My UFC 269 predictions

On Saturday night the final UFC pay-per-view of 2021 will take place in the T-Mobile Arena as the 155lb champion Charles Oliveira is set to defend his title for the time against ‘The Diamond’ Dustin Poirier.

Oliveira, who is coming off his fantastic knockout against Michael Chandler to win the belt, will be making the first defence of his belt against arguably the best lightweight in the world other than the champ himself, Dustin Poirier.

The Diamond himself is currently on a hot streak, beating Conor McGregor twice this year, as well as a decision over a tough Dan Hooker. This clash is expected to produce fireworks, two of the best fighters in the world and in their prime, this could turn out to be spectacular.

The rest of the card is completely stacked too. The female GOAT Amanda Nunes is looking to stack her resume and reinforce why she is the best female fighter on the planet against TUF winner Julianna Pena. There has been plenty of trash talk between the two, with Pena calling out the champ for supposedly ducking her. After the original bout was cancelled, the wait for this fight to eventually happen has made it even more interesting.

The rest of the main card goes as follows

Geoff Neal vs Santiago Ponzinibbio (Welterweight)

Kai Kara-France vs Cody Garbrandt (Flyweight)

Raulian Paiva vs Sean O’Malley (Bantamweight)

Other notable fights on the prelims:

Josh Emmett vs Dan Ige (Featherweight)

Pedro Munhoz vs Dominick Cruz (Bantamweight)

Augusto Sakai vs Tai Tuivasa (Heavyweight)

Now let’s look at who I’m backing this weekend and why:

Oliveira vs Poirier – Pick 'em, an extremely difficult fight to pick, I still cannot come to a decision

Nunes vs Pena – I have Nunes on this one all day, it’s very difficult to bet against the Lioness, although it seems every time, she fights there is something that the opponent has to offer which could be troubling, but clearly that has never come to fruition.

Amanda Nunes by TKO round 2

Neal vs Ponzinibbio – Geoff Neal was recently arrested so this has made me lean even more towards Santiago, he also looked brilliant in his last fight against Miguel Baeza too. Neal is also on a bit of skid too, dropping his last two fights against Wonderboy and Neil Magny. Being realistic here, I feel like the Argentine can outwork the American and make it a slugfest, where he can take control, especially with them low leg kicks. Geoff Neal is fully capable of knocking him out but my mind and heart are both saying Ponz.

Santiago Ponzinbbio by decision

Kai Kara-France vs Cody Garbrandt – Cutting down to 125lb is an extremely difficult task for anyone, Cody Garbrandt is no different here. Typically, when you cut more weight than you normally do, your chin becomes weaker and so does your cardio. Could this be the case here too? With KKF being an established 125er, he can make life difficult for the newcomer. Cody though, it’s hard to tell which version will turn up, the former bantamweight champion or the man who has lost four of his last five?

KKF by KO round 1

Raulian Paiva vs Sean O’Malley – I see this fight going similarly to Sean’s scrap with Kris Moutinho in July. Lots of volume from Suga against a durable opponent who’s tough to put away. It wouldn’t surprise me if he KO’d Paiva quickly though, due to the Brazilian’s suspect defence at times. However, you cannot count out the underdog, the former 125er showed that with an impressive performance last time out against O’Malley’s training partner Kyler Phillips.

Sean O’Malley via decision

Some prelim predictions:

Josh Emmett vs Dan Ige – A very intriguing clash between two ranked featherweights. Dan Ige has experienced both wins and losses recently, whilst Emmett is coming back from a serious injury which has kept him out since summer of last year.

Will the ring rust of Emmett allow Ige to take control and set the pace, or will returning man be able to use his power and accuracy to neutralise his opponent?

Dan Ige by decision

Pedro Munhoz vs Dominick Cruz – I feel like this will be another 50/50 fight where it could go either way. The supremely talented and successful Cruz has never found the consistency in terms of fighting regularly. Munhoz on the other hand, has struggled to put together a consistent string of results. Both fighters have a range of skills at their disposal so expect it to be a technical battle on the floor and on the feet.

Dominick Cruz by decision

Augusto Sakai vs Tai Tuivasa – Unlike some of the predictions I’ve made, I’m confident that this one will not even make it out the first round, never mind the 2nd or 3rd. Both heavyweights love to throw down and I don’t think it will be any different. Sakai loves to exchange in the pocket and Tuivasa will not back down either, I think it’s just a case of seeing who will land the knockout blow first.

Tai Tuivasa by KO round 1