UFC 289 in June officially now has a main event.
The card is slated for the Rogers Arena in Vancouver, Canada, and is already filling out. Scheduled fights for the event include Stephen Thompson vs. Michel Pereira, as well as Rob Font’s clash with Nate Landwehr. Now, the card has a headliner.
As first reported by Aaron Bronsteter in an interview with Dana White, Amanda Nunes’s trilogy with Julianna Pena will headline the event. The pair will battle for women’s bantamweight gold for the third time and the first since their rematch last July.
In their first outing in December 2021 at UFC 269, ‘The Lioness’ entered the matchup as a massive favorite. In the first round, the odds appeared to be correct, as Nunes scored a big knockdown. However, Pena came storming back in the second frame, ultimately winning the title by submission.
The pair had their rematch last July in the main event of UFC 277. Sadly for the newly crowned champion, she didn’t have nearly as much success. Nunes dominated Pena, dropping her multiple times en route to a lopsided unanimous decision win to reclaim the gold.
Since that rematch, ‘The Venezuelan Vixen’ has repeatedly called for a trilogy bout with the two-weight world champion. While Dana White hasn’t shown interest in the fight until now, they will now headline the UFC’s return to Canada in July.
With the announcement of Amanda Nunes vs. Julianna Pena 3, the UFC 289 card reads as follows:
- Women’s Bantamweight title bout: Amanda Nunes vs. Julianna Pena
- Welterweight bout: Stephen Thompson vs. Michel Pereira
- Women’s Flyweight bout: Miranda Maverick vs. Jasmine Jasudavicius
- Middleweight bout: Eryk Anders vs. Marc-André Barriault
- Women’s Strawweight bout: Diana Belbiţă vs. Maria Oliveira
- Featherweight bout: Blake Bilder vs. Kyle Nelson
- Flyweight bout: Matt Schnell vs. David Dvořák
- Featherweight bout: Dan Ige vs. Nate Landwehr
What do you make of this fight announcement? Are you excited for Amanda Nunes vs. Julianna Pena 3? Sound off in the comment section below PENN Nation!
