The pair found Dumont entering on a strong four-fight win streak that included a victory over former 145lb champ Germaine de Randamie.

Dumont flashed some stance switches in the opening round, while Aldana walked the Brazilian down. Dumont did a lot of circling, picking her moments, at times launching into short combos. Dumont’s right hand landed more than once, but Aldana’s forward momentum felt ever-present. Her left hook found a home, as did a kick, but Dumont’s low kicks were a more frequent occurrence through the first five minutes of the bantamweight fight. Dumont arguably had the edge in round one.

The forward march continued for Aldana in round two, with neither woman showing a real interest in taking the fight to the mat. Aldana fired her overhand right, but just past the midway mark it was Dumont firing back with a combo that saw the pace pick up, more heat behind those shots. As Aldana tried to close the distance, Dumont was landing with solid timing. The pace really picked up in the final minute, after which Aldana’s forehead was split open off a clash of heads, blood pouring out and flowing down her face and neck.

Aldana would need to deal with that blood in the third, though she kept walking forward as she had throughout the night. They finally came together in a clinch near the midway mark, Dumont actually seeking a takedown she ultimately couldn’t land as Aldana turned up the heat. Aldana, meanwhile, would land an elbow that bloodied Dumont, and left her with swelling and bruising to one side of the face. Still, Dumont held her own, answering back and negating Aldana’s reach advantage.

The bloody affair went the distance in the end, with 30-27 scores awarded to Dumont by all three judges.

Official Result: Norma Dumont def. Irene Aldana by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

The post UFC 306: Norma Dumont Wins Bloody Battle with Irene Aldana appeared first on Cageside Press.

The women’s bantamweight bout between Irene Aldana and Karol Rosa hadn’t exactly screamed fire on paper. Aldana was fresh off a loss to Amanda Nunes at UFC 289 in June in a failed title bid; Rosa had been trading wins and losses and was returning to 135lbs.

Yet as the fight got underway, Rosa quickly showed off a smart game plan, chopping at the legs of the ex-title challenger. Aldana, eating some nasty leg kicks, stood firm, eventually getting her boxing going and busting up the face of Rosa— while being bloodied herself.

Aldana, with two prior Fight of the Night bonuses to her name, would go on to win a unanimous decision with triplicate 29-28 scores. She now owns three Fight of the Night and two Performance of the Night bonuses since arriving in the UFC in 2016. For Rosa, though defeated, the bonus money should soften the blow.

Three Performance of the Night bonuses were awarded at UFC 296, as Shamil Gaviev, Ariane Lipski, and Josh Emmett all collected. Emmett’s knockout of Bryce Mitchell came with such force that the Arkansas native was left convulsing on the mat afterwards, in a frightening scene. While he eventually came to and was able to stand, wobbly legs required him to be escorted from the cage with assistance; a lengthy medical suspension is no doubt in Mitchell’s future.

Emmett, meanwhile, remains one of the most hard-hitting featherweights in the business. As for Lipski, the “Queen of Violence” lived up to her moniker in the best performance of her UFC run, as she put on a one-sided drubbing of Casey O’Neill that ended with an arm-bar submission.

Heavyweight Gaziev opened the UFC 296 card with a TKO finish of Martin Buday. All four bonuses winning fighters will pocket an extra $50,000 on top of their show/win money.

The post Aldana vs. Rosa Thriller Collects Fight of the Night at UFC 296 appeared first on Cageside Press.

Rosa, coming off a July win over Yana Santos, had been trading wins and losses across her last several fights.

The opening minute of the preliminary card fight saw little action, with Aldana keeping her guard high and tight. Rosa found some success with her leg kicks, something that would continue throughout the round, and would be worth keeping an eye on. Before two minutes had passed, Aldana, showing redness on her lead leg, was nearly taken off her feet by a kick. And given Aldana’s boxing-first approach, those kicks were preventing her from getting off any offense.

Through the first half of the round, Rosa’s game plan was working to perfection. Irene Aldana began incorporating more lateral movement, while trying to change her angles on the way in and avoid those kicks. Despite that, Aldana nearly had her legs taken out from under her again with just over 90 seconds left on the clock. Not a great start for the recent title challenger, who was reacting to even slight touches to her leg as time went on. Rosa capped off the round hurting Aldana, and clipping her with a head kick.

