Jon Anik Criticizes Irene Aldana's UFC 289 Performance: "Pretty Lackluster"

The UFC play-by-play announcer keeps it real.

UFC play-by-play ace Jon Anik called the UFC 289 main event, and he feels Irene Aldana's performance left a lot to be desired.

Aldana challenged Amanda Nunes for the UFC Women's Bantamweight Championship on June 10. The action was held inside Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. There was a lot of buzz for Aldana going into the fight given the momentum her team, Lobo Gym, has been having in UFC title fights.

(via Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports)

The string of success for the Lobo Gym in Mexico did not lead to Aldana's first UFC title run this past weekend. Instead, Nunes delivered a dominant five-round thrashing to successfully retain the 135-pound gold. After clear unanimous decision victory, Nunes announced her retirement from pro MMA competition.

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During a recent edition of the "Anik & Florian Podcast," Anik expressed his belief that Aldana didn't exactly show a sense of urgency against "The Lioness."

"She [Nunes] approached this fight as if it would be her last, and she had all the motivation that you would expect," Anik said. "Just a vintage, I thought, Amanda Nunes performance in dominating a pretty lackluster, at times, Irene Aldana."

The UFC play-by-play commentator went on to share whether or not he thought this was Aldana's worst performance.

"I would stop short of calling it Irene Aldana's worst performance, but I certainly expected more," Anik said.

With that said, Anik would've liked to have seen Aldana take more chances.

"I mean, she was shelled up all night and the biggest shot she landed was in round one, and you felt maybe that would give her some confidence going forward to take a few more risks."

With the loss to Nunes, Aldana's record drops to 14-7. Gold has alluded her throughout her career. This was Aldana's second title fight for a major MMA promotion. Her first major title fight was under the Invicta FC banner, falling short against  Tonya Evinger. Now, she has lost a UFC title fight. 

At the age of 35, Aldana is hoping she can eventually win the big one.

THIS MOMENT FROM THE NUNES FAM ❤️ #UFC289 pic.twitter.com/01Is9ibZq2

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) June 11, 2023

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