MMA Sucka Staff picks are rolling along in the month of June.
UFC 289: Nunes vs. Aldana takes place later tonight, with action set to take place from Rogers Arena in Vancouver, B.C., Canada. Saturday will mark the promotion’s long-awaited return to Canada, having run nary a show north of the border since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Prelims for the 11-fight card will begin at 6:30 p.m. ET (3:30 p.m. PT) followed by the main card at 9 a.m. ET (6 p.m. PT) with all fights available on either ESPN for cable viewers or ESPN+ for subscribers.
The Fights
Women’s bantamweight champion, double champion, and perhaps the greatest female mixed martial artist of all time, Amanda Nunes, put her title on the line in front of the Canadian fans against Mexico’s Irene Aldana in the main event of UFC 289.
Nunes will defend her championship for the first time since regaining it from Julianna Pena. A trilogy fight between the two was originally tapped to be the main event of Saturday’s PPV, but when an injury forced “The Venezuelan Vixen” out of the bout, Aldana stepped in for what will be the biggest fight of her career.
On paper, Aldana matches up well against Nunes. She can match the champion’s size, and to an extent, her power. The only question is whether or not Aldana can overcome Nunes’ immense championship experience and find her chin before Nunes finds hers.
Tonight's FULL #UFC289 lineup 🤩 Get your picks in!
[ Order the PPV on @ESPNPlus | B2YB @CryptoCom ] pic.twitter.com/JbMlQTYop6
— UFC (@ufc) June 10, 2023
The co-main event will see an arguably bigger fight and might be the people’s main event. Former UFC lightweight champion Charles Oliveira looks to reestablish himself as a contender in the division against Beneil Dariush. Dariush has been knocking on the door of a title shot for some time now, and will need to overcome one final test in Oliveira, one of MMA’s most dangerous finishers, for a shot at current champion Islam Makhachev.
The main card will be supplemented by local favorite Mike Malott when he takes on Adam Fugitt. Nate Landwehr will press for a spot in the UFC rankings when he takes on Dan Ige in a banger of a featherweight contest. Another rising Canadian in Marc-Andre Barriault opens the main card against veteran Eryk Anders with six exciting fights set to precede them.
See further below for our UFC 289 staff picks.
2023 Staff Picks
MMASucka staff picks are composed of five promotions: the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), Bellator MMA, ONE Championship, the Professional Fighters League (PFL), and Dana White’s Contender Series (DWCS). UFC and Bellator events feature picks from only main cards. PFL will feature select fights from the main and preliminary card while DWCS sees all fights counted from the event. ONE Championship returns to picks for the first time since 2020 and will feature only mixed martial arts (MMA) fights selected from cards with a minimum three matchups.
The WINNER of staff picks at the end of 2023, who picked the most victorious fighters, will have a choice between receiving a custom-made championship belt from ProAmBelts or a chain from Championship Chains. Staff picks in 2022 was won by Wesley Riddle with a record of 264-135.
Who are the MMASucka staff picking to win from the main card of UFC 289? Find out below.
Staff Records after UFC on ESPN 46:
1. Ben Jamieson: 108-57
2. Michael DeSantis: 107-58
3T. Tim Wheaton: 105-60
3T. Frazer Krohn: 105-60
5. Nate Freeman: 104-61
6. Jeremy Brand: 103-62
7. Wesley Riddle: 100-65
8. Julio Monteros Jr.: 86-63
9T. Andrew Benjamin: 79-70
9T. Brian Knight: 79-47
11. Jack Goodwillie: 77-51
12. Roemello Reyes: 62-34
13. Jonathan Andrade: 29-21
14. Brandon Joint: 12-9
15. Andrew Harbaugh: 10-7
16. Joshua Yule: 7-6
*Note – not all staff pick for every event*
Marc-Andre Barriault (15-6), -138
vs.
Eryk Anders (15-7), +118
Light Heavyweight Division
– 205 LBS. ~ 93.0 KG. –
Jeremy Brand: Barriault TKO1
Wesley Riddle: Barriault TKO3
Michael DeSantis: Anders UD
Andrew Benjamin: Anders UD
Frazer Krohn: Anders UD
Nate Freeman: Anders UD
Julio Monteros Jr.: Anders UD
Brian Knight: Barriault SD
Jack Goodwillie: Barriault UD
Ben Jamieson: Barriault UD
Staff picking Barriault: 5
Staff picking Anders: 5
Dan Ige (16-6), -250
vs.
Nate “The Train” Landwehr (17-4), +210
Featherweight Division
– 145 LBS. ~ 65.8 KG. –
Jeremy Brand: Ige TKO2
Wesley Riddle: Landwehr SD
Michael DeSantis: Ige UD
Andrew Benjamin: Landwehr SD
Frazer Krohn: Ige UD
Nate Freeman: Ige UD
Julio Monteros Jr.: Landwehr UD
Brian Knight: Ige TKO2
Jack Goodwillie: Ige TKO1
Ben Jamieson: Ige UD
Staff picking Ige: 7
Staff picking Landwehr: 3
Mike Malott (0-1-1), -200
vs.
Adam Fugitt (9-3), +170
Lightweight Division
– 155 LBS. ~ 70.3 KG. –
Jeremy Brand: Malott SUB2
Wesley Riddle: Mallott TKO2
Michael DeSantis: Mallott UD
Andrew Benjamin: Mallott UD
Frazer Krohn: Mallott TKO1
Nate Freeman: Mallott TKO1
Julio Monteros Jr.: Mallott KO1
Brian Knight: Mallott SUB3
Jack Goodwillie: Mallott SUB2
Ben Jamieson: Mallott KO1
Staff picking Malott: 10
Staff picking Fugitt: 0
Charles Oliveira (33-9), +130
vs.
Beneil Dariush (22-4-1), -150
Lightweight Division
– 155 LBS. ~ 70.3 KG. –
Jeremy Brand: Dariush UD
Wesley Riddle: Oliveira SUB2
Michael DeSantis: Oliveira TKO2
Andrew Benjamin: Oliveira SUB2
Frazer Krohn: Dariush UD
Nate Freeman: Dariush SD
Julio Monteros Jr.: Oliveira SUB3
Brian Knight: Dariush UD
Jack Goodwillie: Oliveira TKO2
Ben Jamieson: Dariush UD
Staff picking Oliveira: 5
Staff picking Dariush: 5
Amanda Nunes (c) (22-5), -330
vs.
Irene Aldana (14-6), +270
UFC Women’s Bantamweight Championship
– 135 LBS. ~ 61.2 KG. –
Jeremy Brand: Nunes TKO2
Wesley Riddle: Nunes SUB1
Michael DeSantis: Nunes SUB3
Andrew Benjamin: Nunes TKO1
Frazer Krohn: Aldana TKO3
Nate Freeman: Nunes SUB2
Julio Monteros Jr.: Nunes UD
Brian Knight: Nunes UD
Jack Goodwillie: Nunes TKO3
Ben Jamieson: Nunes TKO2
Staff picking Nunes: 9
Staff picking Aldana: 1
