Latest news with #UFC269
USA Today
28-06-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
UFC 317 full fight: Charles Oliveira submits Dustin Poirier in thrilling title defense
Charles Oliveira's first UFC title defense was as exciting as they come. Back at UFC 269 in 2021, Oliveira made his first appearance as champion, defending the belt against long-time contender Dustin Poirier. The fight was everything fans expected. The two went toe to toe, and both had their moments, but in the end Oliveira's unforgiving submission skills took over, and he tapped Poirier with a rear-naked choke in Round 3. You can rewatch Oliveira's thrilling title defense in the video above. Oliveira (35-10 MMA, 23-10 UFC) returns to the cage this Saturday, as he tries to regain the UFC lightweight title in the main event of UFC 317, which takes place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas (ESPN+ pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN). The Brazilian takes on Ilia Topuria (16-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC), who's vacated his UFC featherweight title in pursuit of the belt at 155 pounds.
USA Today
25-06-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Dustin Poirier: Charles Oliveira should fight Ilia Topuria 'the same way he fought me'
Dustin Poirier has some insight on where Charles Oliveira fights best. Oliveira (35-10 MMA, 23-10 UFC) takes on Ilia Topuria (16-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC) for the vacant lightweight title in Saturday's UFC 317 (pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+) main event at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Poirier (30-9 MMA, 22-8 UFC) was able to drop and hurt Oliveira in their title fight at UFC 269 in December 2021 but was ultimately submitted by a rear-naked choke in Round 3. Oliveira was dropped in his title fights against Poirier, Michael Chandler, and Justin Gaethje before rallying to finish them all. However, Poirier points out a key difference between Oliveira's prior opponents and Topuria. "Charles does get hit a lot," Poirier told MMA Junkie. "I got some people sh*tting on me on Twitter for saying I think Ilia is going to beat Charles, but that's just what I think. Charles does take a lot of shots, and Ilia is a guy who – we haven't seen it really, but he's confident in his jiu-jitsu. He's going to follow Charles down. "When I hurt Charles, and it's rinse and repeat, a lot of guys have hurt Charles, but we try to make him get back up and touch him again. I think Ilia, if he does sit Charles down, he's going to follow him, get into his guard. We've seen Charles when guys go into his guard and play jiu-jitsu with him and aren't afraid of that, he starts breaking a little bit, I think. But we'll see which Charles shows up. It's a fun fight. It's a fun matchup." Like Topuria, Poirier boasts heavy hands with his boxing. "The Diamond" thinks Oliveira needs to implement a similar strategy in the striking as he did against him. "I think Charles needs to fight Ilia the same way he fought me," Poirier continued. "He was all the way in, or he was all the way out. He never really fought me at that boxing range. If he was in, it was clinch work, body locks, a lot of energy, but he smothered my boxing. Or he was at kicking range, using those long front kicks. He's a long, rangy guy. He needs to be all the way in or the all the way out. He cannot play the boxing, pocket game. He needs to be clinching. He doesn't need to be exchanging shots in the pocket with a shorter guy who can crack." While Poirier is picking Topuria to win, he sees a way Oliveira can get the submission. "I think Ilia does have good takedown defense, and Charles even being big, I was able to stop a lot of his shots against the fence and make him go back to the body lock," Poirier said. "He eventually got underneath me and got around to my back, and jumped on my back like a JanSport. "So, if he can close the distance and get into that clinch work with Ilia, instead of boxing there or trying to dirty boxing, holding one tie, I think he needs to use that body lock, try to get behind him. If he can close the distance and get a hold of Ilia's body being the longer guy, maybe he can creep around to the back. I mean, Charles could finish anybody if he gets their back." To hear more from Poirier, check out his complete appearance on "The Bohnfire" podcast with MMA Junkie senior reporter Mike Bohn above.
USA Today
17-06-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Sean O'Malley comes to 'embarrassing' realization about Cody Garbrandt's new look
Sean O'Malley comes to 'embarrassing' realization about Cody Garbrandt's new look Sean O'Malley was definitely annoyed watching Cody Garbrandt fight this past Saturday at UFC on ESPN 69. Garbrandt (14-7 MMA, 9-7 UFC) said O'Malley "looked like sh*t" in his submission loss to bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili earlier this month. "No Love" didn't rule out the possibility of a future showdown with O'Malley but wound up losing to Raoni Barcelos this past Saturday. O'Malley (18-3 MMA, 10-3 UFC) threw shade at both Garbrandt's performance and new look, which was a very similar appearance to his own. "I saw Cody Garbrandt saying I looked like sh*t against Merab," O'Malley said on "The Ariel Helwani Show." "That dude looked sharp in his fight. That's all I'll say. You know what was annoying? When I saw his hair was braided, and he's got those face tattoos, I was like, 'F*ck, that's how people see me.' It was just so embarrassing. Oh God, I need to f*cking get a new look. That was embarrassing. I was like, 'Holy sh*t.' That was an eye opener. I was like, 'God damnit it, that's how people probably look at me.' It was embarrassing." O'Malley and Garbrandt have been trading barbs for years and even had a heated exchange and faceoff during the UFC 269 pre-fight press conference in 2021. Both O'Malley and Garbrandt are on two-fight losing skids.
