Amanda Nunes is a double champion who was supposed to defend her UFC Women’s Bantamweight title against her archnemesis Juliana Pena, but “The Venezuelan Vixen” had to pull out because of an injury. Irene Aldana stepped in as her replacement and is determined to cause a sensation on Saturday.
Amanda Nunes vs. Irene Aldana Odds
Moneyline Odds
Amanda Nunes -320
Irene Aldana +240
Odds Courtesy of Sports Odds Direct as of Tuesday, June 6, 2023
Amanda Nunes is arguably the best female fighter in history. She’s a double champ who lost just one fight in the last nine years. The loss happened to Juliana Pena two years ago, but “The Lioness” managed to get her revenge last year.
Obviously, the No. 1 fighter in the UFC women’s pound-for-pound rankings is going to be the favorite against any opponent. However, we did witness her odds move against her. When the betting markets opened, Nunes was a -600 favorite, but now, just a few days before UFC 289, she’s a -320 favorite. Is this a red flag?
Perhaps, and it’s not because Nunes’ ability to fight has diminished; it’s because she’s fighting a very tough opponent on Saturday.
Can the +240 Underdog Stage an Upset at UFC 289?
Irene Aldana is big and strong and just loves fighting. She’s not afraid to throw all she has at her opponents, even if it means getting hit hard. So far, she’s been KO-ed only twice, and the last time it happened was in 2015 when she was still fighting under the banner of Invicta.
In the UFC, she’s without a single win inside the distance and she’s even fought one 5-round bout. It happened in 2020 when we saw Holly Holm beat her by a decision. Holm, who’s a fantastic boxer, got the win after taking the fight to the ground. She basically surprised Aldana by switching to wrestling and making a total of five takedowns in that fight. That’s more TDs than in any other fight Aldana’s fought so far.
But she’s learned her lesson. In the following fight, she allowed no TDs to Yana Santos. In her most recent fight, Aldana got taken down three times by Macy Chiasson but managed to do very well on the floor, even making two submission attempts along the way. In the end, she beat Chiasson by knockout.
Nunes is better than Aldana in pretty much every aspect of fighting except striking. But that might be crucial in Saturday’s fight. Aldana seems powerful enough to cause some serious problems to Nunes.
