UFC 289 has a new main event. Dana White took to Twitter this evening to announce a change to the upcoming June PPV in Vancouver. Per White, Julianna Pena (11-5) broke her ribs and is out of her trilogy fight against bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes (22-5).
With the injury to Pena, Irene Aldana (14-6) is stepping in to face Nunes for the bantamweight championship. The promotion initially kicked the tires on making this fight anyways but ultimately opted to make the trilogy with Pena and Nunes.
Aldana was set to take on Raquel Pennington in a main event in just a few weeks. However, that plan has been scrapped in favor of the title shot.
UFC 289 Main Event
Irene Aldana has won back-to-back fights leading up to her title shot against Nunes. Both of those wins have come via finish. Overall, she’s 4-1 in her last five with the lone loss coming against former UFC champion Holly Holm.
The last time we saw her was back in September when she scored a third round finish over Macy Chiasson. Aldana has been wanting a crack at the champion and now she will get her chance next month against the great Amanda Nunes.
It’s been over two years since Amanda Nunes has fought someone not named Julianna Pena. It’s been more than three years since she defended her bantamweight title against someone not named Julianna Pena. Nunes last defended the bantamweight title against Germaine De Randamie back in 2019.
Aldana is a fresh challenger for the champion and should be an exciting challenger.