Tag: UFC 289

UFC 289 reactions: Winning and losing fighters on social media

See how the UFC 289 winners and losers reacted on social media outlets such as Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

Since the early days when the sport was anything but a mainstream endeavor, the MMA industry has thrived and survived through various websites, forums, and, perhaps most importantly, social-media platforms.

Fighters interact with fans, each other and many more through the likes of Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, which helps outsiders get a deeper look into the minds of the athletes.

Following Saturday’s UFC 289 event in Vancouver, several of the winning and losing fighters, along with their coaches, training partners or family members, took to social media to react to the event or share a message with supporters.

The defeated

Why Amanda Nunes thinks Julianna Peña won’t become UFC women’s bantamweight champion

With her former bantamweight title up for grabs, Amanda Nunes doesn’t see Julianna Peña becoming the next heir to her throne.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia – [autotag]Amanda Nunes[/autotag] doesn’t see [autotag]Julianna Peña[/autotag] becoming the next heir to her throne.

Nunes (23-5 MMA, 16-2 UFC) retired after retaining her bantamweight title against Irene Aldana (14-6 MMA, 7-4 UFC) this past Saturday in the UFC 289 main event at Rogers Arena.

Peña (11-5 MMA, 7-3 UFC), who was originally scheduled to face Nunes before withdrawing due to a rib injury, accused Nunes of running away from their trilogy bout by retiring – and “The Lioness” could only laugh at that statement.

“Oh my goodness, what can I say about that girl?” Nunes told reporters at the UFC 289 post-fight press conference. “She’s supposed to be here. I’m supposed to beat her tonight again. She’s the one that doesn’t know how to train, break the ribs, what am I going to do?

“If it was Julianna Peña tonight, I don’t retire because I want to fight somebody that I never fought before to retire. Tonight, it wouldn’t have been the night. I would have beat Julianna and then fight Aldana or whatever and then retire.”

With Nunes opting to hang up her gloves, the UFC bantamweight title is now vacant. Peña is the only woman to beat Nunes during her dominant title reign, but Nunes doesn’t see her recapturing gold. Nunes dominated Peña when they immediately rematched at UFC 277 to reclaim her bantamweight title.

“No,” Nunes said on Peña becoming champion. “I don’t think so. I think Aldana can beat her. I feel like she (Peña) got lucky in that fight against me. She knows I wasn’t ready, but I proved it in the second fight and I don’t think she’s going to be a champion. She’s not ready. She’s not ready to be a champion.”

[lawrence-related id=2648311,2647693,2649158]

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 289.

Dan Ige focused on improvement after UFC 289 win: ‘I want to be better than that’

Following UFC 289, Dan Ige expressed relief and self-criticism regarding his performance in his victory over Nate Landwehr.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia – [autotag]Dan Ige[/autotag] was in for a tough test Saturday at UFC 289 and is relieved he came out on top.

On the pay-per-view main card at Rogers Arena, Ige (17-6 MMA, 9-5 UFC) defeated Nate Landwehr (17-5 MMA, 4-3 UFC) by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27) and embarked on another multifight winning streak.

Ige dropped Landwehr multiple times in the first two rounds. Landwehr hung tough, though, and managed to stay in there with Ige for the full three rounds.

“I had him so hurt,” Ige told MMA Junkie and other reporters at a post-fight news conference. “I had him hurt in Round 1. I hurt him in Round 2 pretty bad. I saw him wobbling back to the corner. My coach Eric told me, ‘Look at that mother-effer. Look at him. It takes a lot out of you when hurt a guy like that (with) just adrenaline to go for the kill. He’s scrambly, dude. He’s dangerous. Honestly, when that guy gets hurt, he’s even more dangerous because he just keeps coming. I should’ve probably choked him out.”

[lawrence-related id=2649158,2649157]

As he spoke backstage, Ige wore the damage of the battle: scratches, bruising, and swelling covered his face. As he looked into the future, Ige plans to take some time off, get better, and resume his journey toward his ultimate goal of UFC gold.

