The injury bug continues to hit the UFC hard this week. UFC 289 has now lost its original main event, the trilogy bout between Julianna Peña and Amanda Nunes.
Dana White announced today on Twitter that Peña is out with broken ribs. White did not state if the injury was related to training. Peña defeated Nunes at UFC 269 via rear naked choke. Nunes would win the second bout at UFC 277 via unanimous decision.
Replacing Peña is 5th ranked bantamweight, Irene Aldana (14-6). Aldana had a rough start in the UFC, her first win didn’t come until her third bout. Her total UFC record is 7-4, with most wins coming by KO and submission. Aldana will be coming in with a slight reach and height advantage, but the odds of that being a factor are low. Nunes has fought and beat fighters that were bigger threats in all phases of a fight.
The math that went into making this match is a little complicated and goes deeper than rankings. Nunes has already beaten Holly Holm and Raquel Pennington, who are currently ranked 3rd and 2nd. Even though they’re ranked higher than Aldana, the way they lost to Nunes likely delayed their rematches. They would also want a full fight camp before getting in the cage with Nunes a second time. Pennington and Holm have also fought each other, with Holm pulling out the decision victory. Irene Aldana has a win over Ketlan Viera, who also has a win over Raquel Pennington. And Viera also lost to Holm.
Breaking news………… pic.twitter.com/pNvr9Qo3I2
— danawhite (@danawhite) May 3, 2023
UFC 289: Nunes vs Aldana is June 10th in Vancouver, Canada.
