UFC 269 Fight Card: PPV Schedule, Odds, Predictions for Oliveira vs. Poirier

UFC 269 closes out the UFC's pay-per-view offerings in 2021 with a bang as Dustin Poirier will attempt to take the lightweight championship from Charles Oliveira in the main event. 

With Oliveira snagging the belt that was left vacant by Khabib Nurmagomedov's retirement, this fight is a great opportunity to move the division forward. Do Bronx beat Michael Chandler for the vacant title, and his ability to defend the belt against an opponent like Poirier would solidify his status as champion. 

That's going to be a tall task, though. Poirier is a small favorite for a reason. 

Elsewhere on the card, Julianna Pena will get her chance against Amanda Nunes after campaigning all year for the fight. No one has been able to put a stop to Nunes' reign over the division, and Vegas doesn't like Pena's chances either. 

The UFC usually brings it on the final pay-per-view card of the year, and 2021 is no different. Here's a look at the complete schedule and the latest odds along with the biggest questions on the night. 

Main Card (ESPN+ PPV at 10 p.m. ET)

• Dustin Poirier -130 (wager $130 to win $100) vs. Charles Oliveira (c) +110 (wager $100 to win $110)
• Amanda Nunes (c) -1000 vs. Julianna Pena +650
• Geoff Neal -110 vs. Santiago Ponzinibbio -110
• Cody Garbrandt -130 vs. Kai Kara France +110
• Sean O'Malley -335 vs. Raulian Paiva +260

Prelims (ESPN2/ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET)

• Josh Emmett -140 vs. Dan Ige +120
• Dominick Cruz +100 vs. Pedro Munhoz -120
• Augusto Sakai +105 vs. Tai Tuivasa -125
• Bruno Silva -320 vs. Jordan Wright +250

Early Prelims (UFC Fight Pass at 6:15 p.m. ET)

• Andre Muniz -160 vs. Eryk Anders +140
• Miranda Maverick -140 vs. Erin Blanchfield +120
• Ryan Hall -190 vs. Darrick Minner +160
• Randy Costa -195 vs. Tony Kelley +165
• Gillian Robertson -350 vs. Priscila Cachoeira +270

Odds via DraftKings.

Both Dustin Poirier and Charles Oliveira are well-rounded fighters, but there's a clear advantage in one area for both of them. 

The Diamond is an outstanding striker. He was better than Conor McGregor in the stand-up in both of their most recent fights. But he also has some underrated wrestling if an opponent wants to take a fight there. 

Do Bronx has one of the slickest submission games in the sport. His jiu-jitsu is an advantage he carries into just about every fight, but his striking is not to be underestimated. He showed that in his most recent win over Michael Chandler. 

So while this fight is pretty even on paper and figures to be a fun matchup, the real question is where the fight will transpire. 

The answer is probably a little bit of everywhere, but enough in the stand-up that Poirier is going to hold the slightest of advantages. 

Prediction: Poirier via decision

When someone has dominated a division for as long as Amanda Nunes has reigned over the women's bantamweight division, it gets pretty quiet on the contender front. 

There just aren't a lot of fighters lining up to take on a champion with Nunes' resume. It's reminiscent of Anderson Silva's reign over the middleweight division in his prime. 

There were few fighters willing to talk their way to a shot at the champion until Chael Sonnen came along and basically told anyone who would listen he wanted to fight The Spider. 

Pena has tried her best to be that contender in the women's bantamweight division. Much like Sonnen, her record isn't all that impressive. She is 2-2 over last four fights but still has made it clear she plans on dethroning the Lioness, twice if she has to. 

So the question becomes whether Pena legitimately sees something in Nunes game that she can exploit, because it doesn't jump off the page. Nunes is fast, powerful and technical. She has generally been able to overwhelm just about everybody she has seen in the cage. 

That's the expectation once again on Saturday night unless Pena has a plan to shock the world. 

Prediction: Nunes via decision

One of the most intriguing storylines heading into the evening is Cody Garbrandt's debut in the flyweight division. The former bantamweight champion smashed his way to the top in the 135-pound division before hitting a major slump and going 1-4 in his last five fights. 

That skid has inspired a move down to the 125-pound division, where it will be interesting to see how his skills translate against smaller opponents. 

Garbrandt has always had fight-changing power, but he can be susceptible to the power punching of his opponents as well. Three of those four losses have come by way of knockout. 

Welcoming him into the new division will be Kai Kara France, who has some power in his fists as well. Ten of his 22 wins have been knockouts, with the most recent coming in the first round of his fight against Rogerio Bontorin. 

So with both fighters looking to score knockouts, it could come down to a question of who lands heavy hands first.

Prediction: Garbrandt via first-round TKO

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