UFC 289 Results And Recap: Did The Favorites Win?

Sean Ross SappJune 15, 2023, 4:46 pm

UFC 289 took place on June 10-11, 2023, at the Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

It was the first time that the event has taken place in Canada since 2019. With the event just finished, there is no better time to discuss the outcomes – did the favorites win out in the ring, and did they give punters a good run for their money? Ultimate Fighting Championship events always present the perfect opportunity to place bets, after weighing up the odds and experts’ predictions, so let’s see if the experts were right this time.

So, who was fighting? Ultimate Fighting Championship 289 boasted an impressive lineup of the following classes, split across main, preliminary, and early preliminary cards:

Women’s Bantamweight

Featherweight

Welterweight

Lightweight

Middleweight

The Women’s Bantamweight and Lightweight fights were the most highly anticipated. Amanda Nunes, the two-time champion of the weight class before UFC 289, and Irene Aldana, who was sitting at number 5 in the weight class rankings, headlined the event on June 10. The bout was originally supposed to take place between Nunes and Julianna Peña, former UFC Women’s Bantamweight champion. The meeting was highly anticipated by fans, as the last time the pair were together it was for UFC 269, where Peña bested Nunes. Unfortunately, Peña had to pull out due to an injury to her ribs.

Reviews of the best online sportsbooks prior to the event showed the favorite to win the Women’s Bantamweight was Amanda Nunes. Nunes has won an impressive 13 out of her last 14 fights, and many people believed that UFC 289 will be no different. Before UFC 289, she was already number 1 in the UFC women’s pound-for-pound rankings, so it’s hardly surprising that she was so heavily favored by sportsbooks.

Before the event, predictions put her at a -320 favorite over her competitor, Aldana, who had +265 odds. These odds may partly be down to the fact that Aldana has had to step in at short notice, and that her strength and speed are not on par with that of Nunes. However, there was also speculation that if Amanda Nunes’ mindset isn’t in the right place, that her opponent could have some success. While it could have been expected that this five-round fight could take more out of the competitors than standard three-round fights, bringing the women’s endurance and stamina into question, it seems that punters needn’t have worried. As expected, Nunes won the bout by unanimous decision at the end of the fifth round.

The other headline match of the event was the men’s Lightweight bout, which took place between former champion Charles Oliveira and number 4 in the Lightweight rankings, Beneil Dariush. This meet had been a long time coming, with the duo originally scheduled for UFC 288 earlier this year, but having to cancel as Oliveira suffered an injury.

The men’s lightweight made for another interesting bet. Just before the opening bout, Oliveira was pitted as a +120 against Dariush, whose odds sit at -140. Sports betting experts have labeled Charles Oliveira as somewhat of an underdog, claiming that “although Dariush is on an eight fight winning streak…the level of competition isn’t even close to Oliveira”. As it played out, Oliveira was back on full form and took the title after just over 4 minutes in the first round, winning by technical knockout and putting an end to Dariush’s run of back-to-back victories.

Another bout that had lots of fans excited to place their bets on was that between Chris Curtis, who has been in the industry since 2009 and currently ranks at number 14 in the middleweight ranks, and Nassourdine Imavov, coming in at number 12. The pair were originally meant to face off at ARES FC 2 in October 2020, but COVID-19 implications meant that the event was canceled. Somewhat disappointingly for fans, the fight resulted in a draw (no contest) in the second round.

The full line-up that took place and the fighters’ odds before the event are as follows:

Main Card:

l Amanda Nunes (-320) vs. Irena Aldana (+265)

l Charles Oliveira (+120) vs. Beneil Dariush (-140)

l Mike Malott (-205) vs. Adam Fugitt (+175)

l Dan Ige (-250) vs. Nate Landwehr (+210)

l Marc-Andre Barriault (-145) vs. Eryk Anders (+125)

Preliminary Card:

l Nassourdine Imavov (-150) vs. Chris Curtis (+130)

l Miranda Maverick (-295) vs. Jasmine Jasudavicius (+245)

l Aiemann Zahabi (+100) vs. Aoriqileng (-120)

l Kyle Nelson (+200) vs. Blake Bilder (-240)