UFC 289 takes center stage this Saturday on it’s highly anticipated return to Canada. Amanda Nunes is set to defend her gold strap against Irene Aldana in the headlining bout. In the co-main, lightweights Beneil Dariush and former champion Charles Oliviera go toe-to-toe for the next crack at the lightweight championship.
Which fight could steal the UFC 289 Fight of the Night, with it a bonus, on Saturday night and earn $50,000 for both fighters in the process?
Fight of the Night Contender #1 – Beneil Dariush vs. Charles Oliviera
Let’s be honest, when is Du Bronx ever in a boring fight? With 3 Fight of the Night Bonuses already in the bag, alongside 15 other personal bonuses, the Brazilian will be looking to put out a statement at UFC 289 to prove he deserves another shot at UFC gold.
These two top 5 ranked lightweights will be heading into a war this Saturday night. Knowing that a win for either man should earn a matchup with Islam Makhachev for the lightweight championship in the not-too-distant future.
Beneil Dariush has been very open in his beliefs that the UFC has tried to “avoid” him when it comes to the lightweight strap but has been promised to be “the No. 1 contender” if he beats Charles Oliveria this weekend.
With both men recipients of their black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, the ground game could be completely nullified. This could leave us with a fascinating stand-up encounter and it’s impossible to predict who would have the advantage if this is the case.
Viewed as the “people’s main event”, according to Michael Bisping, the card relies rather heavily on the co-main event stepping up and delivering 15 minutes of non-stop action. With that said, Du Bronx hasn’t seen the judges’ scorecards since December 2020 showing full potential that another finish could be on the cards early hours of Sunday morning for UK viewers.
Fight of the Night Contender #2 – Nassourdine Imavov vs. Chris Curtis
Chris ‘Action Man’ Curtis feels like he has a chip on his shoulder after suffering defeat last time out, partially to do with an accidental clash of heads with Kelvin Gastelum, helping the judges give round two in favour of Kelvin and therefore the overall decision.
With that said, Nassourdine Imavov is not the easiest fight to take on his journey back to winning ways, he himself is aiming to bounce back from defeat to the #7 ranked middleweight Sean Strickland back in the first card of 2023.
Likely to also be a stand-up affair due to the lack of wrestling apparent in both men’s styles, this should be the standout prelim, hence it topping the prelim card. The welterweights will likely feel hard done by not to have earnt a place on the main card itself given their respective rankings.
Chris Curtis has 15 knockout/TKO wins on his record showing he is more than familiar with ending a fight before the judges have their say. Whilst Imavov has only finished five fights on the feet, the Dagestani-born fighter has only entered 16 professional bouts compared to the vastly experienced ‘Action Man’ Chris Curtis who has 40 pro bouts on his resumé.
Fight of the Night Contender #3 – Dan Ige vs. Nate Landwehr
Nate Landwehr is capable of putting on a fight of the night or even a fight of the year-worthy performance as seen in his summer showdown last year against David Onama where he pushed the pace for the entire 15 minutes, taking heavy shots in order to land his own.
Dan ’50K’ Ige is no stranger to violence either, ending Damon Jackson’s night after only nine minutes in their matchup on the same card as Imavov in January. ’50K’ is aiming to keep his spot in the top 15 whereas Nate ‘The Train’ is looking to derail any hopes Ige still has of progressing through the ranks.
Landwehr has shown throughout his UFC tenure that his chin is solid however often vulnerable to big shots which is what makes his fights so exciting to watch. Ige on the other hand has never been stopped inside the octagon, with all five of his UFC defeats coming by way of unanimous decision.
Ige has lost four of his last six and will be looking to gain another win on his return to form this Saturday against Nate ‘The Train’. In opposition, Landwehr is looking to continue his winning form, having won his last three back-to-back, and continue to use the microphone afterwards to gain attention and fans by cutting his now infamous promos.
Which one of these, or any of the others, will win the UFC 289 Fight of the Night bonus?
Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images
