''UFC 289: Nunes vs. Aldana'' was a

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting combat sport, sport based on strike (attack), striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-s ...

event produced by the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter (entertainment), promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor ( ...

that took place on June 10, 2023, at the

Rogers Arena Rogers Arena, (formerly General Motors Place), is a multi-purpose list of indoor arenas, arena at 800 Griffiths Way in the Downtown Vancouver, downtown area of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Opened in 1995, the arena was known as General ...

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

, Canada.

Background

The event marked the promotion's 32nd overall visit to Canada and sixth to Vancouver, returning to the country for the first time since UFC Fight Night: Cowboy vs. Gaethje in September 2019. A

UFC Women's Bantamweight Championship Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships. Historical notes At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight classe ...

trilogy bout between current two-time champion (also current UFC Women's Featherweight Champion)

Amanda Nunes Amanda Lourenço Nunes (born May 30, 1988) is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist. She currently competes in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where she is the former UFC Women's Featherweight Champion and two-time UFC Women ...

and former champion (also The Ultimate Fighter: Team Rousey vs. Team Tate bantamweight winner) Julianna Peña was expected to headline the event. However on May 2, Peña pulled out due to broken ribs and was replaced by

Irene Aldana Irene Aldana Robles (born March 26, 1988) is a Mexican professional mixed martial artist. She currently competes in the women's Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of September 17, 2024, she is #6 in the UFC wo ...

, who was scheduled to headline UFC Fight Night: Dern vs. Hill in a rematch against former title challenger Raquel Pennington. The latter served as a backup for the title bout. A lightweight bout between former

UFC Lightweight Champion Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships. Historical notes At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight class ...

Charles Oliveira Charles Oliveira da Silva (born October 17, 1989) is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist and fourth degree black belt Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner. Oliveira currently competes in the Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting ...

and

Beneil Dariush Beneil Khobier Dariush (born May 6, 1989) is an American professional mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from ...

took place as the co-main event. They were originally booked at UFC 288, but Oliveira withdrew due to injury. A middleweight bout between Chris Curtis and Nassourdine Imavov took place at the event. The two fighters were scheduled to face each other pre-UFC at ARES FC 2 in October 2020, but the event was canceled due to

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

complications. A welterweight bout between former

UFC Welterweight Championship Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships. Historical notes At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight clas ...

challenger Stephen Thompson and Michel Pereira was expected for this event. However, contracts were never signed and the bout is expected to take place at

UFC 291 ''UFC 291: Poirier vs. Gaethje 2'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on July 29, 2023, at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. Background The event marked the promot ...

instead.

Matt Schnell Matthew Christopher Schnell (born January 15, 1990) is an American professional mixed martial artist currently competing in the Flyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Schnell formerly competed for Legacy Fighting Alliance ...

and David Dvořák were scheduled to meet in a flyweight bout on the preliminary card. However, Schnell pulled out due to injury and was replaced by Stephen Erceg. A featherweight bout between

Hakeem Dawodu Hakeem Tyrone Dawodu (born July 2, 1991) is a Canadian mixed martial artist who competed in the Featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He also competed for the World Series of Fighting. Early life Dawodu was born in Calgar ...

and Lucas Almeida was expected to take place at the event. However, the bout was scrapped for unknown reasons and Almeida was instead scheduled to face Pat Sabatini at UFC on ESPN: Vettori vs. Cannonier. Chris Daukaus was expected to make his light heavyweight debut against Khalil Rountree Jr. at the event. However, Daukaus withdrew in early June due to injury. The bout was rescheduled for UFC on ESPN: Luque vs. dos Anjos.

Results

Bonus awards

The following fighters received $50,000 bonuses. *Fight of the Night: Marc-André Barriault vs. Eryk Anders *Performance of the Night: Charles Oliveira, Mike Malott, and Steve Erceg

References

{{2023 in mixed martial arts Ultimate Fighting Championship flagship events 2023 in UFC 2023 in Vancouver June 2023 sports events in Canada 2023 in sports in British Columbia Mixed martial arts events in Vancouver

Background

Results

Bonus awards

See also

References