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UFC 269 preview: Oliveira out to defend his title against Poirier

2 years ago
| BY News Team

This weekend sees the final UFC pay-per-view of the year take place from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas… and we’re in for a treat!

Two-weight champion and pound-for-pound queen, Amanda Nunes, defends her bantamweight title for the sixth straight time, before Charles Oliveira takes on Dustin Poirier for the right to be crowned the king of the lightweights.

We’ve previewed the main event and co-main below.

Charles Oliveira v Dustin Poirier

This will be Charles Oliveira’s first title defence and the second time that Dustin Poirier has challenged for the undisputed lightweight strap, having previously lost to Khabib Nurmagomedov in 2019.

It’s been a rollercoaster year for Poirier finishing Connor McGregor in back-to-back fights that escalated from a charity fight to a blood feud in under a year.

Now boasting seven wins from eight fights, Dustin “The Diamond” Poirier enters this bout as the 8/13 favourite, however this could be Poirier’s most difficult task yet (bar Khabib).

Oliveira is among the UFC’s best finishers right now and unlike McGregor, his career is on an upward trajectory.

These two lightweight stars are the most deserving fighters to challenge for the belt and this will be a phenomenal matchup.

On the ground, Poirier’s takedown defence is solid and he has great ground and pound when able to get on top; Oliveira is one of the best Jiu-Jitsu artists in the game and can sink in a wide range of submissions at an instant.

On his feet, Oliveira’s striking has been on another level and will be the key to finding openings – just like when winning the belt against Michael Chandler – yet some will argue that Poirier is the better technical striker and has more power in his punch.

You can find “Do Bronx” at 13/8 to win via KO/TKO/DQ or submission stoppage, he’s 13/10 for the outright victory.

Even though Oliveira rallied to beat Chandler last time out, his chin was there to be hit – a game you do not want to play when trying to overcome Poirier’s brilliant boxing.

Dustin Poirier is available at EVS to win by knockout and is 5/1 to take Oliveira the distance and win.

Amanda Nunes v Julianna Peña

The one and only, Amanda Nunes, in on the hunt for her 13th consecutive victory and a sixth successful defence of her bantamweight title as she locks horns with the ultra-confident contender Julianna Peña in the co-main.

Nunes is the greatest female fighter in the history of the sport and that’s not up for debate.

“The Lioness” successfully defended her featherweight belt in March with a submission win over Megan Anderson to push her winning streak up to twelve, and she will be looking to make it seven years unbeaten when she steps into the Octagon on Sunday morning.

Nunes is backed to continue her dominance as the 1/8 favourite, find her at 3/10 for it to come by way of knockout or submission.

Julianna Peña called the shots after registering a third-round submission win over Sara McMann in January, and while you may not agree with her talking points, you must give her credit for actively picking a fight with Nunes.

The former Ultimate Fighter winner has long believed that she is the one to make history and finally gets the chance to back up her bold statements in Las Vegas.

“The Venezuela Vixen” is a 5/1 outsider to claim outright victory, with a submission win at 9/1, decision is 8/1.

Check out all the latest UFC betting odds at William Hill

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