Mixed Picks: UFC 269 (Patreon)

By Sam (@LiberationistMA)

This is going to be different from the typical fight picks you're used to seeing. Rather than picking every fight, I just give you the picks I feel strongly about.

UFC 269: Oliveira vs. Poirier | 12.11.2021

Women's flyweight: Gillian Robertson beats Priscila Cachoeira

I think Robertson takes Cachoeira down and beats her by decision.

Featherweight: Ryan Hall beats Darrick Minner

This should be a fight Hall should be able to win but with Ryan Hall who hardly fights, it's hard to tell what he'll be like. If he can't beat Minner, his days in the UFC are numbered.

Middleweight:  André Muniz beats Eryk Anders

Muniz has rudimentary striking and his wrestling isn't world-class so Anders should beat him but I don't trust Anders to beat him.

Bantamweight: Pedro Munhoz beats Dominick Cruz

Cruz never had the power, but now I don't know if he has the speed or wrestling to beat Munhoz. Munhoz also spams leg kicks, which is a type Cruz hasn't fought yet.

Bantamweight: Sean O'Malley beats Raulian Paiva

In some ways, Paiva's last two wins were gifts. Paiva hasn't shown head movement and tends to get hurt in his fights. Seems like a safe fight for O'Malley to say he beat someone tough but that still favored his style.

Flyweight: Kai Kara-France beats Cody Garbrandt

I didn't trust Garbrandt at 135, I didn't trust him after COVID, so why would I trust him at 125?

Women's bantamweight title fight: Amanda Nunes beats Julianna Peña

I used to think Peña was a tough style match-up for Nunes, and I still do. But being the toughest style match-up amongst the bunch doesn't mean a lot against Nunes. Though I haven't seen anyone constantly shoot in on Nunes before. Like any Nunes fight, it will have that air of suspense around it. Will Nunes really hurt someone? Can the challenger do it? Though Nunes is a black belt, I suspect she's not a black belt off her back. We shall see.

Lightweight title fight: Dustin Poirier beats Charles Oliveira

Although Oliveira is the champion, this will be Oliveira's toughest test. For Poirier, he's fought at this level for a long time. I think he's the better boxer, he's southpaw which is challenging anyway, he's more durable, and has the better gas tank. I think he's also good enough on the ground not to get submitted. But the mystery is, how will the "new" Oliveira rise to this occasion?