Matches to Make After UFC 269

Charles Oliveira checked all the boxes and looked like a champion with some staying power.

The Chute Boxe star retained his Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight title and did so in stirring fashion, as he submitted Dustin Poirier with a standing rear-naked choke in the third round of their UFC 269 headliner on Saturday before a crowd of 18,471 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Poirier checked out 62 seconds into Round 3, having failed in his second attempt to capture undisputed gold at 155 pounds.

Oliveira went tit for tat with the American Top Team-trained Louisianan in an action-packed first round that saw the two men combine to land more than 100 significant strikes against one another. The Brazilian hit the deck after being zapped by a Poirier right hook but managed to withstand the follow-up assault, along with anything else that was thrown his way. Oliveira turned the tide with utter dominance in Round 2, where he took down the challenger, applied suffocating top control and fed him a steady diet of elbows. Early in the third, he maneuvered behind Poirier while upright along the cage, climbed onto his back and ultimately cinched the fight-ending choke.

In the aftermath of UFC 269 “Oliveira vs. Poirier,” here are five matches that ought to be made:

Charles Oliveira vs. Justin Gaethje: Oliveira has now rattled off 10 consecutive victories and firmly entrenched himself as the man to beat in a post-Khabib Nurmagomedov world, all while shedding the less-than-complimentary labels that were once attached to him. Nevertheless, the 32-year-old Brazilian’s hold on lightweight supremacy remains precarious, as qualified would-be successors form a line behind him. Gaethje appears to be next in the queue after his riveting three-round unanimous decision over three-time Bellator MMA champion Michael Chandler at UFC 268 on Nov. 6. Should Oliveira clear that hurdle in the first half of 2022 and should other pieces fall into place, a potential showdown with the surging Islam Makhachev looms.

Julianna Pena vs. Amanda Nunes: In what will be remembered as one of the most unlikely upsets in mixed martial arts history, Pena submitted the “Lioness” with a rear-naked choke in the second round of their co-main event and emerged as the UFC’s fifth women’s bantamweight champion. Nunes conceded defeat 3:26 into Round 2, suffering her first defeat in more than seven years. Due to a dearth of ready-made challengers and owing to the Brazilian’s stature in the sport, an immediate rematch seems likely and warranted. Plus, one has to wonder whether or not Nunes’ first true weight cut since 2019—she had defended the women’s featherweight crown in her two most recent appearances—played any role in her demise.

Geoff Neal vs. Kalinn Williams: Neal managed to leave his considerable pre-fight baggage at the door, as he rebounded from back-to-back losses to Stephen Thompson and Neil Magny with a split decision over American Top Team’s Santiago Ponzinibbio in a three-round welterweight showcase. Scores were 30-27 and 29-28 for the Fortis MMA mainstay, 29-28 for Ponzinibbio. Neal turned up the heat in the third round, where he was credited with 46 significant strikes landed when it mattered most. He proved to be the far more efficient fighter across the entirety of the 15-minute encounter. Williams last appeared at UFC Fight Night 197, where he recorded his 10th win in 11 assignments and cut down Miguel Baeza with third-round punches on Nov. 13.

Kai Kara France vs. Rogerio Bontorin-Brandon Royval winner: An often-overlooked piece of the flyweight division, France put a signature win in the books when he punched out Cody Garbrandt with punches in the first round of their featured confrontation at 125 pounds. Garbrandt bowed out 3:21 into Round 3. France struck with surgical precision and surprised the Team Alpha Male product with his punching power. He knocked down Garbrandt twice and hammered home the proverbial nail in the coffin with a laser beam of a right cross that splattered the Ohio native at the feet of referee Herb Dean. While France fancies himself a flyweight contender, his September 2020 submission loss to Royval casts some doubt on his credentials and leaves some room for a rematch between the two. Royval will take on Rogerio Bontorin at UFC Fight Night 200 on Jan. 15.

Sean O’Malley vs. Adrian Yanez: The polarizing but undeniably talented O’Malley extended his current winning streak to three fights, as he wiped out Raulian Paiva with punches in the first round of their bantamweight feature. Paiva met his end 4:42 into Round 1, where he joined Kris Moutinho, Thomas Almeida, Eddie Wineland and Jose Alberto Quinonez on the Tim Welch protégé’s growing list of UFC victims. An overhand right from O’Malley staggered the Team Alpha Male export and sparked the sequence that resulted in the finish. Yanez last competed on Nov. 20, when he was awarded a split decision over “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 18 finalist Davey Grant at UFC Fight Night 198. The 28-year-old Metro Fight Club prospect has won eight bouts in a row.