5 bold predictions for UFC 269

UFC 269 is stacked from top to bottom. The highly anticipated event will take place on December 11 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The last pay-per-view event of the year will be headlined by a lightweight title fight between Charles Oliveira and Dustin Poirier. The different fighting styles of the two lightweights will surely make for an exciting fight and it will be interesting to see who comes out on top come fight night.

The co-main event of UFC 269 features another title bout as Amanda Nunes will take on Julianna Pena for the bantamweight title.

Rising UFC prospect Sean O'Malley will also return to action to take on Raulian Paiva on the main card of UFC 269.

A welterweight banger between Geoff Neal and Santiago Ponzinibbio is also set to take place at the last UFC pay-per-view event of the year.

Apart from the main card, there are also some solid fights in the UFC 269 prelims.

Exciting fighters like Eryk Anders, Ryan Hall, Pedro Munhoz, Randy Costa, Tai Tuivasa and former bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz will compete in the prelims of the event.

On such a wild fight card, crazy things are bound to happen.

On that note, let's take a look at 5 bold predictions for UFC 269:

#5. Tai Tuivasa vs. Augusto Sakai will not make it to the second round at UFC 269

Tai Tuivasa is one of the most exciting fighters in the UFC today. 'Bam Bam's fighting style, along with his infamous post-fight celebration, make him a must-watch for MMA fans around the world. Tuivasa is currently riding a three-fight win streak and all those wins came via first-round knockout.

Meanwhile, Sakai is on a two-fight skid and will be looking to make an impressive comeback at UFC 269. So, there is a good chance that both heavyweights will come out all guns blazing and the fight will end inside one round.

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#4. Former UFC champion Dominick Cruz will come up short against Pedro Munhoz

Dominick Cruz has not been the same fighter since losing his title to Cody Garbrandt at UFC 207 in 2016. ‘The Dominator’ has fought only twice in the last five years and lost one of those fights against Henry Cejudo. Although Cruz likes to argue that ring-rust is a myth, the inactivity factor may come into play on December 11 when he takes on Pedro Munhoz.

‘The Young Punisher’, on the other hand, has been a regular performer inside the octagon. Win or lose, Munoz always puts on a show for the fans. Proof of this lies in the fact that the Brazilian has won a ‘Fight of the Night’ bonus in three of his last five fights.

Although the two fighters are nearly the same age, it appears that Cruz is past his prime whereas Munhoz still has a lot left in the tank. Therefore, it would not be surprising if the former bantamweight champion fails to secure a win at UFC 269.

#3. Cody Garbrandt will be unsuccessful in his flyweight debut at UFC 269

After going through a rough patch as a 135-pounder in the UFC, Cody Garbrandt has decided to move down to flyweight. This decision may not fare well for the former UFC champion. It does not have as much to do with his opponent Kai Kara-Francea as it does with his recent losses.

Garbrandt has lost four of his last live fights in the promotion. On top of that, three of those losses came by vicious knockouts. The one decision loss that he suffered against Rob Font was a scenario where ‘No Love’ was completely outclassed from bell to bell.

So, with an already questionable chin, moving down a division might not be a great idea as Garbrandt will be depleting himself more to make the weight limit. Kara-France also possesses some serious power in his hands as was seen in his last fight against Rogerio Bontorin at UFC 259.

So UFC 269 might turn out to be another night where Garbrandt either gets knocked out or gets dominated throughout the fight.

#2. Josh Emmett vs. Dan Ige will secure the ‘Fight of the Night’ bonus at UFC 269

The featherweight scrap between Josh Emmett and Dan Ige has fireworks written all over it. Both UFC fighters are known to give it their all inside the octagon.

Emmett has scored impressive knockout victories against Michael Johnson, Mirsad Bektic and Ricardo Lamas. ‘The Fighting Falmer’s last appearance in the UFC was in June 2020 when he delivered a ‘Fight of the Year’ contender against Shane Burgos.

’50k’ has also made a name for himself with impressive victories against Gavin Tucker and UFC veteran Edson Barboza. So, there is a good chance that this fight will more than live up to the hype and take home the ‘Fight of the Night’ honor at UFC 269.

#1. The UFC 269 headliner between Dustin Poirier and Charles Oliveira will not go past three rounds

Both Dustin Poirier and Charles Oliveira are currently on amazing runs in the UFC. 'The Diamond' is riding a three-fight win streak. Two of those victories came against Irish superstar Conor McGregor.

Oliveira, on the other hand, has won his last nine fights and eight of them have been finishes. Considering the fighting styles of the two, it is highly likely that the fight will get finished inside three rounds.

Oliveira is a grappling expert who also holds the UFC record for most submission wins (14) in the promotion's history. Another interesting thing to note is that in his 28 appearances in the octagon, win or lose, the Brazilian has never made it to the championship rounds.

Poirier has 26 fights in the UFC but only four of them have gone past round three. 'The Diamond' is also of the opinion that the fight will not go the distance. He gave his thoughts on the matter in the UFC 269 Countdown video.