Date: 11/12/2021
Stadium: T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas
It has been a memorable year for both fighters and one of them will end it as lightweight champion as Charles Oliveira puts his gold belt on the line against Dustin Poirier.
This is UFC’s 13th and final pay-per-view event of 2021 and a fascinating contest is in store in the main event as Oliveira returns to the octagon for the first time since claiming the title in May.
Poirier has been priced up as the favourite in the UFC 269 odds but these two look hard to split so the value has to be with the underdog at 2.40 in our Oliveira vs Poirier predictions.
Charles Oliveira Odds
Oliveira claimed the lightweight belt after knocking out Michael Chandler at a fast-paced UFC 262 in Houston.
Both fighters had chances to win the 155-pound title, which became available following Khabib Nurmagomedov’s retirement, in the first round before Oliveira’s left hook connected with Chandler’s chin early in the second and knocked the American down.
Chandler scrambled back up but could not withstand the following barrage of head shots from Oliveira, who knocked his opponent into the cage before finishing him on the ground.
That extended Oliveira’s winning streak to nine fights and the key for the Brazilian will be to try and get Poirier to the mat and use his superior grappling skills.
Looking at the Oliveira vs Poirier odds, that would suggest backing the fight to finish by submission at 3.00.
Dustin Poirier Odds
Poirier has beaten Conor McGregor twice in 2021 and now gets to test himself against another top opponent other than the Irishman.
Poirier beat McGregor in their third meeting in July when his opponent sustained a serious leg injury as he lost via doctor’s stoppage in round one at UFC 264 in Las Vegas.
The Irishman started aggressively by targeting Poirier with leg kicks, but the American quickly capitalised after seeming to hear McGregor’s leg crack during one exchange.
Poirier took his opponent to the ground, where he dominated before the fighters returned to their feet.
Both swung and missed and McGregor stepped back before his leg collapsed beneath him, somehow surviving until the end of the round when the bout was stopped.
What would have happened had it not been for the injury is open to debate and there is a sense that McGregor’s powers had already faded before the third fight in the trilogy.
Poirier will try and stay on his feet and take the fight as far as he can but we suspect Oliveira has more all-round skills.
For the last of our Oliveira vs Poirier predictions, we reckon the fight will end in the second round again at 4.30 just as it did when Oliveira beat Chandler, while Oliveira to win in the second round is available at 9.50.
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