Karol Rosa went right back to work early in round two, firing a combination capped off with a leg kick, soon adding several more. Inside and out, the leg kicks kept coming. Aldana stood pat, relying solely on her boxing, not attempting any takedowns. A right hand landed for Aldana, her best strike of the fight, and suddenly Rosa was on the defensive. When Rosa slipped off an Aldana jab, Irene opted not to try to get on top — an interesting choice, given all the damage those legs had taken. But Karol Rosa was showing damage around one eye herself. And Aldana was connecting more and more.

After a rough first round, a comeback second including a crisp uppercut late in the frame had Irene Aldana back in it.

Aldana went back to work with her uppercut early in round three, while Rosa pressed forward, looking to land more kicks. Aldana then connected to the body, which hurt Rosa, who was suddenly backpedaling. The mouse under Rosa’s eye now had a bloody red tail as well; Aldana’s own face was a mask of red. With neither woman able to find a finish, the bout went to the scorecards, with Irene Aldana taking home the win in a clear candidate for Fight of the Night.

Following her victory, Aldana revealed she had come into the fight with a knee injury.

Official Result: Irene Aldana def. Karol Rosa by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

The post UFC 296: Irene Aldana Gets Past Karol Rosa in Bloody, Electrifying War appeared first on Cageside Press.

Topped by Amanda Nunes taking on Irene Aldana, a surprise retirement by “The Lioness” following a dominant victory over the challenger leaves the Mexican bantamweight in an interesting spot. We’ll play matchmaker and try to sort out what comes next.

Irene Aldana

Aldana will likely be disappointed with her low-output performance in her title challenge against Amanda Nunes, but this fight also just showed how many levels above the rest of the division Nunes is – or rather, was, now that she is retiring. With that retirement making the women’s bantamweight belt vacant, Aldana is not too far out of the title picture even after such a poor performance.

Julianna Pena and Raquel Pennington, the number one and two contenders, will likely face off next for the belt. Aldana is the fifth ranked contender, so one or two wins could put her right back in a title fight. Irene has already faced every fighter near her in the rankings: she lost to third-ranked Holly Holm but beat fourth, sixth, and eighth-ranked Ketlen Vieira, Yana Santos, and Macy Chiasson. Vieira is fighting seventh ranked Pannie Kianzad in July and the winner of that fight would be a perfect opponent for Aldana’s next fight.

Aldana’s Next Fight: Winner of Vieira vs Kianzad

Beneil Dariush

Beneil Dariush had won eight straight fights – including wins over Carlos Diego Ferreira, Tony Ferguson, and Mateusz Gamrot – before getting stopped in round one by number one contender Charles Oliveira at UFC 289. Dariush came so close to a title shot, only to be turned away at the last moment. He will be understandably upset, but he’s not done by any means just yet because of the interesting stylistic dynamic which would exit between him and champion Islam Makhachev.

Fighting this next week is the man who gave Islam his toughest test to date: Arman Tsarukyan. The ninth-ranked phenom is an incredible grappler and wrestler, with good striking to boot. Those traits are ones he shares with Dariush, which would make for another thrilling stylistic match-up between the two. Arman’s original ranked opponent, Renato Moicano, unfortunately had to pull out with injury. That left him to face unranked Joaquim Silva, who is talented but is being almost completely discounted in this fight – Tsarukyan is a -1100 favorite as of now. Assuming Tsarukyan does his job and beats Silva – which seems likely, though all MMA fans know nothing is certain – then him vs Dariush would be an amazing fight to make.

Dariush’s Next Fight: Winner of Tsarukyan vs Silva

Adam Fugitt

Adam Fugitt lost to the Canadian home crowd’s star boy Mike Malott at UFC 289. Fugitt fell to 1-2 in the UFC and will now look to get back to .500 and keep his job in the process. There are a bevy of inexperienced welterweights for Adam to fight in his next bout, but one potential option is Ange Loosa. Loosa lost his DWCS fight to now-ranked Jack Della Maddalena but made it into the UFC after one more win anyways. He is now 1-1 in the UFC, a position Fugitt was in before fighting Malott, and if the two fought it would have potential to be a big turning point in both men’s fight careers.

Fugitt’s Next Fight: Ange Loosa

Nate Landwehr

Nate ‘The Train’ Landwehr’s three-fight violent win streak was broken by ranked contender Dan Ige at UFC 289. Nate’s toughness was on full display, as always, as he made it to the scorecards despite being dropped multiple times and hurt badly. Nate will look to rebound against a fellow almost-ranked featherweight.

