UFC 269: Oliveira Still the Champ, Julianna Pena Shocks Amanda Nunes

The UFC 269 saw Charles Oliveira and Julianna Pena emerging as the heroes, following their wins in the main events of the night. Oliveira defended his throne following a nasty battle with Dustin Poirier, while Pena executed one of the biggest surprises in the history of the UFC, defeating Amanda Nunes.

Oliveira (32-8 MMA, 20-8 UFC) submitted Poirier (28-7 MMA, 20-6 UFC) at 1:02 of round 3, via rear-naked choke. It was his 18th finish in the UFC, the most of all fighters, and the 15th submission.

Though, it didn’t start well for the champion, who was heavily rocked in the opening round, once Poirier hit him with a strong left hand. Do Bronx did recover, fighting back with several nasty elbows and leg kicks, but we need to admit that Poirier looked much better in that sequence.

https://twitter.com/sbscreen/status/1469903541963788293

The second round saw the Brazilian taking the fight to the ground, where he feels more comfortable. He spent most of the same grounding and pounding his rival, inflicting him a lot of damage. It was an indication of what was about to happen.

Quickly inside round three, Oliveira climbed on Poirier’s back, which was the end of all the dreams for the Diamond. Do Bronx switched a few grips until reaching a perfect position to end the bout.

This was the first title defense for Oliveira, who was excited following the event.

“I’m the world champion,” Oliveira said in his postfight interview. “I’m the man. They talk. I do it.”

On the other side, Poirier, who came into this matchup following three straight wins, was disappointed. The American came in as a -130 favorite, but once again lost in the title fight. The previous time, Khabib Nurmagomedov stopped Poirier at the UFC 242.

“I landed some good, clean shots on him,” Poirier said. “I thought I was gonna get him away in the first round. He’s a champ, man.”

Oliveira will probably meet with Justin Gaethje next, with most of the analysts predicting that the Highlight should be his next challenger.

Amanda Nunes (21-5 MMA, 14-2 UFC) lost his bantamweight title to Julianna Pena (11-4 MMA, 7-2 UFC). The challenger submitted the Lioness at 3:22 of the second round, making one of the biggest upsets in the history of the organization.

“I told you,” Peña said. “Don’t ever doubt me again. … She tapped and I asked the commission, ‘Is it over?’ He said, ‘Yes, you won.’ It didn’t [seem real]. It feels crazy.”

Pena beats Nunes pic.twitter.com/VLeRXNNbFS

— Fungible Dave (@FungibleDave) December 12, 2021

Nunes was more aggressive in the first round, dropping Pena early one, and immediately positioning herself on top of the rival to close the opening five minutes. Though, the tide changed in the second round, as Pena started landing jabs that pushed away the champion, while on the other side boosted the morale of the American.

As time went by, Penna became more and more precise, connecting big-time shots on a few occasions and cutting down the Nunes’ energy bar dramatically. At one point, she used the champs’ slowdown to find a good position for submission and end the match.

This is the first defeat for Nunes since 2014 and 12 consecutive victories.

“I did everything I could tonight,” Nunes said. “I trained hard for it. Congratulations to Julianna. She’s a warrior.”

In other fights, Kai Kara-France defeated Cody Garbrandt via TKO, Sean O’Malley KOd Raulian Paiva, while Josh Emmet beat Dan Ige via UD.