UFC 289
| Industry | Mixed martial arts promotion |
|---|---|
| Founded | November 12, 1993 |
| Headquarters | Las Vegas , United States |
| Products | Mixed martial arts events |
| Website | www |
UFC 289: Nunes vs. Aldana was a mixed martial arts competition organized by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on June 10, 2023, hosted at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Background
This event represented the UFC's 32nd appearance in Canada and its sixth visit to Vancouver, returning after nearly four years since the last event held in September 2019.
The headline bout was a trilogy contest for the UFC Women's Bantamweight Championship, featuring two-time titleholder and reigning UFC Women's Featherweight Champion Amanda Nunes against challenger Irene Aldana, who stepped in for the injured former champion Julianna Peña. Former title contender Raquel Pennington was designated as the alternate for this championship match.
The co-main attraction showcased a lightweight matchup between ex-UFC Lightweight Champion Charles Oliveira and Beneil Dariush, postponed from UFC 288 due to Oliveira’s earlier injury.
Additional significant contests included a middleweight fight between Chris Curtis and Nassourdine Imavov, initially planned for ARES FC 2 in 2020 but canceled amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
A welterweight fight involving former challenger Stephen Thompson and Michel Pereira was deferred to UFC 291 after contract negotiations failed to conclude in time.
In the flyweight category, Matt Schnell withdrew because of injury, with debutant Stephen Erceg stepping in to face David Dvořák.
A featherweight matchup between Hakeem Dawodu and Lucas Almeida was called off; Almeida was later matched against Pat Sabatini at a different event.
Chris Daukaus was scheduled to make his light heavyweight debut versus Khalil Rountree Jr., but an injury forced his withdrawal, postponing their encounter to a future UFC card.
Results
{{MMAevent bout |Middleweight |Nassourdine Imavov |vs. |Chris Curtis |No Contest (accidental clash of heads) |2 |3:04 |} }
{{MMAevent bout |Women's Strawweight |Diana Belbiţă |def. |Maria Oliveira |Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 29–28) |} }
Bonus awards
Participants were granted $50,000 bonuses as follows:
- Fight of the Night: Marc-André Barriault vs. Eryk Anders
- Performance of the Night: Charles Oliveira, Mike Malott, and Steve Erceg