At UFC 288 last month, debutante Diego Lopes shocked the world when he almost submitted top-ranked, undefeated prospect Movsar Evloev. He lost the fight in the end, but he pushed Evloev to the limit and won ‘Fight of the Night’ honors for his performance. After showing he can hang with the top of the division like that, Lopes deserves a fight with a fringe-contender like Landwehr. The Mexican MMA pioneer could continue his momentum and set himself up for another shot at the rankings, as could Landwehr, with a win in this bout.

Landwehr’s Next Fight: Diego Lopes

Eryk Anders

Eryk ‘Ya Boi’ Anders looked as good as he had in years in his bout with Marc-Andre Barriault. He lost the fight by decision but won a ‘Fight of the Night’ bonus for the back-and-forth war. Coming into this fight Anders said he would fight five more times before retiring, which would put him at twenty total UFC fights. He will want to make these next four count.

Chidi Njokuani broke into the UFC by stopped Barriault in just sixteen seconds in his debut, but has fallen to 2-2 in the promotion now with two straight losses. Still, Chidi ‘Bang Bang’ always puts on a show, as evidenced by his three post-fight bonuses in four UFC fights. Both him and Anders are coming off of losses but are clearly able to put on exciting, diverse battles in the cage, and a fight between them would be on the pre-event shortlist for a bonus on any card.

Anders’ Next Fight: Chidi Njokuani

The post What’s Next: UFC 289 Losers appeared first on Cageside Press.

“(I knew I would retire) When I signed the contract for this fight. I tried to hide it from you guys the whole week, but like you guys looked like (you were) on top of it. I just didn’t want to focus on that,” Nunes told reporters including Cageside Press at her post-fight scrum on Saturday.

“I (didn’t) want to keep talking about retirement all the time, and I’m still talking. Imagine if I said yeah I’m going to retire. Would have been all about that.”

Now that it’s over Nunes has time to reflect on her legacy on how people will remember her time in the MMA.

“The greatest of all time. I did everything you know, I break a lot of records. Tonight I tied with Anderson Silva it’s amazing huh? So I’m very happy about that,” she said.

With no more actual fighting in her future ‘The Lioness’ will take a step back and run her gym where she has a couple of fighters training.

“I love this sport. I have my gym. I have a couple girls there and I love to help them to be able to succeed as well. I have a lot to offer, as a double champ I know a lot. We’re a team we work together, and I’ll be able to make a girl a champion too,” she said.

“If I really work with one girl I can make her a champion. I know everything about this game, mental and be good at it, do strategy. We’re really going to make a strong team in the future.”

Coaching aspirations aside Nunes will now take time off to heal, catch up with family, and help her wife Nina out with her pregnancy as the two are expecting their second child together.

“Right now I’m going to take a break. I’m going to go see my family in Brazil, and enjoy a little bit too my family at home. Nina’s pregnant too she needs a little break. She almost had a heart attack today in the hotel,” Nunes said laughing.

Nunes gave her partner all the credit for making her life easier as she continued to train and fight. Now it’s time to rest, relax, and prepare for their incoming child.

It’s also time to reflect on a long and successful career. The question was posed to her, if she could go back at tell her younger self who was leaving Brazil to head to the states to train and fight anything, what would she tell her?

“You make the right decision, girl,” Nunes laughed. “Good job and I’m so proud of you. You made the decision so young.”

Watch the entire post-fight scrum with Amanda Nunes above.

The post Amanda Nunes Reflects On Decision To Pursue MMA In The US, Talks Post-Career Plans appeared first on Cageside Press.

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)

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Coincidentally, that was the site of the promotion’s last trek to the Great White North, a Fight Night event taking place at the very same venue in September of 2019. That card was topped by a fan-friendly match-up between Justin Gaethje and Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone; UFC 289 has double-champ Amanda Nunes defending her title against Irene Aldana in the headliner.

That wasn’t always the plan, mind you, as the UFC had initially announced a trilogy fight between Nunes and rival Julianna Pena as this Saturday’s main event. A rib injury suffered by Pena foiled those plans, however, and afforded the opportunity for Aldana to secure the fourth UFC championship for Mexico in just six months.

The co-feature at UFC 289, meanwhile, sees ex-champ Charles Oliveira looking to stave off the surging Beneil Dariush, winner of his last eight fights. A lightweight title shot potentially hangs in the balance.

We’ve got our picks in for the Nunes vs. Aldana main card! Here’s who we see coming out on top.