“I’ll do a little bit of healing,” Ige said. “I’m going back to Hawaii with my family on Thursday. I’m going to spend 10 days there with the fam. I’ll just rest, recover, recharge. Man, I’ve been f*cking grinding my ass off since literally my last fight just because I want to be the best version of myself. And it takes a lot out of you. You’ve prepared so hard for one day.

“I want to be better than that. I want to be better than what I’ve shown. Even though I’ve done good things, I’m hard on myself. I’m my biggest critic. I just want to be better. Becoming better comes with taking time off and just healing up and recharging my soul and my mind.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 289.

UFC 289 winner Diana Belbita sick of grappling-heavy opponents: ‘Stop hugging and let’s fight’

Following her UFC 289 win, Diana Belbita vented frustration with opponents wanting to grab hold of her and avoid striking.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia – Just one time, [autotag]Diana Belbita[/autotag] wants to face an opponent who will strike with her.

Initially, Belbita (15-7 MMA, 2-3 UFC) thought her opponent at Saturday’s UFC 289, Maria Oliveira (13-7 MMA, 1-3 UFC), was a stand-and-bang sort of foe. However, as the fight played out, that was disproved.

“Everybody tries to hug me. I don’t know why,” Belbita told MMA Junkie and other reporters at a post-fight news conference. “But come on, man. Everybody wants to hug me. Like, what’s that? I’m too scary? Are my hands scary? What’s the problem? Do they love me too much?

“Every fight, my opponent tries to hug me. Stop hugging and let’s fight. Let’s throw punches in this fight. We’re in a fistfight. We’re not in a hugging fight. Guess what? I’m not just a striker. I started working more and more on my grappling, so next time I may shoot or I may hug, too.”

As history has continued to repeat itself each time she steps in the cage, Belbita has made grappling a main focus, especially as she comes from a kickboxing background. Belbita hinted she thinks her skills might be nearing the point where she can use grappling offensively rather than defensively.

“I really expected this girl to stay in the middle of the cage and throw punches,” Belbita said. “And what she did? She took me down and tried to hug me. No, I don’t care. I think everybody will try to hug me because I have long hands, and I have power in my hands.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=420030788]

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 289.

MMA Junkie Radio #3369: UFC 289 results, Amanda Nunes retires, more

Check out the latest episode of MMA Junkie Radio with “Gorgeous” George and “Goze,.”

Monday’s edition of MMA Junkie Radio with “Gorgeous” George and “Goze” is here.

On Episode 3,369, the guys recap UFC 289 from Vancouver, which saw [autotag]Amanda Nunes[/autotag] defend her bantamweight title against Irene Aldana, and then decide to call an end to her legendary career. The fellas also discuss 2023 PFL 4, and other MMA news. Tune in!

[pickup_prop id=”33900″]

Dana White: Islam Makhachev vs. Charles Oliveira 2 ‘makes sense’ after UFC 289

Dana White would like to see Charles Oliveira rematch UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia – [autotag]Dana White[/autotag] would like to see [autotag]Charles Oliveira[/autotag] rematch UFC lightweight champion [autotag]Islam Makhachev[/autotag].

Oliveira (34-9 MMA, 22-9 UFC) finished Beneil Dariush (22-5-1 MMA, 16-5-1 UFC) by Round 1 TKO in this past Saturday’s UFC 289 co-main event at Rogers Arena.

Although Makhachev (24-1 MMA, 13-1 UFC) recently scored a dominant submission of Oliveira this past October at UFC 280, Oliveira’s performance was impressive enough for White to consider him one of the frontrunners in the title race.

“He looked like a world-beater tonight, and I’m excited for him and Islam to fight again,” White told MMA Junkie and other reporters at a post-fight news conference. “It’s the thing that makes sense. I’ll tell you on Tuesday. Let’s not play games: That fight makes sense. That’s the fight that should happen, and I’m excited to see it again.”

Makhachev didn’t seem too excited at the prospect of rematching Oliveira, and took a jab at “Do Bronx” after the fight. While White would like to see Makhachev and Oliveira run things back, he didn’t definitively say it’s happening next. Makhachev is projected to make his next title defense at UFC 294 on Oct. 22 in Abu Dhabi.

