On the night of December 11-12, the T-Mobile Arena will host the UFC 269 mixed martial arts tournament in Las Vegas (USA). The show’s feitcard is so powerful that once one of the best fighters in the world, Dominic Cruz, will only fight in preliminary fights. In the main battles of the tournament, Brazilians Amanda Nunez and Charles Oliveira will defend their belts from the Americans. “MK-Sport” tells about the main confrontations of the main event in the world of MMA in December.
Oliveira vs. Porier
The headliners of the event will be Charles Oliveira and Dustin Poirier , who will fight for the title of the organization’s lightweight champion, which belongs to the Brazilian. Oliveira won the belt in May this year: at UFC 262, he beat Michael Chandler by TKO in the second round to become the king of the division. But many experts believe that the Brazilian will not be at the top for long – until the first defense. Bookmakers also practically do not believe in Oliveira’s chances; Dustin Poirier was their clear favorite.
The American is considered the strongest lightweight in the world right now. He was supposed to fight for the belt in the last fight, but then Poirier chose Conor McGregor as a rival , whom he won ahead of schedule, and twice. Now it’s time for Dustin to fight for the belt. This won’t be his first UFC title fight. In 2019, in Abu Dhabi, he fought for the trophy with the Russian Khabib Nurmagomedov . The American was very close to victory when he managed to catch the Eagle with a choke hold. But Poirier still could not “break” Khabib, and after a few minutes he knocked as a sign of surrender after such a reception.
After that, Poirier had three victorious battles. He has noticeably improved in all components. He became stronger, more enduring and more experienced. However, the American is not going to stay in the lightweight division for a long time. Poirier is considering moving to welterweight regardless of how his confrontation with Oliveira ends.
The Brazilian was underestimated throughout his career, but he walked step by step towards his goal. In the strongest promotion in the world, he has been performing for 11 years, but only now he has caught his wave. He goes on a nine-win streak that began with his fight against Clay Guida in June 2018 at UFC 225. Oliveira is a master of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He is probably the most cunning grappler in the world at the moment. He can go to a painful or suffocating hold from any situation: lying, standing, from a disadvantageous position for himself. During his career in MMA, he most often won by submissions – 19 times. This is 61% of the number of all his victories. He also has nine knockouts and three judges’ decisions.
The winner of the fight between Oliveira and Poirier has already received the next opponent. It will be Justin Gaethje – another fighter whom Khabib defeated at one time.
Nunez vs. Peña
Brazilian Amanda Nunez has long been the strongest girl in the mixed martial arts world. She defeated all possible rivals, cleared two divisions and is the undisputed champion in them. Nunez has only one worthy rival – Valentina Shevchenko , but the representative of Kyrgyzstan is in the flyweight. The head of the UFC, Dana White, believes that there is no point in arranging a third fight between Amanda and Valentina, because the Brazilian has already won twice on points.
Many do not agree with this opinion, because it is very difficult for Nunez to find an opponent. This time, American Juliana Peña claims the title in the bantamweight division , having won only one victory after being defeated by Germaine de Randami .
Nobody believes that Peña will be able to create a sensation. MMA fans are waiting for a bright knockout from the Brazilian. The main intrigue is in which round the beating ends.
UFC 269 Fight Card Tournament
Preliminary fights
Gillian Robertson (Canada, 9-6) – Priscilla Cachoera (Brazil, 10-3)
Randy Costa (USA, 6-2) vs. Tony Kelly (USA, 7-2)
Ryan Hall (USA, 8-2) vs. Darrick Minner (USA, 26-12)
Alex Perez (USA, 24-6) vs. Matt Schnell (USA, 15-6)
Miranda Maverick (USA, 9-3) – Erin Blankfield (USA, 7-1)
André Muniz (Brazil, 21-4) – Eric Anders (USA, 14-5)
Bruno Silva (Brazil, 21-6) vs. Jordan Wright (USA, 12-1)
Augusto Sakai (Brazil, 15-3-1) – Tai Tuivasa (Australia, 12-3)
Pedro Munoz (Brazil, 19-6) vs. Dominic Cruz (USA, 23-3)
Josh Emmett (USA, 16-2) vs. Dan Ige (USA, 15-4)
Main fights
Raulian Paiva (Brazil, 21-3) – Sean O’Malley (USA, 14-1)
Kai Cara France (New Zealand, 22-9) vs. Cody Garbrandt (USA, 12-4)
Jeff Neal (USA, 13-4) – Santiago Ponzinibbio (Argentina, 28-4)
Amanda Nunez (Brazil, 21-4) vs. Juliana Peña ( USA, 10-4). UFC bantamweight title fight
Main battle
Charles Oliveira (Brazil, 31-8) vs. Dustin Poirier (USA, 28-6). UFC lightweight title fight
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