Writer / Fight	Barriault vs. Anders	Ige vs. Landwehr	Malott vs. Fugitt	Oliveira vs. Dariush	Nunes vs. Aldana
Alex Behunin (58-34)
Val Dewar (54-33)
Jamie Theodosi (56-36)
Chris Prawdzik (55-37)
Jay Anderson (48-44)
Dylan Rush (44-48)
Eddie Law (43-49)
Cade Morehouse (4-7)

Surprisingly, there were no unanimous picks among our team when it comes to UFC 289’s main card. The closest thing to a lock was Mike Malott, the Canadian welterweight who has absolutely revelled in fighting at home all Fight Week long. Only one staff member sided with opponent Adam Fugitt in that bout.

Somewhat surprisingly, only two writers responding sided with Nate Landwehr in his featherweight showdown with Hawaiian Dan Ige. While Landwehr was the underdog with the bookies, he very much felt like a live one. Our team also sees Eryk Anders having the edge over Marc-Andre Barriault in their middleweight match-up, despite the “Power Bar” fighting at home.

The main and co-main events saw our team split 5-3 in favor of both ex-champ Charles Oliveira and current double-champ Amanda Nunes in their fights with Beneil Dariush and Irene Aldana.

The post UFC 289: Nunes vs. Aldana Main Card Staff Picks appeared first on Cageside Press.

48 SECONDS 🦁#OnThisDay in 2016: @Amanda_Leoa wasted NO time against Ronda Rousey!

Watch the Lioness' bouts back in full on @UFCFightPass! pic.twitter.com/J3TkoKTVYN

— UFC (@ufc) December 31, 2022

There will always be another contender.  Someone new will always be the next man (or woman) up to challenge the one who sits on the throne.

But let’s be clear, Amanda Nunes is about to sweep the board.  She defeated every legend near her weight class en route to becoming the UFC’s first and only female two-division champion.  She is widely considered to be the greatest female fighter in MMA history.  In more recent years, she has not only held off veterans but also the up-and-comers at bantamweight and featherweight.  Furthermore, her one setback a year and a half ago was avenged in dominant fashion that erased doubt that her former foe was on level when the two were pushed to the limit.

Every fight for the past three years now has been more about who could topple “The Lioness” in stunning fashion.  While every victory was another testament to her dedication and skill, few things can actually add to your legacy when you’ve defeated household names like Rousey, Cyborg, and Tate consecutively.  This leads to Saturday’s contest where she finds herself against an entertaining title challenger who is eager to make her name.  It would be another significant victory objectively, but the fact remains that each fight is now about whether the competition itself is worth it at this stage for Nunes.  After cementing her place in history, the truth is that the champion likely now questions after each victory whether or not the moment could ever get better to walk away on top.  If her hand is raised on Saturday again, it could easily be said that it won’t.

OHHHHHHHHH! 😱

Picture perfect left hook from @IreneAldana_! #UFC245

📺 Watch LIVE on ESPN 2 NOW! pic.twitter.com/bcp4I5x7Vu

— UFC (@ufc) December 15, 2019

Irene Aldana knows what’s on the line.  Her home country of Mexico has had a banner year in mixed martial arts where three of her countrymen and women have won UFC titles and she has a chance to become the fourth.  Further, she could do it by defeating a living legend.  UFC President Dana White has fielded questions almost bi-weekly around the world about hosting an event in Mexico and an Aldana victory would put historic pressure on the company (regardless of it is only for a month) to bring the Octagon to the country.  It is immense pressure, to say the least.

Similar to her teammate and “little sister” Alexa Grasso, Aldana has developed her skills from the beginning at the Lobo Gym in Guadalajara.  She had her first pro-fight at 24 years-old in 2012 and was signed to Invicta FC as a 3-1 prospect in 2014.  She was signed to the UFC in 2016 and since then has accumulated a 7-4 record.  While she suffered losses to veterans such as Holly Holm and Katlyn Chookagian, Aldana also recorded victories over former title challengers such as Yana Santos and Bethe Correia.  Her biggest victory came in 2019 where she scored a first round knockout over fellow top contender Ketlen Vieira and going into Saturday she rides back-to-back stoppage victories.

The bantamweight title’s on the line tomorrow!! 🏆@Amanda_Leoa defends her throne against @IreneAldana_ at #UFC289!

