Amanda Nunes ends her career as the greatest fighter of all time after the win, Oliveira is back in the game and Dvorak lost. What did UFC 289 look like?

UFC 289 promised to be an interesting spectacle. The fights may have fallen slightly short of expectations, but it wasn’t boring. While we saw minimal endings, great stories were written, unfortunately with a sad Czech footprint. David Dvorak loses, Amanda Nunes quits.

Early Prelims, Prelims

Attractive start, Dvorak unfortunately lost

Perhaps inconspicuous at first glance, but in the end a very successful and attractive start of the tournament was provided by two promising and handsome twenty-six-year-old fighters. Romanian Diana Belbita managed to beat Maria Oliveira on points in three rounds with a huge hunger. The duel, by the way, had a very interesting background.

The second fight of the gala had a very bitter aftertaste for the Czech fans. David Dvorak went into the duel with Steve Erceg as the favourite, but unfortunately he did not confirm this role. He was better in the first round, and in the second round too, until the last minute and a half, which turned the match against him.

Although the Czech fighter delivered an attractive spectacle in the three-round battle with the Australian, he lost on points (29-28, 29-28, 30-27), which means a third loss in a row, and thus an uncertain future in the UFC.

Everyone’s taste could be partially remedied by the next fight, in which Kyle Nelson and Blake Bilder clashed without too much tactics. Tough stand-up exchanges, two showmen, it was something to watch. Nelson dominated a close fight on points.

The first finish of the night, a battle on points and a no contest

In the next contest, we got our first finish. It was delivered by Aiemann Zahabi, who sent Aoriqileng to the ground with his left, where he still had to go to “finish him off”. The duel lasted one minute and four seconds.

Miranda Maverick and Jasmine Jasudavicius provided the other women’s duel at the event. The American fighter was a slight favorite, but instead will have to bite the bullet of losing and being knocked out of the top 15 of her weight class.

Jasudavicius was the better fighter in the bout in all rounds. She was more accurate and effective in the standup, allowing her opponent nothing on the ground. Great performance from the Canadian. Her appetite grew with the food and especially the third round delivered a very entertaining show. Winning on points certainly didn’t dampen her spirits.

The last prelims card fight didn’t end as either participant had hoped. Nassourdine Imavov was better in his duel with Chris Curtis, he was constantly dangerous in the stand-up and on the ground. However, heads collided in the second round and Curtis was unable to continue. The bout was thus scored as a no contest, i.e. no result.

Main card

Two shootouts and one guillotine

While the main card was particularly enticing with its two main fights, the first one was already extremely entertaining. Marc-Andre Barriault and Eryk Anders started a brutal stand-up shootout right from the opening bell and lasted an incredible five rounds.

It constantly reeked of knockout, it was a question of when the fight would end and how long both fighters could keep up that pace. The second round, however, was a bit slower and more stretched out, mainly due to two pauses caused by illegal strikes on the bottom.

Eventually we reached the third round, which despite the great activity of both fighters came to an end, which meant only one thing. It was all up to the scoring judges. Except for the second round, which was evenly matched, Barriault had the upper hand in the fight and it showed in the result, scoring the win.

Dan Ige and Nate Landwehr also had an attractive battle. The former went into the bout as the number thirteen featherweight and as the favorite and it showed in the bout. He was better, more accurate, tougher. He also delivered a knockdown at the end of the first round. In the second round, Ige also gave a controlled performance with a crushing finish, again delivering a hard knockdown, after which he added more punches.

But Landwehr survived the critical moment and although he didn’t look his best at the start of the third round, he was able to threaten Ige in the end. He had to go for the stoppage to get the win, and he did a great job. But it wasn’t enough. Ige won on points 29-28, 29-28 and 30-27.

It wasn’t until the third fight on the main card that he delivered an early finish. In the Canadian-American bout, it was Mike Malott, who defeated Adam Fugitt by guillotine in the second round. While the duel wasn’t as action packed as the previous two, it certainly wasn’t boring. Malott notched his third UFC win in three fights in front of his home crowd.

Charles Oliveira is back!

Not the main event of the gala, but definitely the most anticipated. Charles Oliveira returned to the cage for the first time since losing his title to Islam Makhachev last October, and faced an obstacle in the form of five-year undefeated Beneil Dariush.

Dariush has made a great name for himself, beating tough opponents and going into this fight as the favorite. It was a question of what form the Brazilian would return in. However, he showed himself in a great light. While the American took him down fairly quickly, Do Bronx threatened from the bottom position and tried leglock in addition to punches.

Moreover, Oliveira was able to get up from the ground and then began to dominate in the stand-up, taking the reins of the fight clearly on his side. He even managed to finish Dariush by TKO with 50 seconds left in the first round.

The Brazilian notched his 20th early finish in the UFC, improving the record he holds for that statistic in the history of the organization. Will he get a title shot?

Queen’s big finish, Nunes retires after win

Amanda Nunes as the best female fighter in history, Irene Aldana as an underdog eager to emulate the sensation that was Julianna Peña. But the first round was clear. The Brazilian was clearly more active, more accurate and the Mexican got nothing but one hard shot. Both fighters were cautious.

The second round was even more dominant for the champion. She delivered takedowns, but she didn’t stay on the ground too much. She scored the fight well in the standup. Aldana seemed to have too much respect and wanted to rely on a single counter punch.

Third five minutes, again on Nunes’ side. She stayed on the ground and controlled Aldana for a while after delivering the takedown. She attempted to set up a rear-naked choke, then tried an arm bar, but couldn’t finish that either. A return to standing ensued, with Aldana at least slightly on the move at the end.

The fourth round was an absolute devastation. Most significant strikes, Nunes seemed to stop being afraid and started to try and take risks. She attempted an elbow off the turnbuckle, blasted Aldana hard. The Mexican’s only success? Two takedowns defended and for taking so many shots.

The only difference in the last round was that the Brazilian didn’t linger too long waiting for the takedown. She quickly took her opponent to the ground and there she controlled the entire fight and confirmed her great dominance.

She won by class difference and confirmed that she is the best fighter of all time. After the match, however, she announced the end of her career and bids farewell to the world of combat sports as a two-time UFC champion.

Source: UFC, Twitter, Tapology