The UFC is returning to Canada for UFC 289 where the greatest female UFC fighter of all time, Amanda Nunes returns to defend her title against Irene Aldana. In the co-main event former lightweight champion Charles Oliveira looks to make it back to title contention with a win over Beneil Dariush. Although this is one of the weaker pay-per-views as of late, there are still some great fights, which means there are picks to be made, so let’s jump right into my picks. 

 

Fight One: Diana Belbita (14-7) (-115) vs Maria Oliveira (13-6) (-105)
My Bet: Diana Belbita by Decision

 

Fight Two: David Dvorak (20-5) (-290) vs Steve Erceg (9-1) (+230) 

My Bet: David Dvorak by Decision

 

Fight Three: Blake Bilder (8-0-1) (-250) vs Kyle Nelson (13-5-1) (+200) 

My Bet: Blake Bilder by Submission or Decision 

 

Fight Four: Aiemann Zahabi (9-2) (-105) vs Aoriqileng (24-9) (-115) 

My Bet: Aoriqileng by KO/TKO or Decision 

Fight Five: Jasmine Jasudavicius (8-2) (+255) vs Miranda Maverick (11-4) (-325) 

My Bet: Miranda Maverick by Decision

 

Fight Six: Nassourdine Imavov (12-4) (-155) vs Chris Curtis (30-10) (+130)

My Bet: Nassourdine Imavov by Decision 

In the featured prelim, we have one of the top three fights on the card in my opinion, as ranked middleweights Nassourdine Imavov and Chris Curtis look to climb the ranks and bounce back from recent losses. I fully expect this to be an incredibly entertaining fight, as both of these fighters do excellent work on the feet and are not afraid to stand and trade with their opponents. Although both fighters have lost their last fights, I am more confident that Imavov can bounce back than Curtis. As exciting as Curtis is, he is not excellent defensively and when standing across from as good of a striker as Imavov that is always dangerous. I expect both fighters to have their moments, but I think it will be Imavov who comes out victorious in the end. 

 

Fight Seven: Eryk Anders (15-7) (+115) vs Marc-Andre Barriault (15-6) (-135) 

My Bet: Marc-Andre Barriault by KO/TKO or Decision

The main card opener features a middleweight bout between veterans Eryk Anders and Marc-Andre Barriault. As the odds suggest, this is a close fight, but I am siding with the hometown fighter in Barriault. This is a fight that I expect will take place primarily on the feet, and I believe that Barriault holds the edge, especially in volume. I think that Barriault can cause issues for Anders due to his pressure, and I think we will see him avoid most of what Anders has to offer. I expect a relatively fun fight that goes the distance and Barriault will be the winner. 

 

Fight Eight: Dan Ige (16-6) vs Nate Landwehr (17-4)

My Bet: Dan Ige by KO/TKO or Decision 

In this main card bout, Dan Ige puts his featherweight ranking on the line against the surging Nate Landwehr. This has fight of the night potential written all over it, and I am expecting a brawl between the two featherweight contenders. This is a fight that, I think, is closer than the odds suggest, but I will still lean slightly towards the favorite. Although Landwehr throws at a furious rate, I still believe Ige is technically the cleaner striker. Ige is also incredibly durable, and I believe he can absorb what Landwehr throws at him for the most part. If Ige doesn’t leave his head out on the centerline and can counter Landwehr’s fury with crisp shots of his own, I think he can find the finish and earn his second victory in a row. 

 

Fight Nine: Mike Malott (9-1-1) vs Adam Fugitt (9-3) 

My Bet: Mike Malott by KO/TKO or Submission

This is a fight I am incredibly excited for, and I am sure the hometown Canadian fans are as well as Canadian rising prospect Mike Malott who is looking for his sixth win in a row. Malott has been on a tear as of late with five straight wins, all by first round finish. His opponent, Adam Fugitt, lost his UFC debut but came back with a vengeance by taking out Yusaku Kinoshita by TKO. Although both fighters are coming off wins, Malott has more momentum and has been more consistently impressive and will continue his win streak here. I believe Malott can continue his win streak along with first round finish streak alive and take home a round one KO/TKO victory. 

 

Fight 10: Charles Oliveira (33-9) vs Beneil Dariush (22-4-1) 

My Bet: Beneil Dariush by KO/TKO or Decision 

I absolutely love this fight because I believe that it is essentially a coin flip to see who wins. Dariush has looked incredibly impressive as of late, defeating each of his last eight opponents, but has not had the hardest strength of schedule. Oliveira has defeated top-level competition but has had moments where he has been in serious danger in those fights. While Dariush may not have the experience against the highest level of competition, his win against Gamrot is nothing to laugh about. Along with that, the new lightweight champion Islam Makhachev’s best win before defeating Oliveira was against Bobby Green, so it shows that it doesn’t take wins over the best competition to beat high-level opponents. This is a close fight, so my pick is not confident, but I am taking Dariush to defeat Oliveira by decision and earn the next shot at lightweight gold.  

 

Fight 11: Amanda Nunes (22-5) vs Irene Aldana (14-6)

My Bet: Amanda Nunes by KO/TKO or Decision 

The GOAT returns to the octagon after regaining her title and is facing a new challenger in Irene Aldana. Nunes lost her title to Julianna Pena due to some flaws in her game planning, and if she makes the same mistakes this time around, she could be in trouble. Nunes engaged in a brawl with Pena which ultimately led to her demise, and Aldana is a better striker than Pena was, so if Nunes tries to stand and trade with Aldana the same result could occur. Fortunately for Nunes, she was able to rebound from her loss to Pena well and implemented a proper game plan to get her belt back. Aldana is not the strongest grappler so if Nunes looks to take the fight to the mat instead of brawling it out on the feet, she should have an easy path to a decision victory. 

 

For more UFC content, check out the following links:

–Top 15 UFC Fights of 2023 So Far

–The Top Six UFC Fights Everyone Wants To See

–Ranking the Best UFC Fights Scheduled for the Remainder of 2023

 

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