The Ultimate Fighting Championship came to T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada tonight for UFC 269: “Oliveira vs Poirier.” The card was headlined by a UFC Lightweight Championship bout between champion Charles “do Bronx” Oliveira and former interim titleholder Dustin “The Diamond” Poirier.
In tonight’s co-main event, UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Amanda “Lioness” Nunes defended against Julianna “The Venezuelan Vixen” Peña. Geoff “Handz of Steel” Neal met Santiago “Argentine Dagger” Ponzinibbio at welterweight. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for the UFC 269 card.
UFC Lightweight Championship
Charles “do Bronx” Oliveira vs Dustin “The Diamond” Poirier
Round 1:
Poirier landed an early left-right combo that dropped Oliveira to a knee and backed him up, but Oliveira recovered and both men landed uppercuts in a clinch. Poirier scored with two left hands and Oliveira landed a knee in return. Another knee to the body scored for Oliveira, who clinched and attempted a takedown. Oliveira could only get Poirier down for a second, but he landed another strong knee as the fighters stood up. Poirier landed two left hooks and then more punches while pushing Oliveira back to the cage. Oliveira circled out and threw a combination, but Poirier dropped him with two left hands and a lead right hook. Oliveira was able to get back to his feet and the fighters traded combinations. Oliveira’s face swelled up as Poirier continued to land punches, but Oliveira landed front kicks to the body in response before the bell. 10-9 Poirier.
Round 2:
Oliveira clinched and he landed a hard knee to the body while pinning Poirier against the cage. He took Poirier’s back, but Poirier shook him off and Oliveira fell. He grabbed on to Poirier’s glove and used it to pull him down to the mat, then took top position in Poirier’s closed guard. Oliveira peppered Poirier with elbows that opened a small cut on Poirier’s forehead. Poirier made no effort to get up and Oliveira continued to land elbows from the top. This continued until the final seconds when Oliveira stood over Poirier. 10-9 Oliveira.
Round 3:
Oliveira hopped on Poirier’s back very early in the third round and he immediately went to work in search of a standing rear-naked choke. He adjusted his grip twice until he was able to fully sink in the choke and a dejected Poirier tapped out.
Winner: Charles Oliveira by Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) at 1:02 of round three. He improves to 32-8-0, 1 NC and remains the UFC Lightweight Champion.
UFC Women’s Bantamweight Championship
Julianna “The Venezuelan Vixen” Peña vs Amanda “Lioness” Nunes
Round 1:
Nunes dropped Peña with a calf kick in the early goings and she allowed her to stand back up. She knocked Peña down again with a straight right and then dropped down into side control, but Peña powered out and stood up. Nunes pushed her back down to a seated position against the cage and then took Peña’s back. She tried to secure a rear-naked choke, but Peña prevented her from joining her hands together. Nunes moved back to top position and Peña eyed a kimura on Nunes’s left arm. Nunes defended until the bell. 10-9 Nunes.
Round 2:
In the second round, Nunes landed a right hook and two leg kicks. Peña responded with hard jabs and lead left hooks. Nunes scored with a right hook that caused swelling to form around Peña’s left eye. Nunes began to slow down as Peña landed lead left hooks and overhand rights. Nunes landed three right hooks and Peña fired right back with two combinations. She hurt Nunes with more punches and took her down. An exhausted Nunes gave up her back and Peña secured a rear-naked choke. Nunes offered no defence at all and immediately tapped out on the ground.
Winner: Julianna Peña by Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) at 3:26 of round two. She improves to 11-4-0 and becomes the new UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion.
Geoff “Handz of Steel” Neal vs Santiago “Argentine Dagger” Ponzinibbio
Round 1:
Ponzinibbio was warned for outstretching his fingers in the opening round and the fighters traded cautious punches and leg kicks after the restart. Neal landed a combination and missed with a head kick. Ponzinibbio landed a pair of one-twos, but Neal cut him beside the right eye with a left hook. Neal finished a combination with a head kick that Ponzinibbio blocked and circled away. He ducked into a head kick from Neal and time was called when Ponzinibbio was kicked in the groin. The fight eventually continued and Ponzinibbio landed a quick combination as time expired. Close round. 10-9 Neal.
Round 2:
A strong leg kick scored for Ponzinibbio early in round two. Both men landed right-left combos and Neal followed with a kick to the body. Ponzinibbio dropped levels for a takedown and he got Neal down. Neal swept and stood up, and he landed two left hands. Ponzinibbio pressed forward with jab-cross combos, but Neal was able to counter with lead right hooks and straight lefts. Ponzinibbio landed one-twos and Neal poked him in the eye. The fight continued and Neal clipped Ponzinibbio with a counter right hook before the bell. 10-9 Ponzinibbio.
Round 3:
Ponzinibbio landed two right hooks early in the final round and Neal stunned him with a lead right hand over the top. Ponzinibbio quickly recovered and landed a leg kick. He cut Neal above his right eye with a left hook and Neal picked up the pace with his punches. He landed another lead right hook and a left cross. Ponzinibbio landed a right hook and fought through a left hand from Neal in order to land a combination. Ponzinibbio landed three right hands and Neal answered with straight lefts. He backed Ponzinibbio up with a flurry and Ponzinibbio appeared to lose his balance. Neal stung him with a hard left cross Ponzinibbio landed a right hand and a leg kick as the fight ended. Another close round. 10-9 Neal.
Winner: Geoff Neal by Split Decision (30-27, 29-28, 28-29) after three rounds. He improves to 14-4-0.
Kai “Don’t Blink” Kara-France vs Cody “No Love” Garbrandt
Round 1:
Garbrandt kept his distance and landed occasional kicks to Kara-France’s lead leg. Kara-France jabbed and dropped Garbrandt with a right hook. Garbrandt got back to his feet, but Kara-France dropped him to a knee with another right hand. Garbrandt stood and began to recover as he circled away from Kara-France. Seconds later, however, Kara-France froze Garbrandt in place with two hooks and then sent him crashing to the mat with a final right hook that ended the fight.
Winner: Kai Kara-France by KO (Punches) at 3:21 of round one. He improves to 23-9-0, 1 NC.
“Sugar” Sean O’Malley vs Raulian Paiva
Round 1:
Time was called early in the fight when Paiva was kicked in the groin. The fight continued and O’Malley snapped Paiva’s head back with two jabs. Paiva landed a hard calf kick and O’Malley switched stances, then scored with a straight left. Two more leg kicks landed for Paiva, but O’Malley quickly answered back with a jab-cross combo and more jabs. A huge right hook from O’Malley wobbled Paiva and he dropped him to his knees with a second right hand. Paiva stood, only to be swarmed on with punches from O’Malley. When Paiva fell again, referee Jason Herzog stopped the fight.
Winner: Sean O’Malley by TKO (Punches) at 4:42 of round one. He improves to 15-1-0.
(Undercard results and play-by-play on Page Two.)