USA Today
09-06-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Julianna Peña reacts to UFC 316 loss: 'Calling dibs on the winner' of Harrison vs. Nunes
Julianna Peña reacts to UFC 316 loss: 'Calling dibs on the winner' of Harrison vs. Nunes Julianna Peña wants to jump right back into the title picture after UFC 316. Peña (13-6 MMA, 8-4 UFC) lost her bantamweight title to Kayla Harrison (19-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) by submission in Saturday's co-headliner at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. Awaiting the outcome of this fight was former UFC dual-champion Amanda Nunes, who will come out of retirement to challenge Harrison. The pair faced off in the octagon after the fight. "The Venezuelan Vixen" took to Instagram to open up on her loss, and wants the winner of Harrison vs. Nunes (23-5 MMA, 16-2 UFC). "Thank you to the fans who lifted me with your love and encouragement during this #fightcamp.I love you all and feel so grateful for all the support and energy you guys give me—It truly means the world 🥹 ! I'm sorry I wasn't able to get the job done 💔I'm super disappointed but hats off to Kayla on her win! Time to get healed up and get ready for her next fight because I'm calling dibs on the winner !" Peña claimed the bantamweight title the first time with a stunning upset of Nunes at UFC 269. She then lost her title to Nunes in their rematch at UFC 277, but wasn't able to get her trilogy bout when Nunes opted to retire and relinquish the belt. Peña then defeated Raquel Pennington at UFC 307 to reclaim the bantamweight title, but lost it again when she was submitted by Harrison at UFC 316.
USA Today
07-06-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
UFC 316: Julianna Peña vs. Kayla Harrison odds, picks and predictions
UFC 316: Julianna Peña vs. Kayla Harrison odds, picks and predictions In a 5-round women's bantamweight championship bout on the main card, Julianna Peña and Kayla Harrison meet Saturday at UFC 316 at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. The bout is expected to start approximately at 11:45 p.m. ET. Early prelims begin at 6 p.m. ET (ESPN+ / Disney+) with the prelims set for 8 p.m. ET (ESPN / ESPN+ / Disney+) and the main card slated for 10 p.m. ET (Pay-Per-View). Let's analyze BetMGM Sportsbook's UFC odds around the UFC 316: Peña vs. Harrison odds, and make our expert UFC picks and predictions. Records: Peña (13-5-0) | Harrison (18-1-0) Peña picked up the championship belt in December 2011 from Amanda Nunes at UFC 269, posting a Round-2 submission win. But then Peña lost the strap in the rematch at UFC 277 in a unanimous-decision setback July 2022. She was expected to face Nunes in a trilogy fight at UFC 289 in June 2023, but Peña suffered broken ribs in training and had to pull out. 'The Venezuelan Vixen' bounced back at UFC 307 after more than a 2-year layoff, topping Raquel Pennington for the belt via split decision at UFC 307 Oct. 5, 2024. After 3 consecutive fights ending via submission from October 2020 to December 2021 -- Peña went 2-1 -- she had back-to-back 5-round decisions -- the rematch loss to Nunes and the title win vs. Pennington. Peña has actually gone the distance 5 times in her past 9 bouts with her last KO/TKO win coming back in April 2015. So, that method can mostly be ignored when it comes to wagering. Harrison gets a crack at the title just 3 fights into her UFC career. She opened with a Round-2 submission of Holly Holm at UFC 300 April 2024, before stopping Ketlen Vieira at UFC 307 via unanimous decision last October. Harrison has 3 consecutive victories across all levels since losing a title bout in the 2022 PFL World Championships to Larissa Pacheco Nov. 25, 2022. Harrison has gone the distance 3 times in her past 4 pro bouts. The southpaw Harrison is 34 years old, and she has a 4.87-to-3.25 significant-strikes-landed-per-minute advantage in this matchup. However, Peña has a tremendous 56.25% takedown-accuracy percentage, and she does great work on the canvas. The champ also holds a 3-inch reach advantage, so she'll be able to push and pull the challenger out at her discretion. UFC 316: Peña vs. Harrison odds Provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 1:43 a.m. ET. Fight result (2-way line) : Peña +475 (bet $100 to win $475) | Harrison -700 (bet $700 to win $100) : Peña +475 (bet $100 to win $475) | Harrison -700 (bet $700 to win $100) Total rounds: 3.5 rounds (Over +100 | Under -135) 3.5 rounds (Over +100 | Under -135) Will the fight go the distance? (Yes +175 | No +250) UFC 316: Peña vs. Harrison picks and predictions It's time for Harrison (-700) to ascend to the throne as champ, but it isn't as huge of a disparity as the sportsbooks are making it out to be. Peña (+475) is a huge underdog, which is stunning considering she is the current title holder. We saw Peña as a giant +600 underdog against Nunes at UFC 269 when she picked up the surprising round-2 submission win. She lost to Nunes in the rematch but rebounded to regain the title vs. Pennington. She has been through the emotions and been through the wars, which will be an advantage against Harrison, who just doesn't have that experience to tap into. PASS. Play our free daily Pick'em Challenge and win! Play now! Peña has 3 submission results in the past 5 fights, and 4 in the previous 7 outings since January 2017. For Harrison, she has 2 submission results in her past 5 pro fights. As such, betting SUBMISSION (+100) in "how the fight will end' method is a strong value at even-money ... and we don't need to worry about who is the winner. If you like the current champ, PEÑA BY SUBMISSION (+1200) on the 7-way line is a low-risk, high-reward possibility. OVER 3.5 ROUNDS (+100) is even-money is also a good play. Harrison is an upstart, and Peña has been going deep lately. She has gone the distance in the past 2 fights, and Harrison has gone the distance in 3 of the past 4 pro bouts. Visit MMA Junkie for more fight news and analysis. For more sports betting picks and tips, check out and BetFTW. Follow Daniel Dobish on Twitter/X. Follow SportsbookWire on Twitter/X and us on Facebook.
