UFC reveals main event and other details for Vancouver visit

The greatest female fighter of all time is coming to Vancouver, the UFC announced today.

UFC 289 will take place at Rogers Arena on June 10, headlined by a bout between women’s featherweight and bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes, as she defends her 135-pound belt against former titleholder and No. 1 contender Julianna Peña.

It’ll be the first UFC event held in Canada in almost four years.

“I’m so pumped to return to Canada,” said UFC president Dana White. “Some of the greatest events in my life were up in Canada. The fans are awesome and I love every city up in Canada. I can’t wait to deliver an awesome Pay-Per-View in Vancouver. We’re back!”

Tickets go on sale to the general public tomorrow, April 21 at noon, through Ticketmaster, though an internet pre-sale for UFC newsletter subscribers began earlier today.

The main card will air live on pay-per-view, June 10, starting at 7 pm PT. Televised prelims will broadcast beginning at 5 pm PT on TSN, with the night’s early prelims kicking off exclusively on UFC Fight Pass.

Nunes is considered the greatest female fighter of all time. The 34-year-old Brazilian is 22-5 in her career and is looking to set a new record for combined UFC women’s title defences. The future UFC Hall of Famer holds knockout wins over former champions like Ronda Rousey, Holly Holm, and Cris Cyborg.

Peña (12-5) is a 33-year-old fighter from Spokane, Washington. She has earned impressive victories against Sara McMann, Cat Zingano, and Jessica Eye.

This is the third fight between Nunes and Peña. Peña defeated Nunes in their first bout at UFC 269 on December 11, 2021, with Nunes winning the rematch at UFC 277 on July 30, 2022.

Other announced bouts on the fight card include:

• Ranked middleweight contenders collide when No. 12 Nassourdine Imavov (12-4, fighting out of Paris, France) meets No. 15 Chris Curtis (30-10, fighting out of Las Vegas, Nev. by way of Cincinnati, Ohio, USA)
• No. 13 ranked featherweight contender Dan Ige (16-6, fighting out of Las Vegas, Nev. by way of Haleiwa, Hawaii) looks to halt the momentum of rising Nate Landwehr (17-4, fighting out of Clarksville, Tenn.)
• No. 13 ranked light heavyweight contender Khalil Rountree Jr. (12-5 1NC, fighting out of Las Vegas, Nev., USA) aims to spoil the 205-pound debut of No. 13 heavyweight Chris Daukaus (12-6, fighting out of Philadelphia, Penn., USA)
• Kyle Nelson (13-5-1, fighting out of Stoney Creek, Ont.) battles unbeaten Blake Bilder (8-0-1, fighting out of Costa Mesa, Calif., USA) in a featherweight tilt
• Marc-Andre Barriault (15-6 1NC, fighting out of Boca Raton, Fla., USA by way of Gatineau, Que.) locks horns with Eryk Anders (15-7 1NC, fighting out of Scottsdale, Ariz., USA by way of Birmingham, Ala., USA) in a hard-hitting middleweight bout
• No. 8 ranked flyweight contender Matt Schnell (16-7, fighting out of Shreveport, La., USA) takes on No. 10 David Dvorak (20-5, fighting out of Horice, Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic)
• Hakeem Dawodu (13-3-1, fighting out of Calgary, Alta.) returns to action against Lucas Almeida (14-1, fighting out of Sorocaba, Sao Paulo, Brazil) in an entertaining featherweight bout
• Miranda Maverick (13-4, fighting out of Denver, Colo., USA by way of Buffalo, Mo., USA) faces Jasmine Jasudavicius (8-2, fighting out of Niagara, Ont.) at flyweight
• Aiemann Zahabi (9-2, fighting out of Montreal, Que.) goes for his third consecutive win when he meets Aoriqileng (24-9, fighting out of Shanghai, China) in a bantamweight matchup
• Diana Belbita (14-7, fighting out of Stoney Creek, Ont.) meets Maria Oliveira (13-6, fighting out of Niteroi, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) at strawweight

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