“There’s a lot of things that go into consideration for the next fight,” White said. “I’m sitting here talking to you about him right now, and I don’t even know what’s wrong with him. He’s in medicals. I don’t know where he’s at, I don’t know what he’s got planned over the summer. The list goes on and on of things that factor into how fights are made. But I’m just telling you right here right now it’s a fight I’d like to see again.”

[lawrence-related id=2649246,2648288,2649217]

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 289.

Chris Curtis: Accidental headbutt at UFC 289 caused ’10 stitches and a possible corneal abrasion’

Chris Curtis’ right eye was in bad shape after an accidental headbutt at UFC 289.

[autotag]Chris Curtis[/autotag]’ right eye was in bad shape after an accidental headbutt at UFC 289.

Curtis’ (30-10 MMA, 4-2 UFC) featured middleweight prelim against Nassourdine Imavov (12-4 MMA, 4-2 UFC) this past Saturday at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia, was ruled a no contest after a clash of heads rendered him unable to continue. The collision, which took place midway through Round 2, caused a cut above Curtis’ right eye.

Curtis tried his best to clear his eye with a towel so he could continue fighting, but when he told doctors he still couldn’t see, referee Jason Herzog waved the fight off. A disappointed Curtis took to Twitter to reveal the damage done to his eye.

“10 stitches and a possible Corneal Abrasion. In 40 fights I’ve never not been able to continue. I’m genuinely sorry guys. I really wanted to do something special for Canada. I’ll be back guys.”

Curtis, who faced a similar scenario in a fight with Kelvin Gastelum, was confused why he wasn’t given five minutes to recover after Herzog called a timeout.

“So tonight we learned that headbutts and head clashes are treated in fundamentally different ways. There is no mandatory allowance for head clashes. I thought it was the same 5 minutes? Learn something new everyday day. Regardless I have never not been able to continue in 40 fights, I’ve been cut, I’ve been rocked and I’ve been hurt in fights. But losing my vision and not immediately getting it back is something new to me. As much as I want to fight on I just thought I had a little more time to let my eye clear.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 289.

Javier Mendez: Charles Oliveira earned right to be No. 1 in line for Islam Makhachev

Javier Mendez thinks Charles Oliveira deserves a title shot after UFC 289.

Javier Mendez thinks [autotag]Charles Oliveira[/autotag] deserves a title shot after UFC 289.

Oliveira (34-9 MMA, 22-9 UFC) needed less than a round to TKO Beneil Dariush (22-5-1 MMA, 16-5-1 UFC) in this past Saturday’s co-main event at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

Lightweight champion [autotag]Islam Makhachev[/autotag] scored a dominant submission of Oliveira this past October at UFC 280, but Mendez thinks Oliveira’s quick finish of the streaking Dariush was enough to earn him a rematch.

“Charles has earned that right to be No. 1 in line for it,” Mendez told Submission Radio. “What the UFC feels is different. But from what I see, I don’t see how … I mean, you tell me, guys. You tell me what you think: Do you think Charles earned and did enough to be the next lightweight contender? I think so. But it’s what the fans think. It’s what the UFC thinks.”

Both Makhachev and Mendez were hoping for new blood in Dariush, but “Do Bronx” ended up wowing the American Kickboxing Academy head coach.

“I didn’t know who was going to win, but I was crossing my fingers it was going to be Beneil,” Mendez said. “I for sure didn’t think Charles was going to be that impressive in victory. I did not think that. He totally, totally unexpectedly shocked anything to what I thought he was capable of doing.

“I didn’t think that he was going to be able to do it like he did. I thought a great performance was going to put him in the talks, but I bypassed that, and maybe it was because I wanted Beneil to win. I don’t know. But I should not have underestimated how great he is as a champion.”

Leading up to his fight with Dariush, Oliveira said he wasn’t himself against Makhachev and that a rematch would go differently.

