The UFC returns to Canada on Saturday for their first show in the country for almost three years. Double champ Amanda Nunes defends her Bantamweight title against the number five ranked Irene Aldana. Charles Oliveira faces Beneil Dariush in the co-main event.
Unsurprisingly, the first question from the gathered journalists were for the biggest star on show, the defending champion Amanda Nunes, who won her Bantamweight title back from her nemesis, Juliana Pena last July. She was asked for her thoughts on how the fight will go against Aldana.
”Honestly, I stop her; there’s no doubt in my mind. These [pointing at her titles] belts are Brazilian; these belts are mine. She’s a better fighter than Juliana [Pena], for sure. She’s going to bring the challenges, and I’m ready for this battle, man. You guys have the greatest main event ever.”
Nunes was then asked to elaborate on her comments regarding Aldana being a tougher opponent than Pena. The champion was complimentary in her assessment of Aldana, recognizing she faced a tough task ahead:
”This girl can knock people out, you guys saw. We’re going to punch each other and try to kick each other’s a**, so I hope you guys have a good time”.
The entire main card was present on the stage for the UFC 289 press conference. The biggest reception came for the Candian native, Mike Malott, who seemed to revel in the support. He said he was looking forward to having thirty-five million Canadians behind him come Saturday night, and he seemed very confident of getting the job done against Adam Fugitt.
In the co-main event, Charles Oliveira will face Beneil Dariush in a lightweight bout involving the former champion in Oliveira, and a man who has been quietly going about his business – Dariush. The latter has racked up an impressive eight victories on the bounce, climbing the rankings to get to a position where the UFC has no option but to put him in the big fights. Providing he continues his trajectory and gets win number nine on Saturday, a title shot may beckon for the American. Dana White was hesitant to commit to a title shot for the winner but suggested it would be likely.
”I have no idea, we’ll see how the fight goes on Saturday, but yeah, it obviously makes a lot of sense [for the winner to fight Islam Makhachev in Abu Dhabi later this year]. Right here, right now, it makes a lot of sense. We’ll see what happens, said Dana White”.
Oliveira and Dariush largely respected each other’s abilities, and we didn’t witness much trash-talking from those on stage. The jovial theme continued into the face-offs; however, Nunes displayed her customary fighting stance as she stared down Irene Aldana with bad intentions in her eyes. The challenger was calm and looked more than game herself.
UFC 289 takes place at the Rogers Arena in Vancouver, Canada, this Saturday, June 10.
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