Amanda Nunes ended her career on a high note, dominating Irene Aldana for five rounds in the UFC 289 main event.
Irene Aldana attempted to become the fourth Mexican fighter to hold at least a piece of a UFC championship against Amanda Nunes, replacing Julianna Peña as the challenger for the women’s bantamweight championship at UFC 289.
Aldana had enough time to do an almost-complete training camp – one which came with the help of now UFC women’s flyweight champion and her Lobos MMA teammate Alexa Grasso – but the aura and physical ability of the current GOAT of women’s MMA would be tough to overcome.
The first round saw the GWOAT mostly out-strike Aldana, utilizing her jab and kicks well. Nunes was able to take down her foe but did not jump on top, letting Aldana back to her feet. Aldana mostly was low-volume but did hurt Amanda with a counter straight right at the very end of the round.
Aldana continued to keep her hands high in the second round, stifling the power shots of Nunes for the most part. However, she refused to let her hands go for the and was again out-pointed comfortably. Nunes shot and landed a big takedown in the last twenty seconds but the round was otherwise without major events, though was not without action.
The third round started and Amanda increased her output, pushing Aldana back. After that though, she got back to fighting at a comfortable, consistent pace where she out-landed Irene. Two minutes into the round Nunes landed a takedown and got into a strong top half-guard position. It took a minute but Aldana was finally able to start building back to her feet, until Nunes countered with a mat return. Aldana got up again but Nunes grabbed a rear body-lock, dragged her opponent to the mat, and got two hooks in on the back. Aldana was then able to shake Nunes off the top and they got back to striking. Aldana threw more offense late in the round but Nunes staggered her in the closing seconds with an overhand right followed by a knee.
The championship rounds started with Nunes pressing forward once again and out-landing Aldana. One minute in, the champ landed a big elbow that rocked Irene, but her chin held up as it did all fight long. Halfway through the round, Amanda landed a takedown again, but like the first round she let Aldana stand back up. The rest of the round was more of Nunes consistently being the better striker, landing big shots while Aldana stayed in her shell.
Nunes stayed dominant in the final round. Amanda got a takedown in the opening thirty seconds. She was able to stay on top, in full guard, and land some short ground strikes for the rest of the round. With two minutes left Nunes passed to full mount but Aldana regained half guard, which was the position in which the fight ended, as Amanda opened up more and landed power.
It appeared to be a complete domination and that was confirmed as the judges gave Amanda ‘The Lioness’ Nunes a shutout on the scorecards. All of them gave her every round; two gave her a 10-8 round while the other gave her two 10-8 rounds.
Amanda asked the cutman to come into the Octagon to remove her gloves. Once he did, she laid down both of her belts in the center of the cage and followed it with her gloves. Fans in Vancouver got to witness a historic moment as the current greatest fighter in women’s MMA history retired before them, signaling the end of a legendary, Hall of Fame career.
She spoke of wanting to spend more time her family: her wife Nina Ansaroff, her daughter Reagan, and her family back home in Brazil, as well. Amanda was classy as always, thanking the fans and the people who supported her in her career, and encouraging other Brazilian fighters to step up, to become champions in her absence.
Amanda Nunes def. Irene Aldana by Unanimous Decision (50-44 x2, 50-43)
