UFC 269: 10 Things We Learned, Main Card Edition
Going in-depth on the final pay-per-view main card of the year, breaking the results down from all angles
AND STILL!
Charles Oliveira submitted Dustin Poirier early in the third round to successfully defend the UFC lightweight title in Saturday night’s main event.
The challenger had the champion hurt at multiple points in the first round, stinging him with strikes as they traded on the feet over the opening five minutes. Even in those exchanges, Oliveira cleared the cobwebs and kept coming forward, attacking Poirier’s midsection and staying in his face. In the second, he put the challenger on the deck and kept him there for the duration of the frame, mashing hard elbows into his dome.
As soon as the third round began, Oliveira rushed across the cage, took Poirier’s back, and choked him out.
This was a spectacular effort from “Do Bronx” and the kind of effort that should silence any and all doubters. He navigated rough waters in the first and dominated from then forward, adding yet another submission finish to his resume and taking out the man most believed was the best lightweight in the world.
Now there is no question who carries that title.
Disappoint for Dustin Poirier
You have to feel for Poirier after this.
He’s one of the absolute best people in the sport and a helluva fighter, and the undisputed title was the one thing missing from his resume, but he’s leaving Las Vegas without filling that void and it will surely sit heavy with him for the next little while.
“The Diamond” had his moments in the first and couldn’t get Oliveira out of there, admitting after the bout that the champion’s durability surprised him. The takedown in the second was a game-changer because it forced Poirier to be a little more cautious and apprehensive, which in turn allowed Oliveira to quickly close the distance and get on his waist to begin the third. As soon as he climbed onto Poirier’s back, it was game over.
The Louisiana native said following his championship loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov that he was only seeking big moments, big fights, and the title was the thing he was gunning for, and now that he’s come up short again, it’s going to be interesting to see where the 32-year-old goes from here because this division is too deep, too talented for him to return to another championship fight with just a win or two, especially if Oliveira is still seated on the throne.
AND NEW!
Julianna Peña did exactly what she said she was going to do — she took the fight to Amanda Nunes and won the UFC bantamweight title!
The two grappled for much of the first round, with Pena threatening off her back and Nunes seeming comfortable in top position. In the second, the two started trading in the center of the Octagon, and while it seemed like a bad idea, Peña started sticking Nunes with long jabs and the occasional right hand, drawing “The Lioness” into the kind of messy, ugly fight she forecasted. Late in the frame, Nunes wilted and Peña looked to take her back, jumping onto a choke without any hooks, drawing out a tap from the champion.
This is the biggest upset in UFC history in my books — Nunes had won a dozen straight fights, she’d defended her title five times, and the featherweight belt a couple more times, and she got finished inside of two rounds by a fighter very few were even giving a chance.
This was all guts, all heart, all self-belief and I don’t say that with any disrespect. There is nothing flashy about her game — she’s just blue-collar tough, willing to take whatever punishment is coming her way, and insanely driven.
And now she’s the UFC bantamweight champion as well.
Completely Uncharacteristic Performance from Nunes
This wasn’t the Amanda Nunes we’re used to seeing — she got wild, got real loose with her striking, and it cost her the title she cherished.
She was fine in the opening five minutes, working patiently, navigating a tricky spot on the ground, and looked to be in complete control. But for whatever reason, when it became clear that Peña was going to stand with her in the second, Nunes chucked the poise, patience, and technique that carried her to some of her biggest championship efforts out the window and started swinging for the fence, believing all she need was to land one and the night would be over.
That didn’t happen.
Instead, Peña stood tall, took whatever was coming her way, and popped Nunes in the mouth, putting her in an unfamiliar position and drawing out a tap pretty much as soon as she wrapped her arm under Nunes’ neck. It was a very uncharacteristic performance from “The Lioness” and it cost her the title.
Now comes the interesting part: seeing if she can win the belt back, if that’s what she wants to do.
Few people have been able to climb back to the top of the mountain after being knocked down, and the way she accepted defeat on Saturday night, I’m not convinced that Nunes wants to undertake that challenge again. She’ll have an immediate rematch available to her if she does, and I wouldn’t pick against her if they ran it back, but something about the way that fight ended and she seemed happy to be out of there leaves me feeling like it could be a minute before we see Nunes back in the Octagon, if we see her at all.
Don’t Sleep on Geoff Neal
Geoff Neal dropped a decision to Stephen Thompson in the final bout of 2020, and followed it up with a similar setback opposite Neil Magny earlier this year, but Saturday, “Handz of Steel” got back into the win column with a hard-fought victory over Top 15 fixture Santiago Ponzinibbio.
The welterweights ran fairly even through the first two rounds, with Neal landing with greater efficiency and Ponzinibbio doing his best to make it grimy, but in the third, Neal cranked up the output, and took command of the fight, pulling away down the stretch to secure his first in two years. It was a much-needed victory and the kind of gutsy effort that should stabilize Neal heading in 2022.
What’s interesting (at least to me) is that Neal had an absolutely chaotic year last year. He was on death’s doorstep in August, yet fought in December, and did so without his head coach in his corner, going five rounds with “Wonderboy” before turning around and facing Magny in May. But now he’s more than a year removed from his health issues, and I really wonder how much of an impact those problems produced lingering issues for him in those two outings.
He looked far sharper on Saturday than he did in each of those contests, and found the extra gear he needed in the third. He was tabbed a potential contender heading into that fight with Thompson and I’m curious to see if we were just a year early in pumping Neal up as a potential threat in the 170-pound ranks because he sure looked the part on Saturday.
