Amanda Nunes Calls it a Career After Defending Women’s 135-Pound Crown at UFC 289

The Lioness’ hunt comes to an end.

Amanda Nunes capped off her hall-of-fame career by masterfully defending her Ultimate Fighting Championship women’s bantamweight title Saturday night, cruising to a unanimous decision victory (50-44, 50-44, 50-43) over Irene Aldana in the UFC 289 main event at Rogers Arena in Vancouver.

Nunes easily picked apart Aldana on the feet and took advantage of the challengers’ slow pace. Nunes (23-5) landed hard jabs, right hands, leg kicks and basically anything she wanted as Aldana refused to open up. Nunes tripled Aldana’s output and barely broke a sweat. Aldana’s corner begged for the Guadalajara, Mexico, native to go for broke, but Aldana was helpless to Nunes’ control on the feet and ground.

At age 35, many wondered what would come next for the champion. Archrival and former bantamweight champion Julianna Pena was in attendance. Pena was slated to face Nunes in a trilogy bout before pulling out due to injury. Nunes wasted no time, cutting her gloves off and placing them in the middle of her bantamweight and featherweight belts.

Oliveira Starches Dariush

Fresh off of one of the most debilitating losses of his career, Charles Oliveira turned back the clock to stop the hottest fighter in the division. Beneil Dariush couldn’t believe that it only took one round for "Do Bronx" to snap his eight fight win streak, but that’s how quickly the tide can turn against a fighter like Oliveira.

Both lightweights' striking was highly respected coming into the three round title eliminator but it was Oliveira and Dariush’s battle on the ground that told the story for most of the first round. Pulling Dariush into his guard, Oliveira looked for submissions off his back. Dariush brought the fight back to its feet but was quickly knocked back down after taking a hard roundhouse to the jaw and a cluster of hamerfirsts on the ground. As Dariush’s eyes began to look up towards the lights the fight was stopped with 50 seconds left in the round.

Oliveira’s performance put him back on the path for a rematch with UFC Lightweight kingpin Islam Makhachev. In a loaded division like lightweight, there are several interesting options for the champ, but "Do Bronx" may have just put himself back in the driver’s seat.

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Malott Caps off Undefeated Night for Canadians

Nova Scotia’s own Mike Malott put the final stamp on an undefeated night for Canadian fighters (5-0) after tapping out Adam Fugitt in front of thousands of screaming countrymen in the second round.

Malott (10-1-1) came in hot with five straight finishes in a row. All five of those wins came within the first round and even though Fugitt was still standing at the end of the first round, the end always seemed within reach.

Malott would close the show in electrifying fashion after dropping the 34-year-old in the second round and then immediately sinking in a wicked guillotine at the 1:06 mark. Malott’s win only increases his stock moving forward in the welterweight division.

Ige Slows Down “The Train”

A stand up battle between two of the most explosive featherweights in the world didn’t disappoint.

Nate Landwehr and Dan Ige have 13 knockouts between them and wasted no time trying to grapple. Trading leather at will, Ige edged out Round 1 after dropping Landwehr to his knees with an overhand right in the final seconds. Landwehr immediately bounced back to his feet, but knew the flash knockdown was exactly what Ige needed to steal the round.

Ige found a home for his left hook in Round 2 and nearly turned out the lights on Landwehr with 20 seconds left in the stanza. Ige pounced on the floored Landwehr but “The Train” was able to scramble long enough to survive another late round knockdown.

Landwehr went out on his shield in Round 3, desperately looking for a finish, down 2-0. Mixing grappling to set up unorthodox shots, Landwehr forced Ige to stay disciplined throughout the final five minutes.

Unfortunately for Landwehr it wasn’t enough, as Ige’s poise carried the Xtreme Couture veteran (29-28, 29-28, 30-27) to the unanimous decision and his second straight win.

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Barriault Outpoints Anders in Firefight

Eryk Anders and Marc-Andre Barriault kicked off the UFC 289 main card with a middleweight banger. After dropping Anders with a straight right early, "Power Bar" seemed destined to pick up his second straight TKO victory after following up with shots on the recovering Anders.

Anders quickly dashed Barriault’s hopes for a quick night by engaging with textbook clinch work. "Ya Boi" landed crisp elbows and knees to Barriault’s astonishment and before the two knew it, a war broke out in the center of the Octagon.

The back-and-forth action bled into round two and saw Anders start to mix in some grappling with his striking. Barriault landed well too, but multiple low blows caused a break in the action and a halt in momentum.

There were no breaks in the action in Round 3. Anders continued to push forward but Barriault’s jab repeatedly punished him. Neither man took their foot off the pedal and they showed their respect by embracing at the final bell. In the end, Barriault’s (16-6) consistency gave the Quebec native the edge and the unanimous decision win (30-27, 30-27, 30-27).

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