[ 10pmET / 7pmPT | Live on @ESPNPlus PPV ] pic.twitter.com/MkgzKYAFAh

— UFC (@ufc) June 9, 2023

Should Amanda Nunes be victorious, it would not be preposterous to see her elect to walk away at the top of her game without an obvious new challenge ahead of her.  Trilogies with Julianna Peña or Valentina Shevchenko or a rematch with Raquel Pennington would be possibilities, but she would enter them having already proven what she needs to against them.  An Aldana victory could lead to a rematch, but any number of other opponents could materialize such as a fight with Peña, a rematch with Pennington or Holly Holm, or perhaps even another challenger in a bout that most would expect to take place in Mexico if the UFC were to get a deal done.

The post UFC 289: Aldana Eyes History While Nunes Looks to Complete Sweep appeared first on Cageside Press.

Originally announced as Nunes facing Julianna Pena in a questionable trilogy fight that left fans scratching their heads, Pena dropping out paved the way for Aldana — who is looking to become the fourth Mexican fighter to claim gold in six months after Brandon Moreno (flyweight), Yair Rodriguez (interim featherweight), and Alexa Grasso (women’s flyweight).

The odds are most certainly stacked against Aldana, however, with Amanda Nunes widely regarded as the women’s MMA GOAT. Having avenged her loss to Pena last time out, Nunes will be looking to show that her initial defeat was little more than an aberration.

Anchoring the co-main event at UFC 289 in Vancouver are lightweight contenders Charles Oliveira, a former champ looking for another shot at gold, and Beneil Dariush — the latter of whom is entering the bout on an eight-fight win streak. Dariush, like Oliveira before him, has taken the long road to title contention, and the belief is that the winner of Oliveira vs. Dariush should be next in line for a shot at champ Islam Makhachev.

Weigh-ins for UFC 289 go down Friday morning in Vancouver; full results can be found below, plus a live stream of the official weigh-in.

All fighters made weight for UFC 289, with Adam Fugitt the last to weigh in, towards the end of the window.

UFC 289: Nunes vs. Aldana Weigh-In Results

Main card

Women’s Bantamweight: Amanda Nunes (c) (135) vs. Irene Aldana (135) — for the UFC women’s bantamweight championship
Lightweight: Charles Oliveira (154) vs. Beneil Dariush (156)
Welterweight: Mike Malott (169.5) vs. Adam Fugitt (170.75)
Featherweight: Dan Ige (145.5) vs. Nate Landwehr (145.25)
Middleweight: Marc-André Barriault (185) vs. Eryk Anders (184.75)

Preliminary card

Middleweight: Nassourdine Imavov (185.5) vs. Chris Curtis (185.25)
Women’s Flyweight: Miranda Maverick (125.5) vs. Jasmine Jasudavicius (125.25)
Bantamweight: Aiemann Zahabi (135.75) vs. Aori Qileng (135)
Featherweight: Kyle Nelson (145) vs. Blake Bilder (145.5)

Early preliminary card

Flyweight: David Dvorak (125.5) vs. Stephen Erceg (125.5)
Women’s Strawweight: Diana Belbita (114.5) vs. Maria Oliveira (115.5)

Women’s bantamweight: Raquel Pennington (back-up fighter) (134.5)

The post UFC 289: Nunes vs. Aldana Official Weigh-In Live Stream and Results appeared first on Cageside Press.

Amanda Nunes tops the event, not against originally scheduled opponent Julianna Pena, but instead Mexican standout Irene Aldana. It’s the rare instance of an injury benefiting a card in the long run — fans were perplexed when the trilogy fight with Pena was announced, without Pena having picked up even a single win since her loss to Nunes last year. While the pair are tied 1-1 in their career series, and Nunes did get an immediate rematch after losing to Pena, that was on the strength of her dominant title reign. Or reigns, given she’s champs in two divisions.

Aldana, meanwhile, was the fighter many saw as the logical next choice to contend for bantamweight gold. Initially booked into a Fight Night headliner with Raquel Pennington, Aldana got the nod when Pena dropped out of the fight due to a rib injury. Pennington, meanwhile, will serve as back-up fighter for the bout.

The co-main event of UFC 289 sees Charles Oliveira and Beneil Dariush finally face off, after originally being scheduled for last month’s PPV. On the line is a crack at lightweight champ Islam Makhachev, who defeated Oliveira last October to claim gold. Dariush told Cageside Press on Wednesday that the UFC confirmed he’d be the number one contender with a win over Oliveira; presumably, that works both ways should “Do Bronx” come away with the win.

The UFC 289 pre-fight press conference kicks off at 8PM ET on Thursday, June 8, 2023 — a live stream of the affair is available above.

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