On Saturday night, Charles Oliveira will defend his UFC Lightweight belt against one-time interim champ Dustin Poirier in the main event of UFC 269, set for Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The co-main event features Amanda Nunes’ defense of her UFC Women’s Bantamweight Championship against Julianna Pena, who won the bantamweight division at The Ultimate Fighter: Team Rousey vs Team Tate. Nunes also holds the UFC Women’s Featherweight title. Those two fights bring a five-tilt main card to a climax; you can catch the main card on pay per view. The preliminary card and early prelims are all available on ESPN+.
Check out the complete card along with our UFC betting predictions for the two title fights.
UFC 269: Olivier vs Poirier Preview
Main Card (Pay Per View)
Charles Oliveira vs Dustin Poirier (UFC Lightweight Championship)
Amanda Nunes vs Julianna Pena (UFC Women’s Bantamweight Championship)
Geoff Neal vs Santiago Ponzinibbio (Welterweight)
Kai Kara-Francs vs Cody Garbrandt (Flyweight)
Raulian Paiva vs Sean O’Malley (Bantamweight)
Preliminary Card (ESPN+)
Josh Emmett vs Dan Ige (Featherweight)
Pedro Munhoz vs Dominick Cruz (Bantamweight)
Augusto Sakai vs Tai Tuivasa (Heavyweight)
Jordan Wright vs Bruno Silva (Middleweight)
Early Preliminary Card (ESPN+ / UFC Fight Pass)
Andre Muniz vs Eryk Anders (Middleweight)
Miranda Maverick vs Erin Blanchfield (Women’s Flyweight)
Alex Perez vs Matt Schnell (Flyweight)
Ryan Hall vs Darrick Minner (Featherweight)
Randy Costa vs Tony Kelley (Bantamweight)
Gillian Robertson vs Priscila Cachoeira (Women’s Flyweight)
Charles Oliveira vs Dustin Poirier marks Oliveira’s first title defense since he took the vacant title by knocking out Michael Chandler. His run in UFC has gone longer than 11 years, and he already has the record for finishes in UFC fights (17). Poirier has become a popular figure in MMA over the past few years. He does a lot of charity work with The Good Fight Foundation, and in addition to that goodwill, he brings some of the top technique in boxing to MMA.
The UFC lightweight division is one of the toughest in terms of talent, top to bottom, in all of MMA today. Conor McGregor may be in decline and Khabib Nurmagomedov may have retired, but new contenders seem to show up just about every week. Oliveira and Poirier have emerged as two of the best fighters in this division in the world. Oliveira comes in on a nine-fight winning streak and is known for his grappling skills, the equal of just about anyone else in his division. This recent streak includes the likes of Jim Miller and Tony Ferguson, and shows progress he has made on his striking, making him a more well-rounded fighter.
Poirier detoured from a quicker trip to the title by taking on Colin McGregor a third time, which elevated his name (and made him even richer). He has an 8-1-1 record since February 2017, with such victims as Max Holloway and Eddie Alvarez alongside McGregor. This bout gives him the chance to accomplish all of his goals in the promotion. Both of these fighters are elite in the striking game as well as on the mat. Oliveira is slightly better at grappling, while Poirier is slightly better in the striking game. I expect Oliveira to use long jabs, front kicks to the body and leg kicks to keep Poirier away from him, and I expect Poirier to work to establish his own jab and then add uppercuts and hooks in combos to bring the knockout. Poirier is the better fighter, but Oliviera is the better survivor.
Final Prediction: Oliveira wins via submission : Bet the Game Today
Amanda Nunes vs Julianna Pena gives us Pena’s biggest shot since returning from hiatus. Pena has gone 2-1 since coming back, but Nunes is the best opponent she will have faced since then, by far. She hits harder, she has superior technique, and her striking brings more power. She is also better on the mat. The problem here is that Nunes does not have a lot of options in either of her divisions, as she is head and shoulders above the vast majority of the competition. A trilogy fight with Valentina Shevchenko makes sense, but Nunes needs fights in between.
Pena is 2-2 in her last four fights in UFC, which shows you how mediocre this division is, if she can parlay that record into a title shot. Expect Nunes to bring the storm early and deliver strike after strike. Expect the referee to step in before too much time goes by.
Final Prediction: Nunes wins via TKO : Bet the Game Today
UFC Betting Odds
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