Amanda Nunes announced her retirement from MMA and further imprinted her dynasty in the UFC with a dominant display over Irene Aldana at UFC 289 in Vancouver Canada on Saturday.
There was also a huge statement victory for Charles Oliviera- who made a mockery of Beneil Dariush despite the fight being near impossible to call in the build-up. In doing, ‘Do Bronx’s victory’ has blown the lightweight division wide open and also moved him closer to greatness.
It was also a clean sweep for all the Canadian fighters on the card as the UFC made its long-awaited return to the north.
What does the women’s bantamweight division now look like without Nunes?
We have already seen some major stars in the UFC lay their gloves on the mat this year- but Amanda Nunes’ retirement is one of the biggest in the sport’s history given her dominance inside the cage and how worse off the UFC will be without her involvement.
Nunes leaves the Octagon with a 16-2 record inside the Octagon, an 11-1 mark in championship fights, and a 23-5 record stretching across her entire MMA career.
The number one pound-for-pound women’s fighter and arguably the greatest women’s mixed martial arts fighter of all time conducted an emotional farewell following her dismantling of Irene Aldana.
“Thank you, UFC. They took care of me, and they’ll always take care of me, so I’m always going to be around,” she told reporters after the fight.
Embed from Getty ImagesNunes also acknowledged the press’ prediction in the build-up that she would retire but ignored the chatter in order to focus on what was a tricky fight.
She ended up winning at a canter- overwhelming Aldana from the first exchange to the last. Nunes landed 142 significant strikes compared to Aldana’s 41 and also landed six trademark takedowns across the five rounds. It was a typical Nunes performance and a fitting way to sign off her 15-year reign in the sport.
As a result of her departure, the stacked bantamweight division in waiting will be vying for the vacant title later this year- with a whole host of names in contention.
Dana White also announced last week that the women’s featherweight division would be discontinued due to a lack of fighters.
Nunes departs following her 16th win in the UFC – the most of any woman in the sport’s history. It was also her 11th title fight victory, putting her level with Anderson Silva at fourth in the all-time standings behind the likes of Jon Jones, Georges St-Pierre and Demetrious Johnson.
It is some company to be associated with as Nunes leaves with her status as G.O.A.T. cemented into UFC folklore.
Charles edging closer to greatness
On a night when Amanda Nunes established her greatness, Charles Oliveira’s swift dismantling of Beneil Dariush reminded everyone of where ‘Do Bronx’ stands in the game.
Oliveria’s rise to prominence has not been an easy one and it’s mad to even think he’s now being tipped for a spot in the UFC Hall of Fame.
Oliveira was once a mediocre fighter that was shifting between two different weight classes. In 2019, he fought the journeymen of all journeymen Nik Lentz for a third time in his career and in doing so signified where he was at in his career.
That was around five years ago and since then Oliveria has embarked on a killing spree- winning 12 fights since 2018 and losing just once to Islam Makhachev. It’s been a truly remarkable rise from the Brazilian.
Oliveira called for a rematch against the UFC lightweight champion Makhachev in his post-fight interview on the weekend but with how stacked the division is, it’s hard to call who will get a shot at the champion next.
Embed from Getty ImagesThe winner of the BMF title clash between Justin Gaethje and Dustin Poirier at UFC 291 will most likely be the next candidate but you best believe Charles will be there if a deal can’t be made.
Despite what happens next, Oliveira has now seated himself at the pinnacle of the sport. He is now the first UFC fighter to finish 20 opponents inside the Octagon- with the track record of fighters he’s beaten further complementing his achievements.
The once gatekeeper of the lightweight division is now back on a mission to reign supreme over it once more as the 33-year-old enters the business end of his already illustrious career.
Long awaited return to Vancouver doesn’t disappoint
It’s been four years since the UFC took its business to Vancouver and judging by the show they put on and from what we witnessed on Saturday, they should do it more often.
The main and co-main events didn’t disappoint but it was also a night where all Canadian contingents on the card triumphed- with Kyle Nelson, Aiemann Zahabi, Jasmine Jasudavicius, Marc-Andre Barriault and Mike Malott all delivering in front of their home nation.
Zahabi made light work of veteran Qileng Aori with a first-round stoppage, Malott swept aside Adam Fugitt with a vicious guillotine and Nelson, Barriault and Jasudavicius all strolled to victory via unanimous decisions.
The UFC’s last fight card in Vancouver was a UFC Fight Night headlined by Donald Cerrone and Justin Gaethje in September 2019. That same year we saw Max Holloway and Chris Cyborg defend their respective belts. Both were cracking cards.
A simple request for Dana White- bring the UFC to Canada more often. It’s always a banger!
