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Amanda Nunes and Irene Aldana engaged in an intense, albeit respectful, face-off at the UFC 289 press conference. The press conference transpired a few hours ago at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, USA. The UFC 289 event is expected to be held at the Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, on June 10, 2023.
Nunes, who's the reigning UFC women's bantamweight and featherweight champion, was initially scheduled to face another opponent at the UFC 289 event. 'The Lioness' was booked to defend her bantamweight belt in a trilogy matchup against Julianna Pena at UFC 289. However, Pena suffered broken ribs, due to which she had to withdraw from the event.
The UFC subsequently roped in Mexican MMA stalwart Irene Aldana to serve as Amanda Nunes' opponent in the headlining matchup at UFC 289. Aldana will face Nunes in a five-round matchup with the UFC women's bantamweight championship at stake.
The 35-year-old Aldana is currently on a two-fight win streak, whereas the 34-year-old Nunes just returned to the win column in her last octagon appearance after her upset loss to Pena.
Many in the MMA community view Aldana as one of the toughest tests for the legendary Nunes, particularly due to the former's striking prowess and KO power that could help her go toe to toe with 'The Lioness.' Speaking of which, both fighters partook in a fierce yet courteous face-off at the UFC 289 press conference.
Watch the Nunes-Aldana face-off in the video below:
Julianna Pena opens up about withdrawal from UFC 289 fight against Amanda Nunes
In December 2021, Julianna Pena sent shockwaves throughout the MMA world by becoming the first fighter to defeat Amanda Nunes since Cat Zingano did in September 2014. Pena beat Nunes via second-round submission to capture the UFC women's bantamweight title. However, 'The Venezuelan Vixen' lost the title via unanimous decision in a rematch against Nunes in July 2022.
As mentioned earlier, the Amanda Nunes vs. Julianna Pena trilogy matchup was all set to take place at UFC 289. However, Pena's broken ribs left her with no choice but to pull out of the fight. The former bantamweight champion later took to Instagram and posted a video alongside a written statement to address her withdrawal.
Noting that she's "absolutely gutted," she explained that fighters face several challenges during training camp. Pena wrote:
"Going into a fight, you’re never 100% but in this case, the doctors intervened and I was forced to withdrawal."
Furthermore, the 33-year-old American fighter suggested that she'd been giving it her all in her UFC 289 training camp. 'The Venezuelan Vixen' indicated that she believes things would ultimately work out well for her.
Calling for a fight against the winner of the Nunes-Aldana matchup, Pena added:
"I give my sincerest apologies to @ufc and @amanda_leoa. Wishing both @irene.aldana and @amanda_leoa a great fight- looking forward to fighting the winner to regain my belt! Oss"
