The UFC closes the year with its last pay-per-view (PPV) card of the year, an exciting one from top-to-bottom. Dustin Poirier hopes to put the cherry on top of his prestigious UFC career with his first Undisputed Lightweight Championship belt. The test will be tough to pass as he matches up with Charles Oliveira, currently owning the most finishes in UFC history. The GOAT, Amanda Nunes makes her 10th straight title defense against a confident Julianna Pena. Will we finally see a competitive Nunes fight? Or will another one bite the dust?
UFC 269 in the Sin City also features the “Suga Show” Sean O’Malley, who is hoping to catapult into the bantamweight top 15 rankings versus 15th ranked Raulian Paiva. To round out the main card is Cody Garbrandt making his flyweight debut against a battle ready Kai-Kara France, and a welterweight brawl between 12th ranked Geoff Neal and 14th ranked Santiago Ponzinibbio. The Prelims and Early Prelims also offer some great fights such as Dominick Cruz vs. Pedro Munhoz, Josh Emmett vs. Dan Ige, Tai Tuivasa vs. Augusto Sakai, and Ryan Hall vs. Darrick Minner (A Ryan Hall fight is always fun to watch!) …………..It’ssssss timeeee!! **Bruce Buffer voice**
Main Event: Lightweight Championship
(Champion) Charles Oliveira (+135) vs. #1 Dustin Poirier (-160)
Dustin “The Diamond” Poirier and Charles “Do Bronx” Oliveira are two of the longest tenured fighters in the Lightweight division. Both fighters have battled through adversity to reach the top of the mountain, I really don’t want to see either of these men lose but it is what it is. Oliveira is the best of the best when it comes to BJJ but when your matched up with a lightweight as well-rounded as Dustin Poirier, you need more than BJJ. “Do Bronx” has shown he possesses that sneaky knockout power by collecting KO wins over Nik Lentz, Jared Gooden, and Michael Chandler. Poirier has signature wins over the likes of Conor McGregor (twice), Eddie Alvarez, Justin Gaethje, Anthony Pettis, Max Holloway, and hoping to add Oliveira to his list. With a victory over Oliveira, Poirer’s resume would be potentially the best in UFC history. “The Diamond” has suffered 2 submission losses in his career but I don’t expect the experienced Poirier to allow Oliveira to gain better positioning throughout the fight. Oliveira nearly lost his previous bout in the 1st round, so keep an eye on a potential Poirier first round finish. I see “The Diamond” playing this fight smart, keeping it on the feet, finding holes, and finishing Charles Oliveira late in the second round.
Prediction: Poirier def. Oliveira via KO/TKO (2nd Round)
Co-Main Event: Women’s Bantamweight Championship
(Champion) Amanda Nunes (-800) vs. #3 Julianna Pena (+550)
Amanda Nunes hasn’t faced an opponent that loves to talk trash in quite a few years, so I’m sure Pena’s recent talk has quietly motivated the Lioness. Amanda Nunes is the greatest women’s fighter to exist. She has handled anything thrown her way, and has defeated the best of the best. I don’t see this bout being any different than her past fights, she is a -800 favorite for a reason. There are levels to this, and no women in UFC history will reach Nunes’ level. Although I wouldn’t mind a Nunes-Shevchenko trilogy fight (Let’s all dream). My assumption is that Pena will try to pressure Nunes, leading to Nunes picking her spots carefully and dropping Pena. I would be surprised if this went the distance.
Prediction: Nunes def. Pena via KO/TKO (3rd Round)
Welterweight Bout
This bout is a potential Fight of the Night candidate. Neal and Ponzinibbio could knock each other out at any point of this fight. Geoff Neal is hoping to get back in the win column after back-to-back losses at the hands of Stephen Thompson and Neil Magny. Ponzinibbio has defeated Neal Magny in the past which possibly sets the tone for him being the slight favorite. Geoff Neal is a patient fighter who tends to hesitate and struggle with fighters who come forward and bring the pressure. Ponzinibbio is the opposite of patient.
Prediction: Ponzinibbio def. Neal via Unanimous Decision
Flyweight Bout
#6 Kai Kara-France (+120) vs. Cody Garbrandt (-140)
Cody “No Love” Garbrandt is making his flyweight debut this Saturday night at UFC 269. After fighting at 135 pounds his entire career, “No Love” has moved down to 125 pounds. I am not sure if this was the correct move for him to get back into form and racking up W’s but we shall see. Kai Kara-France is determined to crack the top 5 in the division with this win. Kara-France will be too quick for Garbrandt and piece him apart similar to the way Rob Font did.
Prediction: Kara-France def. Garbrandt via Unanimous Decision
Bantamweight Bout
#15 Raulian Paiva (+250) vs. Sean O’Malley (-350)
Suga Sean O’Malley is one of the biggest fan favorites on the entire UFC roster and it’s not hard to see why. O’Malley is a highlight reel in the making every fight while sporting a very unique fighting style/skill set. The Suga Show leads the UFC in strikes landed per minute at 8.37. Suga throws unsuspecting punches and kicks at awkward angles while constantly moving around the octagon which makes him so hard to contain. Raulian Paiva is the first ranked opponent for the Suga Show, making this his biggest test yet. (Sorry Chito Vera, fluke win.) O’Malley is going to come out with all sorts of different looks, put Paiva away very quickly, get his 50K performance bonus, and get Dana White yelling “Holy $#!+” again.
Prediction: O’Malley def. Paiva via KO/TKO (1st Round)
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