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The last UFC pay-per-view of 2021 sends us into the new year with a bang as UFC 269: Poirier vs. Oliveira is an absolutely stacked card from top to bottom! Let’s take a look at 10 of the best and brightest matchups outside of the main event.
-900 Amanda Nunes (21-4: 13 KOs, 4 SUBs) vs. +550 Julianna Pena (10-4: 3 KOs, 4 SUBs)
As a new parent myself, I was worried about Amanda Nunes being preoccupied and maybe even tired as her bout with Megan Anderson back at UFC 259 approached. No issue juggling training and motherhood for Amanda, though, as she rocked Anderson’s cradle by notching a 1st-Round Knockout in her first bout after giving birth! I expect Nunes to be as prepared for her bout this weekend against Pena. A lot of people like Julianna Pena in this spot to play upset, but it will be more of the same for the Lioness as the greatest women’s MMA fighter of all-time is on a completely different planet than her competition.
The Lioness left 𝐍𝐎 𝐃𝐎𝐔𝐁𝐓𝐒 in her first BW title defense 🦁
— UFC (@ufc) December 8, 2021
[ @Amanda_Leoa | #UFC269 | Saturday | Live on ESPN+ PPV: https://t.co/bN0K8eAW0O ] pic.twitter.com/ahXxHxUAxx
Selection: Nunes wins via 2nd-Round Submission
-120 Santiago Ponzinibbio (28-4: 15 KOs, 6 SUBs) vs. -105 Geoff Neal (13-4: 8 KOs, 2 SUBs)
A really fun battle of two welterweights knocking on the door of the division’s top 5, I like Geoff Neal to use his slick footwork to avoid any substantial offense that Santiago Ponzinibbio might try to generate. Ponzinibbio may try a few blitzes to close the distance, but I expect Neal and his top-of-the-line team (Fortis MMA) to game plan accordingly and get his hand raised.
Selection: Neal wins via Decision
-150 Cody Garbrandt (12-4: 10 KOs) vs. +120 Kai Kara-France (22-9: 10 KOs, 3 SUBs)
The first fight at flyweight for former UFC bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt is against a scrappy fighter in Kai Kara-France, a heart-filled fighter with solid boxing skills. While Kara-France trains alongside some of the sport’s most elite fighters at City Kickboxing in New Zealand, Garbrandt is the owner of some of the most powerful hands we’ve ever seen in the smaller weight classes. Expect Cody Garbrandt to set the tone early and often with said power. I like Garbrandt to ease into the new weight class with a strong performance. Though he may not put away France, he will get the job done.
Selection: Garbrandt wins via Decision
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-325 Sean O’Malley (13-1: 10 KOs, 1 SUB) vs. +240 Raulian Paiva (21-3: 4 KOs, 3 SUBs)
Hype vs. Heart. Every time Sean O’Malley enters the cage he carries with him a huge fan base. Even this early in his MMA career he is without a doubt a draw. His opponent, a gutsy warrior in Raulian Paiva, would love nothing more than to steal all of O’Malley’s momentum and drag him into a bloody scrap. O’Malley, however, is always improving his craft and while it may take a round or two, he will earn the respect of Paiva while also earning the most important victory of his career to date.
Selection: O’Malley wins via Decision
-185 Josh Emmett (16-2: 6 KOs, 2 SUBs) vs. +145 Dan Ige (15-4: 4 KOs, 5 SUBs)
Emmet is being thrown to a young lion in Ige who is motivated, very talented, and has enough boxing skill to avoid Emmett’s power shots. I lean towards Ige to take advantage of the situation.
Selection: Ige wins via Decision
-115 Pedro Munhoz (19-6: 5 KOs, 8 SUBs) vs. -110 Dominick Cruz (23-3: 7 KOs, 1 SUBs)
All-time great Dominick Cruz is an active legend and after getting a split-decision victory over Casey Kenny, he now faces a war monger in Pedro Munhoz. This will be the first time Cruz has fought twice in a year since 2016. Though cage rust is not a thing for the former champion, fighting a heavy-handed fighter will raise the hair on the back of his neck just a bit. Munhoz’s game plan is simple; track his opponents down and unleash hell. I don’t see Munhoz KO-ing Cruz, but I know that he can clip the fleet of foot Cruz. This fight is a close call, but I’m leaning towards Munhoz to edge out a decision victory.
Selection: Munhoz wins via Decision
-112 Augusto Sakai (15-3-1: 11 KOs) vs. -112 Tai Tuivasa (13-3: 11 KOs)
Time for the big boys. Sakai vs. Tuivasa is a one-path-of-victory type of fight; swing for the fences! It’s going to be an awesome fight, and though Sakai is a bit more technical in his Muay Thai kickboxing approach versus Tuivasa’s crowd pleasing brawl-first style, watch out for the Tua bombs! I’d usually lean towards Sakai to use his laser precision skills to pick apart his opponent, but any time Tuivasa fights on a big stage throw every stat out the window. This man is a star at these big events and will land big and steal the crowd’s hearts and minds, again.
Selection: Tuivasa via 1st-Round Knockout
-140 Miranda Maverick (9-3: 1 KO, 5 SUBs) vs. +112 Erin Blanchfield (7-1: 2 KOs, 1 SUB)
Maverick, one: has a great last name, and two: is 100% motivated to right what in her mind was a very wrong decision in her last fight against Maycee Barber. Maverick is facing the young prospect Erin Blanchfield, who has a warrior spirit and the jiu-jitsu skills to match, but I like Maverick to unleash a beating on the promising fighter, who will only learn from this loss.
Selection: Maverick via 3rd-Round TKO
-325 Alex Perez (24-6: 5 KOs, 7 SUBs) vs. +240 Matt Schnell (15-6: 2 KOs, 8 SUBs)
Former UFC flyweight title challenger Alex Perez is facing The Ultimate Fighter Season 24 contestant Matt Schnell who’s become a lot more seasoned since his stint on the reality show. Perez is higher on the flyweight division food chain because of his damaging style of crisp boxing and heavy leg kicks, though his grappling was exposed in his title fight vs. Deiveson Figueiredo. While Schnell is a great grappler, he isn’t the bully on the floor that Figueiredo is. I like Perez to keep the fight standing and win on points and in the process keep his spot in the rankings.
Selection: Perez wins via Decision
-225 Ryan Hall (8-2: 2 KOs, 3 SUBs) vs. +175 Darrick Minner (26-11: 1 KO, 22 SUBs)
It will be interesting to see if elite jiu-jitsu specialist Ryan Hall can bounce back from his first KO loss as he is facing a very fair match-up in Darrick Minner. If Hall is on, he should be able to cut through Minner like a hot knife through butter. Though Minner is scrappy and is better than his record inside of the UFC will show (2-2), he’s at a distinct disadvantage in the grappling department. It’s not even funny. But, if Minner can avoid the constant entanglement that Hall searches for, he increases his chances of winning greatly. With that being said, I still like Hall in this one to impose his will and get back on track.
Selection: Hall via 2-Round Submission
Enjoy the fights and check back here on Monday morning for your weekend recap of all the best betting Hits & Misses!
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