The shock of the year and the successful defence of Oliveira! What did UFC 269 look like?

The best MMA organization in the world is coming off another sensational night. The UFC 269 tournament offered only attractive fights on the main card, during which history was made. There was also the biggest shock of probably not only this year.

The main card of UFC 269 opened with a bout between Sean O’Malley and Raulian Paiva. The former could soon be one of the organization’s biggest stars, which he confirmed now, defeating the seasoned Paiva by first-round knockout.

O’Malley now has a record of 15-1, having finished 12 of his fights early. Once he gets a better contract, he’ll reportedly take on higher ranked opponents. And there’s a lot to look forward to!

The first surprise of the night was the unfortunately for himself popular Cody Garbrandt, who failed to make his flyweight debut. He was knocked out after a good performance in the first round by Kai Kara-France, who is ranked number six in the flyweight rankings.

Garbrandt’s career seems to be on a significant decline, while for his conqueror this is a valuable scalp that could move him up a few places in the rankings.

Geoff Neal and Santiago Ponzinibbio provided the only fight that ended on points on the main card. The fight was very evenly contested, but Neal won it for himself with a dominant performance in the third round.

However, a shock followed immediately afterwards. Amanda Nunes was about to go and execute another one of her opponents again. The first round was a match of sorts. She was better in the stance, she was better on the ground.

But in the second round, her opponent Julianna Peña managed to hit probably the best fighter of all time hard several times, she showed a tough root herself. Nunes was exhausted, she had had enough. When Peña took her to the ground and put on a clean choke, there was nothing to worry about. The multi-year champion of two weight classes tapped out.

Nunes last lost in September 2014, no one had beaten her in 7 long years. So Peña provided a shock and a surprise that, at least this year, nothing can top. She gave an outstanding performance. Nunes showed after the loss that she is a champion in character as well, she took the loss with grace.

The highlight of the night was the lightweight title fight between champion Charles Oliveira and Dustin Poirier. The latter was a slight favourite, with Oliveira’s win not being much expected. The first round corresponded to that, as the American managed to outpoint the Brazilian on significant strikes.

The second round, however, went to Oliveira, who managed to take the fight to the ground, where he dominated the entire time. Poirier never once attempted to get up. He then quickly got on Poirier’s back at the start of the third round, where he set up a choke. The challenger tapped and the Brazilian scored his first successful defense.

Like Nunes, Poirier took the defeat with great humility and respect for his conqueror. In short, a beautiful evening of sport.

Source: UFC, Twitter