Summer is for fighting. With the NBA and NHL amidst their finals, action-seeking sports fans will have few options outside the Octagon until the NFL returns. That should mean the UFC will relish the spotlight and put on bigger cards with more stars after a lackluster spring.
In the month of June, we get two ESPN cards, one network card on ABC, and UFC 289 this week. And that’s all before the big July cards kick in. The busy schedule is more than fun for fans, and it offers more opportunities to look for betting value.
Amanda Nunes (champion) -350 vs. Irene Aldana +260
Women's Bantamweight (135 pounds) Championship | Main Event
Finocchiaro: Amanda Nunes is an accomplished enough athlete that even the public is aware of her merits to the sport and her dominance in the bantamweight and featherweight divisions.
Nunes is extremely large for bantamweight, but her size is less impressive than her BJJ acumen, her fight arsenal, her ability to use footwork to set up her striking game and her natural raw punching power.
Except for her battles with Valentina Shevchenko, few women in Nunes’ weight class can take her into the deep waters of a fight.
In Mexican athlete and fifth-ranked Irene Aldana, we have a fighter who is mentally prepared to enter the cage and engage in battle with Nunes but one who does not have the versatility of fight weaponry, experience or caliber of opponent faced to compete with Nunes effectively beyond three rounds.
Aldana’s toughness of mind and her sturdy boxing base, as well as the winning culture in her dynamic gym, will prepare her to offer a terrific effort against Nunes.
Unless Nunes has a poor day on fight day or a late-night party the night prior to this bout, her dominance will be on display throughout this bout. Though Aldana is durable, tough and willing, the singularity of her fighting approach will not allow her to compete with Nunes for five rounds as I handicap it.
Pass for now.
Kuhn: The women’s GOAT returns, and at a price in the -350 range, it almost feels like a bargain. Nunes is typically priced aggressively, but an aberrant and sloppy performance against Jessica Pena in 2021 proved she is mortal. Now looking for a new challenge after her dominant redemption win over Pena, Nunes still has plenty of gas in the tank.