Outstanding Cornering
Sayif Saud tore into Neal between the second and third, letting his charge know the fight was close and he needed to get after Ponzinibbio in the third, and the Fortis MMA welterweight did just that, upping his output and putting it on “The Argentine Dagger” over the final five minutes to secure the victory.
Saud is one of the best coaches and corners in the game — a guy that knows how to differentiate his messaging depending on which of his fighters in competing, while also giving it to them straight at all times. He doesn’t mince words, but he doesn’t always get after people the way he did Neal on Saturday, and that’s what makes him so effective in the role.
He wasn’t the only one that had a standout moment in the corner on Saturday though.
Early on the prelims, James Krause continued to show why he is one of the top emerging coaches and corners in the sport, giving Darrick Minner tremendous instructions between each round of his fight with Ryan Hall. It didn’t work out for Minner, who lost a decision, but Krause told him exactly what he needed to do and his best path to victory against “The Wizard.”
We talk all the time about the importance of training and coaching, but more and more, we’re seeing how vital that one minute between rounds can be in determining the outcome of a fight, and Saud dialling it up clearly got Neal to lock in and do what he needed to do in order to snap his two fight slide and end the year with a win.
Kai Ka-BOOM!
Kai Kara-France secured the biggest victory of his career on Saturday night, stopping former bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt in the first round.
The flyweights felt each other out through the opening couple minutes of the round, both respecting the other’s power, neither wanting to make the first mistake. Kara-France finally stepped forward and connected with an overhand right that put the former champ on the deck. The New Zealander chased the finish a little wildly to start, getting baited into a takedown by Garbrandt, but he popped back too his feet, cleared the hands and got right back to stalking the first-time flyweight.
From there, he slowed down, picked his shots, and put Garbrandt out, finishing things with a flurry of blows along the fence.
This was the kind of monster showing Kara-France promised and one that helps him stand out in the field of flyweight contenders. He’s already faced current champ Brandon Moreno, and lobbied to face the winner of the championship trilogy fight next in his post-fight interview. While that might be hard to manufacture, a matchup with another top contender is a must, and after a performance like this, his nickname rings more true than ever: Don’t Blink!
What a Fall
Cody Garbrandt’s fall from the top of the bantamweight division to where he sits right now is one of the ugliest collapses in recent memory. I don’t say that with any pleasure or malicious intent — seeing people struggle sucks, and I take no joy in it — but facts are facts.
Five years ago, “No Love” turned in an absolute masterful performance that will stand as one of the most impressive championship-winning efforts in UFC history to claim the title from Dominick Cruz. Since then, the 30-year-old is 1-5 across two divisions, getting stopped in four of those losses, and finished in the first round in three of those contests.
What’s even more alarming about his fall from grace is that it’s difficult to forecast a real path forward for Garbrandt at this point, as Saturday’s move to flyweight was supposed to be the start of a fresh chapter and move to a weight class where he’s a better, maybe even more dominant physical presence. While few in the division can crack like Kara-France, it’s clear that Garbrandt’s chin is a liability, and when he can’t find a home for his own power shots, he’s in real trouble.
Some time off following another knockout loss is a must, and after that, a step back in competition to see if he can right the ship is in order, because the last thing Garbrandt needs to do next is hustle into another ultra-competitive, coin-flip fight.
The irony of the situation? Dominick Cruz looked great on the prelims.
Sean O’Malley is Special
Saturday’s main card kicked off with another episode of “The Suga Show” and the episode ended with a bang!
After feeling each other out for much of the first round, Sean O’Malley finally opened up in the final 45 seconds of the frame, and when he did, Raulian Paiva didn’t last for long. A clean right hand stunned the Brazilian, and from there, O’Malley picked his shots and put him away with 18 seconds remaining in the round.
There is something genuinely special about O’Malley as a fighter — he’s super-technical, he understands range and distance exceptionally well, his feints are terrific, and his power is real — and he just answered a big question by putting down an ascendant fighter for the first time in his career. This was a big test for the 27-year-old and he aced it, turning in the best performance of his career.
This was the kind of showing O’Malley needed to silence any of his remaining critics, and sets the stage for what should be an interesting year in 2022 for the rising star.
Now Comes the Hard Part
With his win over Paiva, O’Malley has officially graduated from fighting competitors stationed outside the Top 15. Next time out, he needs to be facing a ranked fighter.
Bantamweight is absolutely flush with talent right now and O’Malley has been brought along cautiously to this point, but you just can’t keep a burgeoning superstar like this fighting unranked competitors. He doesn’t need to get thrown all the way into the deep end of things against a Top 5 guy or anything like that, but someone in the lower third of the rankings, someone coming off a couple victories, someone young and ascending and dangerous because it’s time to start trying to figure out exactly where O’Malley’s ceiling rests, and right now, I’m honestly not sure.
That’s the other piece of this: it’s impossible to say with any confidence right now where he tops out, and there is no reason to slow play the process of finding out any further.
Looking at the rankings right now, in the midst of this event, a pairing with Cody Stamann would be interesting, as would a showdown with fellow young stud Song Yadong. If Ricky Simón topples Raphael Assuncao next weekend, that fight would make sense too. Hell, if “Chito” Vera wants to run it back with him, I don’t think anyone would object to that one either.
But those are the types of matchup that O’Malley should be getting when he gets his 2022 campaign underway, and his efforts on Saturday should ensure that absolutely everyone will be paying close attention to see what he does next.