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Two division UFC champion Amanda Nunes will defend the women’s bantamweight gold against Irene Aldana in the main event of UFC 289.
Aldana was a late replacement for former UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Juliana Pena, but Nunes says that Aldana was supposed to be next, instead of Pena.
“I feel like it’s less heavy,” Nunes told ESPN (transcript via Drake Riggs of MMA Fighting). “I always like to train for somebody else. When the third time came it was like, alright, let’s do this again to put her away for good. The last couple days, the news came out, and it was actually the original opponent. Me and the UFC were talking about how they wanted Aldana next and everything was lining up to be Aldana and I don’t know if Julianna cried about it or whatever happened. She ended up getting one more opportunity but now we are here with the original opponent.
“I was ready for either. My job is to defend the belt. Get ready, step in the cage, and get my belt home with me. But at the end of the day, I like to fight a good opponent, a respectable opponent like Aldana. It’s gonna be awesome.”
Pena and Nunes have met before twice under the UFC banner, while Aldana is fighting Nunes and challenging for a UFC title for the first times in her career.
Nunes, despite facing a late replacement opponent, knows that Aldana is a threat to her bantamweight title reign.
“I feel like she’s more technical, she’s more dangerous, knockout power, all those things,” Nunes said. “I feel like she has very good counterpunches so I gotta watch out for those moments. Also, in the takedowns, she has good transitions when she gets close to the floor. I feel like this is a good opponent, I know she’s ready, I know she was training to fight five rounds so I feel like she was ready to go like I am, too. We both have knockout power, and I don’t see this fight really going far.”
