Amanda Nunes (23-5) earned a unanimous determination victory over Irene Aldana (14-7) to retain her bantamweight championship in the principle occasion of UFC 289 from Rogers Area in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. After the victory, she reduce her gloves off and retired from MMA as one of many all-time greats.
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Nunes gave Aldana loads of respect early within the struggle, retaining her distance, however discovering her vary. Nunes earned a takedown however instantly hopped again to her ft, unwilling to interact on the bottom. Aldana was hesitant to alternate, retaining her arms tight and overreacting to each feint. With a few minute remaining within the first spherical, Aldana caught Nunes with a pleasant counter proper that despatched the champ stumbling.
Within the second, Nunes regarded downstairs, with massive leg kicks that began to indicate harm on the challenger’s lead leg. Aldana acquired dropped halfway by the spherical with a simple takedown, however Nunes refused to do something on the bottom. Aldana started to let her arms go late, and Nunes responded with a combo and a nasty clinch and knee to the pinnacle. Nunes continued to pour it on late, incomes a 3rd takedown with 15 seconds remaining within the second.
The third noticed Nunes bully Aldana to the bottom thrice, sustaining high management for a lot of the spherical. With lower than a minute remaining within the spherical, Aldana regarded exhausted and began letting her arms go. Nunes caught Aldana with one other massive mixture adopted by a clinch and knee.
Aldana opened the championship rounds with rather more exercise, however virtually instantly ate a huge elbow from Nunes. The champ continued to select aside Aldana with shot after shot, mixing up takedown makes an attempt with elbows, entrance kicks, and overhand photographs.
The fifth was a lot of the identical for Nunes, who earned a takedown and maintained high place principally the whole spherical.
Nunes defended the bantamweight crown for the primary time since winning the belt back at UFC 277 against Julianna Peña. Nunes got here into Saturday night time’s essential occasion having misplaced simply twice since 2014. She places a bow on her profession, defeating each notable girls’s fighter within the UFC’s historical past, with wins over Ronda Rousey, Holly Holm, Cris Cyborg, Valentina Shevchenko, and Miesha Tate.
Aldana stepped as much as struggle Nunes when the previous champion, Peña, withdrew in Could as a consequence of a rib damage. Aldana received her final two bouts through knockout heading into her title tilt, final falling in 2020 in a call loss to Holly Holm.
