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Julianna Pena Injured; Irene Aldana Steps in to Challenge Amanda Nunes at UFC 289

It may not be how she envisioned, but Irene Aldana is now facing the opportunity of a lifetime.

On Tuesday, Ultimate Fighting Championship President Dana White revealed in a Twitter video that bantamweight title challenger Julianna Pena had been forced to withdraw from her rubber match with Amanda Nunes at UFC 289 on June 10, due to broken ribs. White announced that Nunes would instead be defending her title against Irene Aldana, who had previously been scheduled to rematch Raquel Pennington in the main event of UFC Fight Night 224 on May 20.