Tag Archives: UFC 289

Mayra Bueno Silva to Fight Raquel Pennington for Vacant UFC Women’s Bantamweight Title

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Mayra Bueno Silva will be vying for her first UFC title.

The 32-year-old Brazilian mixed martial artist will fight Raquel Pennington for the vacant UFC women’s bantamweight title at UFC 297 on January 20 in Toronto, according to ESPN.

Mayra Bueno SilvaThe title was vacated by Amanda Nunes, regarded as the greatest women’s MMA fighter of all time, in June when she retired following a win over Irene Aldana at UFC 289.

Bueno Silva (10-2-1, 1 NC) is unbeaten in four straight fights.

She stopped Holly Holm via submission in July, but the bout was overturned to a no contest and Bueno Silva was suspended 4½ months due to a failed drug test for a prescribed (but undisclosed) ADHD medication.

Bueno Silva, 32, is tied with Ronda Rousey for most submissions in division history (3).

Pennington (15-8) has won five straight. The Colorado native is coming off a split decision win over Ketlen Vieira in January.

Pennington, 35, has the second-most wins in division history (11) and is ESPN’s No. 1-ranked women’s bantamweight fighter.

The Pennington-Bueno Silva fight was first reported by Brazilian outlet AG Fight.

Charles Oliveira to Fight UFC Lightweight Champion Islam Makhachev in Highly Anticipated Rematch

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Charles Oliveira is hoping to return to the champion’s circle…

UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev will defend his belt against the 33-year-old Brazilian professional mixed martial artist and 3rd degree black belt Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner, a former UFC lightweight champion.

Charles OliveiraThe rematch between Oliveira and Makhachev will be the main event of UFC 294 on October 21 in Abu Dhabi, UFC president Dana White revealed.

ESPN has Makhachev ranked No. 2 in the world pound-for-pound and Oliveira at No. 6. The two fought last October at UFC 280 with Makhachev submitting Oliveira in the second round to win the then-vacant UFC lightweight title.

Makhachev (24-1) is coming off a unanimous-decision win over featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 284 back in February. The Dagestan native has won 12 straight fights, all in the UFC.

Makhachev, 31, is the longtime training partner and student of former longtime lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov.

Oliveira (34-9, 1 NC) beat Beneil Dariush via first-round TKO at UFC 289 last month to set up the rematch. The Brazilian-born fighter won the lightweight title in May 2021, beating Michael Chandler. But he missed weight in May 2022 before a fight with Justin Gaethje and was stripped of the belt.

Oliveira has the most finishes (20) and submission wins (16) in UFC history.

There had been speculation that Makhachev could face Volkanovski in an immediate rematch following Volkanovski’s dominant title defense against Yair Rodriguez at UFC 290 on July 8. But Oliveira had been the UFC’s top choice for this fight after running through Dariush last month.

Irene Aldana Replaces Injured Julianna Peña in UFC 289 Fight Versus Amanda Nunes

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Irene Aldana is stepping up to take on a champion…

The 35-year-old Mexican mixed martial artist will face UFC double champion Amanda Nunes at UFC 289 on June 10.

Irene Aldana

Aldana is filling in for Nunes’ previously scheduled opponent Julianna Peña, who suffered a rib injury.

UFC president Dana White broke the news via social media.

The new 135-pound matchup will headline the pay-per-view event, which takes place at Rogers Arena in Vancouver.

“Unfortunately, [Peña] broke her ribs and she can not compete,” White said on Instagram. “We have Irene Aldana coming in, who has won four of her last five and three of those were finishes. We could have another Mexican world champion.”

Aldana (14-6) is a former Invicta FC title challenger with an 8-4 record in the UFC. She has won six of her past eight, including a first-round knockout of Ketlen Vieira in 2019.

Her most recent loss came at the hands of former champion Holly Holm in October 2020. She is vying to become the fourth active Mexican-born champion, alongside flyweight Brandon Moreno, interim featherweight champ Yair Rodriguez and flyweight Alexa Grasso, her teammate at Lobo Gym.

Nunes (22-5) is universally considered the No. 1 pound-for-pound female fighter in the world. She suffered a shocking upset against Peña in December 2021 but bounced back in dominant fashion with a decision win over her last July.

The UFC 289 card also features a lightweight matchup between Charles Oliveira and Beneil Dariush, which was supposed to take this weekend in Newark but was postponed due to an Oliveira injury.