UFC 289: Five things we learned
UFC 289 will go down in the history books as a highly consequential event. One of the best fighters of all time, Amanda Nunes, walked away from the sport, Charles Oliveira made a statement, and a handful of fights showed their skills on the big stage. Let’s recap all the action from UFC 289 and discuss a handful of lessons we learned at the event.
Amanda Nunes retires as a double champion & the GOAT
Amanda Nunes accomplished something that few fighters have done. To quickly recap, in the main event at UFC 289, she dismantled Irene Aldana over the course of five rounds. After the fight, she announced her retirement from the sport of MMA.
It is infrequent that an MMA fighter is able to retire as a champion. In almost every case, a fighter walks away after losing their title and being beaten. Only a small handful of champions have been able to walk away from the sport unscathed. At UFC 289, Nunes joined that scarce group.
Additionally, Nunes will be remembered as the best women’s fighter of all time. Historically, in that regard, she is not in an elite group; rather, she is one-of-one. At least right now, it is impossible to construct an argument against Nunes’ GOAT status; and if you tried, you would sound like an idiot. It takes a special type of athlete to accomplish what she has.
Irene Aldana did not show up to fight
Before I even make this point, I want to make it clear that I take no joy in this. I do not enjoy criticizing a fighter when they lose a title fight. That said, it is the elephant in the room.
I really do not think that Irene Aldana showed up to fight. In the UFC 289 preview, I discussed how one of the most important factors in beating an MMA legend is that you can not mentally lose the fight before it begins. Unfournetly, that happened to Aldana.
In every moment of that fight, it just seemed like Aldana could not get anything going. It did not seem like she was willing to take the risks needed to dethrone Nunes. The second the fight started she seemed reluctant to engage with Nunes due to the power of Nunes’ punches. To me, it felt like she was trying to survive. I do not think she was there to fight.
Personally, the worst part of this is that Aldana did not utilize the skills that make her a great fighter. Unless she can climb back to the top, it looks like the will be the fight that defines the pinnacle of her career.
This reminds me a lot of a statement that Jamahal Hill made in the past where he explained his biggest fear was not getting to know how good he truly was. I am afraid that Aldana will have that fate.
Once again, I take no joy in this, and I not trying to slam Aldana. It just looked like she was mentally out of the fight. It is highly unfortunate, but I think it is true and I hope she eventually gets another crack at the title to right this wrong.
Charles Oliveira has his sights on Islam Makhachev
At UFC 289, Charles Oliveira put on one of the best performances of his career. That is saying something considering he now has 20 finishes in the UFC.
Oliveira violently dispatched Beneil Dariush in the first round of their bout. All it took was a head kick and flurry of ground and pound to finish Dariush.
Oliveira could not have bounced back from his loss to Islam Makhachev any better. Now, Oliveira has put himself back into position to contend for the UFC lightweight title against Makhachev. Prior to UFC 289, Dariush and Oliveira both stated that the winner of their bout would be next in line for the title. Oliveira lived up to his end of that deal.
The Mike Malott hype train gained passengers
Mike Malott entered UFC 289 with nine wins and nine first-round finishes. For the first time in his career, he won a fight that made it to the first break. It did not take him much longer though as he submitted Adam Fuggit with a guillotine shortly into round two.
Malott has a ton of tools that make him an interesting prospect. On the feet, he is patient and has a ton of power. On the ground, he has lethal submission skills. Malott is the definition of a finisher.
One thing is for certain, fans love fighters that get finishes. Malott is the definition of that. At UFC 289, Malott, a Canadian, blew the roof of the arena in his home country. I would expect that the fans at home loved the performance as well.
Dan Ige deserves respect
Dan Ige may not be the best featherweight on the UFC roster but is much better than people are willing to admit. At UFC 289, to recap, he earned another impressive victory as he defeated Nate Landwehr.
Ige found himself at a very low point in his career not too long ago. Recently, he was facing a three-fight losing streak after dropping fights to Chan Sung Jung, Josh Emmett and Movsar Evloev. Ige bounced back in major fashion last time out as he knocked out Damon Jackson. Now, he has continued to build upon that win with a victory over Landwehr at UFC 289.
Ige has now decisively beaten back-to-back unranked opponents. I think it is time that Ige gets some respect and gets another fight against a ranked fighter.
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