 15, 1990) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Flyweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Schnell formerly competed for Legacy Fighting Alli ...

and

David Dvořák David Dvořák (born June 5, 1992) is a Czech mixed martial artist. A professional since 2010, he currently competes in the Flyweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of December 19, 2022, he is #10 in the UFC flyweight ...

were scheduled to meet in a flyweight bout on the preliminary card. However, Schnell pulled out due to injury and was replaced by Stephen Erceg. A featherweight bout between

Hakeem Dawodu Hakeem Tyrone Dawodu (born July 2, 1991) is a Canadian mixed martial artist, currently signed to Ultimate Fighting Championship and fights in the Featherweight division. He previously competed for the World Series of Fighting. Early life Dawodu ...

and Lucas Almeida was expected to take place at the event. However, the bout was scrapped for unknown reasons and Almeida was instead scheduled to face

Pat Sabatini Patrick Daniel Sabatini (born November 9, 1990) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Born and raised in Bristol, Pennsylvania, Sabatini initially played ...

at UFC on ESPN: Vettori vs. Cannonier.

Chris Daukaus Chris Daukaus (; born September 25, 1989) is an American mixed martial artist and former police officer who competes in the Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He is the older brother of former UFC fighter Kyle Daukaus. ...

was expected to make his light heavyweight debut against

Khalil Rountree Jr. Khalil Ibn Rountree Jr. (born February 26, 1990) is an American mixed martial artist who currently competes in the light heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Background Rountree was born in Los Angeles, California. ...

at the event. However, Daukaus withdrew in early June due to injury. The bout was rescheduled for UFC on ESPN: Luque vs. dos Anjos.

Results

Bonus awards

The following fighters received $50,000 bonuses. *Fight of the Night: Marc-Andre Barriault vs. Eryk Anders *Performance of the Night: Charles Oliveira, Mike Malott, and Stephen Erceg

References

{{2023 in mixed martial arts Ultimate Fighting Championship flagship events 2023 in mixed martial arts Sports competitions in Vancouver June 2023 sports events in Canada 2023 in sports in British Columbia Mixed martial arts in Canada

Background

Results

Bonus awards

See also

References