G.O.A.T. is an acronym for the Greatest Of All Time. In every sport, you have your goats; Tom Brady in football, Michael Jordan in basketball and Wayne Gretzky in hockey. When it comes to Mixed Martial Arts, however, the term gets cloudy and confusing.

In the men’s game, it’s widely contested between Jon Jones, Georges St Pierre, Anderson Silva and Demetrious Johnson.

In the women’s game, the title is undisputed. Her name is Amanda Nunes.

Then, at UFC 269, the impossible happened. Nunes lost her bantamweight title fight vs Juliana Pena, ultimately crowning a new 135 lb queen for the first time in over five years.

Some expected Valentina Shevchenko to be the only one capable of challenging Nunes, or they thought the lioness would reign for however long she pleases. With her toughness and strength, however, Pena was seen as the kryptonite for the lioness.

All legends avenge their losses. Nunes is no different. She returned to the octagon at UFC 277 and beat the hell out of Pena, regaining her bantamweight title and her status as double champ.

The rivalry then came to one apiece. Despite the relative beatdown put on Pena in the last fight, the trilogy was the only relevant fight at 135 pounds.

So at UFC 289 we are going to get a…

Scratch that.

With an Injury to Pena, Irene Aldana will take her place and enter into her first title shot in the UFC.

In the co-main event, former lightweight champion Charles Oliveira will return to take on Beniel Dariush. The winner will earn a spot as the No. 1 contender at 155lbs.

At UFC 289, two brazilian legends are on the card, and their challengers are hungrier than ever to leave them in their wakes.

Charles Oliveira vs Beneil Dariush

The title run of Do Bronx was one of the more important streaks in lightweight history as it cemented him as a legend in weight class. At one point, the man looked unbeatable. That was until UFC 280.

Oliveira lost to Makhachev, ending his unbeaten and unbeatable streak.

After a brief hiatus, Oliveira is back and will be welcomed by Beneil Dariush, a man suffering from the Tony Ferguson curse. The man has been stuck in title-shot limbo, like Ferguson himself back in 2018-2020.

By all means, Dariush should be booked against Islam considering both the state of 155 lb division and the unlucky path he’s been on. Poor matchmaking and unlikely injuries left Dariush to the mercy of the MMA gods.

Luckily, there’s enough he’s sticking around for what’s being set up as an absolute banger with Oliveira.

First things first, lets take a look at the two competitors

As mentioned before, Oliveira was on much of a streak. After mauling Ferguson back in 2020, it looked like he was truly unbeatable, concussing and strangling some of the best lightweight on the roster.

Justin Gaethje put it best: “He hit like nobody else in the division.”

While the loss to Islam may have hindered his aura, make no mistakes. Oliveira is still one of the most dangerous lightweights on earth. One more Do Bronx masterclass will give the man the vengeance he so desperately seeks.

To get there, he has to face the wild card of the 155lb division.

While Oliveira was making his title run, Dariush was building a lengthy win streak. He beat Ferguson, but nobody cared. However, at UFC 280 (ironically the same card Oliveira lost on), he fought Matuez Gamrot and fans finally started to realize his potential.

Gamrot is a future champion, and Dariush dismantled him. His striking was on point and his grappling was good enough to neutralize Gamrot’s. What really stood out, though, was his composure. It’s a feature that can make or break fighters in the cage.

On the other hand, there’s chaos and unpredictability to Bronx.

This is a battle of wills: The composure of Dariush, or the chaos of Oliveira.

In the striking department, the two are evenly matched with Charles being the harder puncher and Beneil being the more composed and defensively better striker. Both can end the fight with a knockout, but the ground game remains a mystery.

Oliveira, simply put, is a ju-jitsu wizard. Most, if not all, of the lightweight division wants no part of Bronx on his back. Dariush (aside from Makhachev) is one of the few guys on the planet that has the skills to contend with him in a grappling battle.

Perhaps it’s recency bias, but Oliveira is out to remind us how lethal he truly is. I didn’t forget. Did you?

Or, maybe Dariush will continue his white-hot blaze of domination and hand a crushing defeat to the former champion. After all, these two go way back and a win over the other would feel even sweeter.

The next challenger for the champion, Makhachev, will emerge. With a title shot so close, the two will go to war, like they always do.

Amanda Nunes vs Irene Aldana

Amanda Nunes will return in the main event of UFC 289, and her bantamweight crown will be on the line against Irene Aldana. It was supposed to be Juliana Pena, but she had a last-minute injury.

Although she didn’t deserve the immediate trilogy, I wish it was Pena. Regardless, let’s move on to the defending champion.

What more is needed to be said? She’s Amanda F@%$* Nunes. She’s dominated and shown her greatness time and time again, defeating every women’s bantamweight champion in dominant fashion.

While some considered her loss to Pena to be the beginning of the end, Nunes came back and gave her an absolute brutal beatdown. This just proves that Nunes is as ferocious as ever, and her next challenger will need a miracle to overcome her.

Aldana is her challenger, and there really isn’t much to say.

She had a rough start to her UFC career, but she has recovered well, proving herself to be a competent fighter at bantamweight .

She’s coming off of two KO victories and although her record leaves some doubt, there is no doubting that this may be the lioness’ toughest challenge yet.

On paper, the two match up very well. Aldana matches her in physical attributes. On the feet, Aldana is the better striker as well. Although Nunes’ superb grappling still plays a factor, Aldana has a takedown defense percentage of over 80.

The question remains: Can she do significant damage in the striking exchanges? She 100% has the power to rattle Nunes, but that is easier said than done.

Another factor is the trajectories of their respective careers. Although Nunes’ loss to Pena was considered a fluke, she is on the wrong side of 30 and is on the downslope of her career.

Aldana, although the same age, is entering her prime combat years. Her drive and dedication will be as high as ever.

She’s been training and working hard to share the octagon with the greatest of all time. When a fighter gets to that stage, no matter the skill level, you never know when it all catches up.

Look at it this way. Either greatness continues, or we enter the dawn of a new era at 135lbs.

Considering the circumstances, this is a decent substitute. Let’s be honest, Nunes has gotten to the point that whoever she fights, you just have to tune in.

Two lightweight contenders will enter, with only one to emerge as the next challenger at 155.

The greatest female fighter of all time is entering the twilight of her career, and now every fight is a must watch. Can Nunes outlast a cruel game, or is the hungry challenger just going to be too much for her?

We’ll find out on June 10th At UFC 289.