“Well, that’s just what every fighter does when they take an L,” Mendez said. “They’ll say what they say to get themselves motivated, because come on – 10 percent? Come on. Maybe 99.9 percent you showed. Maybe you didn’t show that 1 percent.

“I just took it as, ‘Hey, you know, I’m determined to show everybody who Charles Oliveira is,’ and he did. He proved this point. He proved ‘This is who I am: Come get me.’ Now it’s up to the UFC to decide who gets the opportunity.”

[lawrence-related id=2648288,2649217,2648295]

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 289.

Raquel Pennington suggests vacant bantamweight title fight vs. Julianna Peña after Amanda Nunes’ retirement

With the bantamweight title now vacant, Raquel Pennington wants her shot at gold.

With the women’s bantamweight title about to be vacant, [autotag]Raquel Pennington[/autotag] wants her shot at gold.

[autotag]Amanda Nunes[/autotag] announced her retirement after a lopsided title defense against Irene Aldana in this past Saturday’s UFC 289 headliner at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

Nunes’ announcement left former champion [autotag]Julianna Peña[/autotag] (11-5 MMA, 7-3 UFC), who was in attendance for the fight, disappointed. Peña was Nunes’ original opponent before a rib injury forced her to withdraw from their rubber match.

But now that Nunes will be relinquishing her belt, Pennington (15-8 MMA, 12-5 UFC) suggests she fights Peña for it.

“Me vs Julianna got the world title!!!! Dana always thought from TUF we would face each other at the finale. Wasn’t the journey then but here we are now!!! @danawhite @Mickmaynard2 @ufc.”

“Congratulations @Amanda_Leoa on a successful career!”

Pennington and Peña both competed on Season 18 of “The Ultimate Fighter” with coach Miesha Tate. Pennington was eliminated in the semifinals; Peña won the season.

Since then, both have found success in the UFC. Pennington fell short in her pursuit of UFC gold when she was stopped by Round 5 TKO against Nunes in 2018, but currently is on a five-fight winning streak.

Peña scored a shocking upset of Nunes when she submitted her at UFC 269. The pair ran things back at UFC 277 in July 2022, and Nunes avenged her loss to reclaim the bantamweight title in dominant fashion. However with Nunes retiring, Peña won’t get the trilogy she’s been clamoring for.

[lawrence-related id=2649158,2649052,2648292]

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 289.

Dana White reacts to Conor McGregor injuring Miami Heat mascot in stunt gone wrong

Dana White isn’t too surprised to see Conor McGregor’s stunt with the Miami Heat mascot go wrong.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia – [autotag]Dana White[/autotag] wasn’t too surprised to see [autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag]’s stunt with the Miami Heat mascot go wrong.

McGregor was in attendance for Game 4 of the 2023 NBA Finals between the Heat and Denver Nuggets at Kaseya Center in Miami to promote his cryotherapy spray, TIDL.

Midway through the game, McGregor was confronted by Heat mascot “Burnie,” who sported a pair of boxing gloves in a pre-planned product skit. McGregor met him with a left hand and a follow-up shot on the ground, which injured the mascot.

According to a report from The Atheltic, the incident required an emergency room visit for the main inside the costume, who man received pain medication before he was released.

“I saw the Deontay Wilder one, too,” White told MMA Junkie and other reporters at a post-fight news conference. “What’s up with mascots wanting to get punched in the face by professional fighters? What do you expect? I mean, what are those mascot things made out of?

“Unless you’re like, the Golden Knights mascot – I don’t even know what the hell he wears, but I’m assuming it’s a metal helmet – I wouldn’t have professional fighters punching me in the face if I was a mascot. Doesn’t seem like the brightest thing in the world.”

McGregor (22-6 MMA, 10-4 UFC) recently wrapped up filming Season 31 of “The Ultimate Fighter” opposite fellow coach Michael Chandler (23-8 MMA, 2-3 UFC). The show airs Tuesdays on ESPN and ESPN+ through Aug. 15, and the coaches are expected to square off after the conclusion of the show, but a date for their fight is yet to be announced.

[lawrence-related id=2648558,2648452,2648424]

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 289.