LAS VEGAS – If there was any doubt, Charles Oliveira proved Saturday night at UFC 269 that he looks like anything but a transitional champion after the retirement of Khabib Nurmagomedov.
Oliveira (32-8, 1 NC) extended his winning streak to 10 overall and survived a wild opening round to consistently finish former interim champion Dustin Poirier (28-7, 1 NC). The third-round submission inside T-Mobile Arena was the first defense of the 155-pound belt that Oliveira won in May by knocking out Michael Chandler.
The victory, which extended Oliveira’s UFC record for most career finals, also provided the 32-year-old Brazilian with critical validation of defeating a fighter at Poirier that many critics deemed the uncrowned champion after a pair. knockouts over the former champion. Conor McGregor.
“I am a world champion, I am the man. They talk and I do it,” Oliveira said. “They can hit me a lot but I’m going to walk forward.”
Can’t get enough boxing and MMA? Get the latest in combat sports from two of the best in the business. Subscribe to Morning Kombat with Luke Thomas and Brian Campbell for the best analysis and in-depth news, including an instant analysis of UFC 269 at the end of the event.
Oliveira showed an incredible chin to pick himself up from multiple first-round falls and keep moving forward throughout an opening frame that will likely compete for Best of the Year considerations until the end of 2021. If there was any doubt, he did have the dog. inside him to survive a fight. With someone of Poirier’s caliber, Oliveira doubled down dominating the next two rounds on the ground en route to the end of the stoppage.
Throughout each stop in his current winning streak and his career re-transformation, Oliveira has seemingly elevated his game into a new category each time he finishes. This time, he overcame constant heavy blows and a face covered, at times, in blood.
“Its durability [surprised me]”Poirier said.” I hit him some good clean shots and thought he was going to [finish him] in the first round. Obviously, I didn’t want to turn my back on him. “
Although Oliveira had to go through hell to survive a wild assault 1, he managed to get Poirier to fight the gentle fight he didn’t want in by luring him into the kind of reckless pace that Oliveira thrives on.
“The game plan was to take my time. I fought again when I wasn’t supposed to,” Poirier said. “The game plan was to take him into deep water.”
Oliveira added his name for consideration in the debate over the winning fighter of the year and largely did so by making an early adjustment in Round 2 by instantly knocking down Poirier. The takedown led to a wild sequence in which Poirier appeared to take down Oliveira with a right cross after standing up briefly, but a fight brought Oliveira to first position.
Once the champion was able to stretch Poirier and work from the top position, his combination of short elbows and savage handling of the fight began to expose an exhausted Poirier. Oliveira put all his weight on Poirier’s chest and used his hands to mutilate his opponent’s face while restricting his breathing.
Oliveira was so dominant that two of the judges scored a 10-8 round. He only continued the momentum in Round 3 by pushing Poirier against the cage and using the standing clinch to transition to Poirier’s back. Oliveira quickly applied a choke from behind to his standing opponent and slowly wore down Poirier until he collapsed and struck at 1:02 of the round.
“I have the best team in the world and I have the best people in the world,” Oliveira said.
Meanwhile, the co-main event went even crazier when Julianna Peña toppled the greatest fighter in women’s MMA history, Amanda Nunes, to claim the bantamweight title. Peña lured Nunes into a fight before dropping her and calmly blocking a stranglehold to claim one of the biggest upsets in UFC history. She snapped a 12-match win streak with Nunes, which included wins over Valentina Shevchenko (twice), Ronda Rousey, Miesha Tate, Cris Cyborg, and more.
CBS Sports was with you all the way on Saturday and brought you all the results and highlights from UFC 269 below.
UFC 269 card and results
- Charles Oliveira (c) def. Dustin Poirier via 3rd round submission (bare butt choke)
- Julianna Pena def. Amanda Nunes (c) via second round submission (bare butt choke)
- Geoff defeat Neal. Santiago Ponzinibbio by split decision (28-29, 30-27, 29-28)
- Kai Kara-France def. Cody Garbrandt by first round TKO (punches)
- Defeat Sean O’Malley. Raulian Paiva by first round TKO (punches)
- Josh Emmett def. Dan Ige via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
- Dominick Cruz def. Pedro Munhoz by decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Tai Tuivasa def. Augusto Sakai by second round knockout (punch)
- Bruno Silva def. Jordan Wright by first round TKO (punches)
- Andre Muniz def. Eryk Anders via first-round submission (arm bar)
- Erin Blanchfield defeat. Miranda Maverick via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Defeat Ryan Hall. Darrick Minner via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-27)
- Tony Kelley def. Randy Costa by second round TKO (punches, elbows)
- Gillian Robertson def. Priscila Cachoeira by submission in the first round (naked butt choke)