Charles Oliveira will defend the lightweight belt on Saturday against top-ranked contender and former interim champion Dustin Poirier in the main event of UFC 269 in Las Vegas. Their battle closes the curtain on the MMA showcase from T-Mobile Arena. The main UFC 269 fight card is set for 10 p.m. ET. Oliveira hasn’t lost in four years and is looking to improve his UFC win streak to 10 in his first title defense. To do so, he will have to get past Poirier, whose lone defeat in his last 10 outings came against now-retired former champion Khabib Nurmagomedov. Poirier once held the interim title, but is seeking his first unified crown.
Poirier is a -160 favorite (risk $160 to win $100), while Oliveira is a +140 underdog in the latest Oliveira vs. Poirier odds from Caesars Sportsbook. In the co-main event, women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes (-800) takes on challenger Julianna Pena (+575). Before making any UFC 269 picks of your own, make sure you check out the MMA predictions and betting advice from SportsLine expert Andrew Gombas.
Gombas is a former NCAA wrestler who taps into his experience on the mat to dissect the X’s and O’s of MMA matchups in a manner that sets him apart from other MMA analysts. He started the MMA handicapping service MMA Knockout Bets in 2018 and has shown a profit every year since.
With more than 1,200 selections tracked by the third-party monitoring service Bet MMA, he has shown a 10 percent return on investment for his followers. In 2020, $100 bettors who tailed his picks were up $9,200. Last week at UFC Fight Night, his winners included predicting a victory for Rafael Fiziev (-130) against Brad Riddell (+110) in the co-main event between lightweight prospects. Anyone who has followed Gombas already has seen massive returns.
Now, with UFC 269: Oliveira vs. Poirier in sight, Gombas has studied the card from top to bottom and released his top selections. A successful parlay of those picks would pay better than 8-1. You can only see Gombas’ UFC picks at SportsLine.
UFC 269: Oliveira vs. Poirier preview
Oliveira (31-8-1) is among a handful of late bloomers who have seen their persistence result in a world title. The 32-year-old Brazilian has been on the promotion’s roster for 11 years, but there was a time when he appeared headed toward gatekeeper status.
In December 2017, he was stopped by journeyman Paul Felder, who has since retired, for his fourth loss in six outings. He rebounded with a win over veteran Clay Guida.
Oliveira eventually reached the top of the rankings and was chosen to fight for the title left vacant by Nurmagomedov, who retired with an undefeated record last year. He squared off against former Bellator title Michael Chandler in May and won the crown with a second-round knockout.
Poirier (28-6-1) could have been Oliveira’s opponent for the vacant title, but turned down the fight in favor of another massive payday against Conor McGregor. The 32-year-old Louisiana native knocked out McGregor for the second time in 2021 and his stardom reached unprecedented heights.
Poirier has long been considered one of the most well-rounded fighters in the game. His resume includes a pair of wins over former featherweight champion Max Holloway, the second of which gave him the interim belt in April 2019. You can only see who to back here.
UFC 269 predictions
We’ll share one of Gombas’ UFC 269 predictions here: He is going with Eryk Anders (+130) to pull the upset of Andre Muniz (-150) in a middleweight battle.
Anders (14-5-1) is a former college football standout who was a defensive leader on the Alabama Crimson Tide club that beat Texas for the national title in 2009. He started his MMA career 10-0, but struggled against upper-tier competition and had a stretch of four losses in five fights. But the 34-year-old has lost just once in his past five appearances and scored a decision victory over Darren Stewart in June.
Muniz (21-4) is a two-time winner on “Dana White’s Contender Series” who is 3-0 in the UFC, with two of the victories coming by stoppage. The 31-year-old Brazilian submitted fading icon Jacare Souza in the first round of their May fight.
“Anders has shown good takedown defense. He is stronger and the heavier striker. I favor his cardio later in this fight as well,” Gombas told SportsLine.
How to make UFC 269 picks
Gombas also has strong picks for Oliveira vs. Poirier and other fights on the UFC 269 card. He’s also backing a fighter whose “physicality will be too much” to score a dominant win. Those UFC 269 picks are only available at SportsLine.
Who wins Oliveira vs. Poirier? And what other picks do you need to see for a parlay with a payout of better than 8-1? Visit SportsLine now to get top the picks for UFC 269, all from the insider who’s up nearly $9,200 on MMA picks in the past year, and find out.
UFC 269 odds, fight card
Charles Oliveira (+140) vs. Dustin Poirier (-160)
Amanda Nunes (-850) vs. Julianna Pena (+575)
Geoff Neal (-110) vs. Santiago Ponzinibbio (-110)
Kai Kara-France (+105) vs. Cody Garbrandt (-125)
Raulian Paiva (+250) vs. Sean O’Malley (-300)
Josh Emmett (-165) vs. Dan Ige (+145)
Dominick Cruz (-105) vs. Pedro Munhoz (-115)
Augusto Sakai (-110) vs. Tai Tuivasa (-110)
Jordan Wright (+290) vs. Bruno Silva (-350)
Andre Muniz (-150) vs. Eryk Anders (+130)
Erin Blanchfield (+120) vs. Miranda Maverick (-140)
Alex Perez (-320) vs. Matt Schnell (+260)
Ryan Hall (-210) vs. Darrick Minner (+180)
Randy Costa (-190) vs. Tony Kelley (+170)
Gillian Robertson (-360) vs. Priscila Cachoeira (+300)
