Nunes’ bantamweight championship trilogy fight with Julianna Peña was set for June 10 in Vancouver, Canada; however, White, president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, said on Tuesday that Pea had been forced to withdraw due to injury. Irene Aldana will replace Peña.
White claims that Peña cannot participate because she fractured her ribs. Peña won in a startling upset through submission at UFC 269 to become champion, and Nunes avenged that defeat and reclaimed her championship at UFC 277 with a dominant five-round performance. This was to be their third encounter, and Peña won in a surprise upset by submission at UFC 269 to become champion.
Nunes has five consecutive victorious defenses of her bantamweight title until losing it to Peña. Additionally, she is the current featherweight champion of the UFC.
Instead of facing Raquel Pennington again on May 20 in a rematch that was expected to determine a new No. 1 challenger, Aldana will now be competing for the title. Even though she hasn’t competed at 135 pounds in either of her last two fights, the Mexican has won two in a row and four of her last five bouts.
Aldana knocked out Macy Chiasson with a sensational up kick in a catchweight battle in September. Before that, she knocked out Yana Santos in the first round with a technical knockout despite missing weight by more than three pounds.
It has not been determined at this time whether Pennington will face a different opponent on May 20.
Former lightweight champion Charles Oliveira faces off against Beneil Dariush in the co-main event of UFC 289 at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, Canada.