UFC Predictions: UFC 269: Charles Oliveira vs. Dustin Poirier

#3. UFC 269: The Main Card

Rising bantamweight star Sean O'Malley features on this weekend's main card

In a UFC welterweight bout, Geoff Neal faces Santiago Ponzinibbio. This fight should be a strong battle of strikers, with Neal’s explosive style going up against Ponzinibbio’s more pressure-based boxing game.

This one is hard to pick, purely because Neal has the capability to take out any fighter with one shot. However, the durability and cardio of Ponzinibbio could give him the advantage. If he can avoid getting hit big in the early going, he should have enough to outwork ‘Handz of Steel’ for a decision.

In a flyweight bout, Kai Kara-France welcomes Cody Garbrandt into his new division. This one all hinges on how well Garbrandt settles down at 125 pounds. If he makes the weight without any issues then he ought to win this one. He’s got good enough wrestling to stop Kara-France’s takedowns and hits very hard.

If he’s totally depleted, though, who knows? Kara-France could take him down and outwork him. However, the New Zealand-based fighter hasn’t quite proven himself as an elite-level combatant and so the pick is Garbrandt via KO.

Finally, Raulian Paiva takes on Sean O’Malley in a bantamweight bout. There will be a lot of interest in this one due to O’Malley’s presence, but can he beat Paiva? It’s a tricky fight for him given the Brazilian’s all-round skills, but it is worth remembering that he’s been stopped before and doesn’t appear to be quite as fast as O’Malley. Therefore, the pick is ‘Sugar' via KO.

#4. UFC 269: The Prelims

Picks in bold

Featherweight division: Josh Emmett vs. Dan Ige

Bantamweight division: Dominick Cruz vs. Pedro Munhoz

Heavyweight division: Augusto Sakai vs. Tai Tuivasa

Middleweight division: Jordan Wright vs. Bruno Silva

Middleweight division: Andre Muniz vs. Eryk Anders

Women's flyweight division: Erin Blanchfield vs. Miranda Maverick

Flyweight division: Alex Perez vs. Matt Schnell

Featherweight division: Ryan Hall vs. Darrick Minner

Bantamweight division: Randy Costa vs. Tony Kelley

Women's flyweight division: Gillian Robertson vs. Priscila Cachoeira