Amanda
Nunes
has by now grown accustomed to the loneliness of life at
the top.
“Lioness” will defend her undisputed
Ultimate Fighting Championship women’s bantamweight crown when
she faces
Irene
Aldana in the
UFC
289 main event on Saturday at Rogers Arena in Vancouver,
British Columbia. Nunes has rattled off 13 victories across her
past 14 outings. She last competed at UFC 277 in July, when she
avenged a prior loss and reclaimed the 135-pound title with a
unanimous decision over
Julianna
Pena. Aldana, meanwhile, enters the Octagon on the heels of a
modest two-fight winning streak. She last appeared at UFC 279,
where she wrecked
Macy
Chiasson with an upkick to the body in the third round of their
Sept. 10 pairing.
As Nunes and Aldana make final preparations for their forthcoming
showdown, a look at some of the numbers that have accompanied them
to this point:
35: Years of age for Nunes, who was born on May 30, 1988 in Pojuca,
Brazil.
13: Nunes wins by knockout or technical knockout, accounting for
59% of her career total (22). Her list of UFC victims:
Holly Holm,
Cristiane
Justino,
Raquel
Pennington,
Ronda
Rousey,
Shayna
Baszler,
Germaine
de Randamie and
Sheila Gaff.
Nunes owns four other wins by submission (18%) and five more by
decision (23%).
2,296: Days spent by Nunes as UFC women’s bantamweight champion,
her stay atop the division spread across two reigns. She has held
the title from July 9, 2016 to Dec. 11, 2021 and again from July
30, 2022 to present.
37: Rounds completed by Nunes as a professional mixed martial
artist. She has gone the distance on six different occasions and
carries a 5-1 record in those bouts.
62: Combined victories between the five opponents—Pena,
Cat Zingano,
Sarah D’Alelio,
Alexis
Davis and
Ana Maria—who
have beaten Nunes. They boast a cumulative .660 winning percentage
at 62-32.
35: Years of age for Aldana, who was born in Culiacan, Mexico, on
March 26, 1988.
8: Aldana victories by knockout or technical knockout, accounting
for 58% of her career total (14). Her list of UFC victims:
Chiasson,
Yana Santos
and
Ketlen
Vieira. Aldana holds three other victories by submission (21%)
and three more by decision (21%).
773: Significant strikes landed by Aldana as a UFC women’s
bantamweight, placing her second on the promotion’s all-time list
at 135 pounds. Only the aforementioned Pennington has been credited
with more (922).
15: Seconds needed for Aldana to put away
Sandra
del Rincon with knees and punches at a GEX Cage Tournament
event on Oct. 17, 2012. More than a decade later, it remains her
fastest finish to date.
.711: Cumulative winning percentage between the six opponents—Holm,
Pennington,
Katlyn
Chookagian,
Leslie
Smith,
Tonya
Evinger and
Larissa
Pacheco—who have defeated Aldana. They sport a combined record
of 99-40-1.