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UFC 269 was undoubtedly one of 2021’s most stacked cards, and the final pay-per-view of the year definitely lived up to its billing.
With a total of nine finishes across 14 fights and one of the biggest upsets in UFC history, UFC 269 will be remembered as an instant classic. A staggering eight $50k performance bonuses were handed out. So who was responsible for UFC 269’s most explosive moments? The answer to that is: plenty of contenders.
On that note, here are the five most explosive moments from UFC 269: Charles Oliveira vs. Dustin Poirier.
#5. Tai Tuivasa dispatches Augusto Sakai in his best UFC showing to date
Bruno Silva picked up his third UFC win of 2021 to become one of the promotion’s best debutants this year. However, the pick of the finishes in last night’s preliminary card came from Tai Tuivasa.
The big Australian heavyweight not only finished Augusto Sakai in genuinely brutal fashion, but he also produced probably his best UFC showing to date. He looked patient, worked hard in the clinch, and never forced his opportunities.
When those opportunities came, though, ‘Bam Bam’ took full advantage. The left hook was always open for him. When he connected it, sending Sakai stumbling back, he wasted no time to follow up.
Tuivasa opened with a huge combination. While Sakai attempted to block the shots bravely, enough got through. That included a crushing right hand to the jaw that sent the Brazilian crashing down, with his left leg folded under him at an appalling angle.
This was a genuinely scary knockout. Sakai took so long to come round was largely ignored due to Tuivasa performing his trademark ‘Shoey’ celebration to the cheers of the crowd.
Given that Tuivasa appeared to be on the verge of being cut from the UFC in 2019 following three straight losses, the Australian has turned things around emphatically. He’s now on a four-fight win streak, and at just 28, the best could be yet to come for him.
#4. Sean O’Malley does what he’s expected to do, takes out Raulian Paiva
The big knock right now on Sean O’Malley is that he simply hasn’t beaten enough top-level opponents to justify the hype around him. In that sense, nothing changed at UFC 269.
‘The Suga Show’ did what he was expected to do, dispatching Raulian Paiva in the first round. However, realistically, if anything else had happened, UFC fans would’ve been disappointed.
Thankfully, O’Malley’s style means when he does dispatch opponents – however overmatched they are – he does it in explosive style. So it was hardly a shock to see him handed the sixth $50K bonus of his UFC career.
The fight started relatively slowly, with Paiva seemingly content to keep his distance from O’Malley. The Brazilian looked nervous, and never really got any offense going before ‘The Suga Show’ found his range.
A huge right hand connected with Paiva late in the first round. From there, O’Malley wasted no time in chaining a nasty combination together, landing most of his shots before the Brazilian went down.
Paiva had enough about him to get to his feet, but it was all for nought. The Suga Show closed in to land some more heavy punches to seal the deal. This was another explosive knockout from O’Malley. One can only hope the UFC provides him the step up in competition he clearly needs in 2022.
#3. Kai Kara-France ruins Cody Garbrandt’s move to the UFC flyweight division
When former UFC bantamweight kingpin Cody Garbrandt announced his drop to the flyweight division earlier this year, fans were largely intrigued.
‘No Love’ had always been one of the fastest and hardest hitting 135lbers in the UFC. So whether he could make his skills translate to 125lbs – becoming a title contender in the process – was a massive question. Unfortunately, his debut in the division was thoroughly spoiled – in explosive fashion – by Kai Kara-France last night.
‘Don’t Blink’ looked noticeably smaller than Garbrandt. However, he also appeared to be slightly faster than his opponent too. That paid off when he landed a clean right hook early on that sent ‘No Love’ crashing down.
Garbrandt got back up, but Kara-France quickly hurt him again. From there, the latter didn’t let up until a vicious uppercut put the former bantamweight champion down for good.
Whether this result was made possible due to Garbrandt’s weight cut and deteriorated chin is a fair question. Kara-France was never really known for his knockout power before. However, it’s impossible to take anything away from the Kiwi fighter.
‘Don’t Blink’ was unsurprisingly handed a $50K bonus for this performance, and that bodes well for him for 2022.
#2. Julianna Pena drags Amanda Nunes into deep water before upsetting her
The biggest upset of UFC 269 – and probably the biggest upset of 2021 – came in last night’s co-main event. Nobody expected Julianna Pena to be the fighter to dethrone legendary UFC bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes. However, Pena not only pulled that off, but she also did it in explosive fashion too.
After gutting out a pretty tricky first round, it seemed Pena was in trouble. However, ‘The Venezuelan Vixen’ made the curious decision of choosing to exchange leather with Nunes in the center of the octagon. ‘The Lioness’ obliged. Where she has always destroyed her opponents with her punching power, it looked like Pena was somehow able to land the harder shots.
The two women exchanged massive punches - with little in the way of defense – lighting up the crowd in the process. However, incredibly, Pena’s jabs were clearly doing the greater damage.
Seconds later, the TUF 18 winner stunned Nunes with a combination and dragged her down. She then slapped a no-hooks rear naked choke to tap her out.
Even Pena seemed stunned by what she’d done in the aftermath of the fight, and it may take some time for this upset to sink in yet. Overall, though, this was not only an explosive showing by Pena, but it was also one of 2021’s most memorable.
#1. Charles Oliveira shows why he’s the UFC’s top lightweight with his submission of Dustin Poirier
UFC 269’s main event saw a lightweight title bout between champion Charles Oliveira and challenger Dustin Poirier. Based on the octagon careers of both men, most fans expected something special on the night.
A blistering first round saw Oliveira damage Poirier with heavy kicks and knees to the body. However, ‘The Diamond’ returned the favor by hurting the Brazilian with some huge punches to the head. Poirier knocked Oliveira down at one point, making observers believe they were watching the greatest lightweight title bout in UFC history.
However, while Poirier landed the more explosive shots in the first round, the body work from Oliveira paid off. When ‘The Diamond’ got tired in the second, it was clear which way this fight was going.
Sure enough, early in the third round, ‘Do Bronx’ backed Poirier up into the fence, jumped onto his back, and promptly choked him out.
Was this as explosive a win as his earlier title victory over Michael Chandler at UFC 262? Perhaps not, but in many ways, due to Poirier’s previous form, it was more impressive.
Overall, it’s clear that Oliveira is the best lightweight on the planet right now, and whoever he faces next is probably going to be in a lot of trouble.
