UFC 269: Nunes, Cruz and O'Malley look to steal the show in Las Vegas
Amanda Nunes looks to assert her dominance at bantamweight, Sean O’Malley can dazzle once again, while Cody Garbrandt makes his debut at flyweight… the stars bidding to steal the spotlight from Dustin Poirier and Charles Oliveira at UFC 269
- All eyes will be on Dustin Poirier in his bid to win the lightweight title at UFC 269
- The American, 32, bids to finally get his hands on UFC gold this weekend
- However, plenty of fighters will be looking to steal the spotlight in Las Vegas
- Amanda Nunes, Sean O’Malley and Cody Garbrandt will be on show in Sin City
Jorge Masvidal and Leon Edwards may not be dancing under the lights at UFC 269 this weekend, but there are plenty of mouthwatering clashes in the offing ahead of Dustin Poirier’s clash with Charles Oliveira.
The UFC masses will be tuning in to see whether the Diamond can cap off a sensational 2021 by clinching UFC gold this weekend and plenty of high-calibre fighters will be looking to steal the show.
The imperious Amanda Nunes returns to the Octagon, bantamweight livewire Sean O’Malley will look to put on a show, while Cody Garbrandt makes his flyweight debut.
Sportsmail provides the lowdown on the best of the rest on a jam-packed UFC 269 card this weekend.
Charles Oliveira (L) and Dustin Poirier (R) do battle at UFC 269 this weekend, but plenty of other stars will be vying to steal the show in Las Vegas
Amanda Nunes v Julianna Pena
Bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes has made a good first of spinning plates this year.
In March, the Brazilian defended her featherweight belt with a first round submission of Megan Anderson, and on Saturday she returns to defend her 135-pound crown against Julianna Pena.
Pena, 32, faces an uphill battle to snatch Nunes’ title. The American won last time out against Sara McMann, but she has won two of her last four fights and will need a career-best performance to dethrone the all-conquering Brazilian.
Amanda Nunes sets out to emphasise her dominance at bantamweight against Julianna Pena
Nunes says that Pena’s aspirations of triumphing in Las Vegas are ‘delusional’ and that the fight will not go to the judges’ scorecards.
‘[Julianna] is delusional, but it doesn’t mean I’m not taking her seriously,’ she told TMZ Sports.
‘I do. I trained very hard and very smart, I’m very sharp for her. A lot of things she says are not true, she’s being delusional.’
Geoff Neal v Santiago Ponzinibbio
Where Masvidal and Edwards have been unable to meet in the Octagon on Saturday, a door opens for other welterweights to step up to the plate.
Geoff Neal and Santiago Ponzinibbio, ranked No 12 and 14 respectively, will be looking to crash into the division’s top 10 and prove their credentials as prospective challengers to Kamaru Usman’s throne.
American Geoff Neal (L) returns to action and hopes to end a two-fight skid at UFC 269
Ponzinibbio certainly enters the contest in the ascendency, having won eight of his last nine UFC bouts, while Neal is reeling from back-to-back defeats by Stephen Thompson and Neil Magny.
‘I’m in great shape, I’m feeling good and I’m prepared to beat him,’ Ponzinibbio told MMA Junkie.
‘The idea is to finish the fight and then get in there with a top 5. That’s what I’m looking for. I want a top five, so I can then get an opportunity for the title.’
Kai Kara-France v Cody Garbrandt
Perhaps the most intriguing bout prior to Saturday’s main event comes in the flyweight division, as former bantamweight king Cody Garbrandt drops down to 125 pounds to face Kai Kara-France.
It has been a tricky couple of years for Garbrandt. The 30-year-old has lost four of his last five bouts and has turned to the flyweight division in a bid to transform his fortunes.
Cody Garbrandt (left) makes his flyweight debut after moving down from men’s bantamweight
Yet he will face a stern test in Kara-France. Despite his small frame, the Kiwi packs a punch – as demonstrated against Rogério Bontorin in March – and he has warned that Garbrandt may feel the toll of a strenuous weight cut.
‘The cut has got to affect him.TJ Dillashaw thought he could come down and walk all over Henry Cejudo, but it’s a different ballgame when you drop that much weight,’ Kara-France told the UFC.
‘You don’t know how your body will react. You take shots differently. Cody is going to realize this for the first time when he’s standing in the Octagon in front of me.’
Raulian Paiva v Sean O’Malley
The self-proclaimed ‘Unranked Champion’ returns to action in Las Vegas and will hope to light up the Octagon once more as he closes in on the bantamweight’s top 15.
Yet the brash American is far more interested in becoming a worldwide star and raking in the big bucks than doggedly working through the rankings.
O’Malley made light work of Kris Moutinho last time out and his slick striking is bound to pose problems to any bantamweight.
Sean O’Malley always brings excitement and he will look to do the same again this weekend
‘Suga’ faces a tough challenge in Paiva, though, with the Brazilian undefeated in his last three fights. The 26-year-old is a textbook pressure fighter, and O’Malley will need to be at his best to keep the Brazilian at range over 15 minutes.
‘I’m going to go out there and fight Paiva, a dangerous opponent, one of the tougher guys I’ve fought, for sure — but it doesn’t matter,’ he told ESPN.
‘I’ll finish him, and that’s what is supposed to happen. It’s the Suga Show. I’m supposed to go out and finish him.’
Josh Emmett v Dan Ige
Wrapping up the preliminary card is a featherweight bout between Josh Emmett and Dan Ige.
Ige, ranked No 9 in the 145-pound division, is bidding to break into the top five after suffering defeats at the hands of the Korean Zombie and Calvin Kattar in the past 18 months.
The Hawaiian, who trains with Khabib Nurmagomedov, has a tough task on his hands in No 8 ranked Emmett, who has lost just one of his last six UFC bouts and was expected to face Arnold Allen, before the Brit revealed he would not be able to make the date this weekend.
Khabib Numragomedov’s team-mate Dan Ige is looking to bounce back against Josh Emmett
‘I’m always prepared for a 15-minutes war. I hope it doesn’t go that long. But, he has had so many fights and he’s never been finished,’ Emmett told BJPenn.com.
‘Of course, that is a goal of mine (to finish him). I’ve fought a lot of people who have never been finished or knocked out and I was able to do so.’
Dominick Cruz v Pedro Munhoz
Veteran Dominick Cruz is used to headlining UFC cards but, curiously, the American’s clash with Pedro Munhoz will feature in the prelims on Saturday.
Cruz, 36, is back on the path to a bantamweight title shot and enters his bout against Munhoz having earned an impressive victory over Casey Kenney at UFC 259 last March.
The former bantamweight champion was expected to face O’Malley in Vegas, but Suga claims that Cruz’s rejection of that fight has resulted in him being moved to the preliminary card.
Dominick Cruz is, curiously, on the preliminary card where he takes on Pedro Munhoz
Munhoz, 35, is looking to haul himself from a torrid slump of three defeats in four, after losing to UFC legend Jose Aldo in August. Cruz expects a ‘game of chess’ with his veteran rival.
‘Pedro has been in this game as long as me,’ he told Philstar.
‘He has the same knowledge and fight IQ. I need to use different tools with Pedro and pull them out in that fight. When it comes down to it, it will be a game of chess with him.’
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