Author: Dan Hiergesell

Amanda Nunes is more known for her legendary fighting ability than her pre-fight trash talk, but “Lioness” is pulling out all the stops for her title defense this weekend at UFC 269 against Julianna Pena.

As it stands, Nunes and Pena are not on the best of terms. Outside of being scheduled to fight for the women’s bantamweight title on UFC’s final pay-per-view card of 2021 the two fighters have shared some history. Whether it’s been missed opportunities to compete in previous years or comments about each other’s abilities, the champion and the challenger couldn’t be further apart.

At Thursday’s UFC 269 pre-fight press conference (replay HERE), Nunes and Pena mixed it up quite a bit on the microphone. It’s not something we typically see from “Lioness,” which leads us to believe this matchup with Pena might mean a little more to the greatest female fighter of all time.

Pena, on the other hand, is doing everything she can to put herself in a position to become the first fighter to defeat Nunes since 2014. The former Ultimate Fighter winner is as confident as ever and is even ready to book her rematch with “Lioness.”

“Yes (there will be) an immediate rematch,” said Pena. “And when I win that fight I will be 11-2 in the division, which is a better bantamweight record in the history of the bantamweight division. As far as walking up to 145 (for a second belt), I don’t know, I’m pretty comfortable in knowing that 135 is my proper weight class. But we can cross that bridge when we get there.”

Nunes, who has won her last 12 trips to the Octagon and is about to defend her 135-pound title for the sixth-straight time, was quick to respond. The reigning UFC double champ has no plans of letting her titles go and she wasn’t afraid to speak up.

“You know that’s not going to happen, right?” Nunes said. “You’re not going to be a champion, girl.”

Pena will enter UFC 269’s co-main event title fight as a massive underdog (complete betting odds HERE). In fact, she’s currently trending at +600 to defeat Nunes and take her women’s bantamweight title. Still, “The Venezuelan Vixen” is going to step inside of the Octagon with her head held high and will let her performance speak for itself.

“We will find out Saturday night,” Pena said. “One of us is going to be dead wrong.”

MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 269 fight card RIGHT HERE, starting with the ESPN+ “Prelims” matches at 6 p.m. ET, followed by the remaining undercard balance on ESPN2/ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET, before the PPV main card start time at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+.

The final faceoffs are all squared away ahead of UFC 269 tomorrow night (Sat., Dec. 11, 2021) live on ESPN+ pay-per-view (PPV) from inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. It will be the last UFC PPV event of the calendar year.

The main event of the evening will feature a highly-competitive lightweight title fight between current UFC champion Charles Oliveira and perennial contender Dustin Poirier. This will be the first title defense for Oliveira since winning the belt with a knockout over Michael Chandler this past May. As for Poirier, this will be the first time he’s facing someone other than Conor McGregor in the past 18 months. “Diamond” is currently riding a three-fight win streak since his title fight loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov in 2019.

Check out the final staredown between Oliveira and Poirier below:

In the co-main event, reigning UFC women’s bantamweight and featherweight champion Amanda Nunes will put her 135-pound title on the line against capable challenger Julianna Pena. Nunes has decimated her competition since her last loss all the way back in 2014, but she has yet to fight Pena. Despite going just 2-2 inside of the Octagon since 2017, “Venezuelan Vixen” believes she has the ingredients to defeat the champion.

The final staredown between Nunes and Pena can be seen below:

Review Friday’s early weigh-in results below:

UFC 269 PPV Main Card on ESPN+:

155 lbs.: UFC Lightweight Champion Charles Oliveira (155) vs. Dustin Poirier (154.5)
135 lbs.: UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Amanda Nunes (134.5) vs. Julianna Pena (135)
170 lbs.: Geoff Neal (170.5) vs. Santiago Ponzinibbio (169.5)
125 lbs.: Cody Garbrandt (126) vs. Kai Kara-France (125)
135 lbs.: Sean O’Malley (135.5) vs. Raulian Paiva (135.5)

UFC 269 Preliminary Card on ESPN2/ESPN+:

145 lbs.: Josh Emmett (145.5) vs. Dan Ige (146)
135 lbs.: Dominick Cruz (135) vs. Pedro Munhoz (135.5)
265 lbs.: Augusto Sakai (263.5) vs. Tai Tuivasa (264)
185 lbs.: Bruno Silva (186) vs. Jordan Wright (186)
185 lbs.: Eryk Anders (185.5) vs. Andre Muniz (185.5)
125 lbs.: Erin Blanchfield (125.5) vs. Miranda Maverick (125)
125 lbs.: Alex Perez (126.25*) vs. Matt Schnell (126) — CANCELED
145 lbs.: Ryan Hall (145.5) vs. Darrick Minner (146)
135 lbs.: Randy Costa (134.5) vs. Tony Kelley (136)
125 lbs.: Priscila Cachoeira (129*) vs. Gillian Robertson (125)

MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 269 fight card RIGHT HERE, starting with the ESPN+ “Prelims” matches at 6 p.m. ET, followed by the remaining undercard balance on ESPN2/ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET, before the PPV main card start time at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+.

Jose Aldo and Rob Font delivered the goods last night (Sat., Dec. 4, 2021) at UFC Vegas 44 live on ESPN/ESPN+ from inside UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada, as the bantamweight contenders collided in a five-round main event. It was a competitive fight, but Aldo ultimately came out on top (highlights HERE).

In addition to the bantamweight headliner, UFC Vegas 44 produced some wildly entertaining fights and finishes. Check them out below and let us know which ones stood out the most:

• Lightweight contender Rafael Fiziev showed off his world-class striking when he finished a very tough Brad Riddell with a third-round wheel kick knockout
• Rising bantamweight prospect Vince Morales captured his second-straight win with a first-round knockout finish over veteran Louis Smolka (highlights HERE)
• Claudio Puelles scored his fourth-straight UFC victory when he stopped lightweight brawler Chris Gruetzemacher via third-round kneebar
• Former RIZIN bantamweight champion Manel Kape kept his winning ways going in the UFC’s flyweight division with an impressive TKO stoppage over Zhalgas Zhumagulov (watch it HERE)
• Dusko Todorovic earned a much needed win at middleweight when he stopped Maki Pitolo with a vicious first-round TKO

• Middleweight journeyman Chris Curtis captured another improbable win when he stopped Brendan Allen with a nasty TKO finish in the second round (highlights HERE)
• Clay Guida produced his first finish since 2017 with a wild comeback submission over lightweight veteran Leonardo Santos
• Cheyanne Vlismas looked better than ever in her return to action as the women’s strawweight contender outpointed Mallory Martin over three exciting rounds
• Light heavyweight contender Jamahal Hill put the 205-pound division on notice with a brutal 48-second knockout stoppage over the talented Jimmy Crute (see it HERE)

In order to sift through the action and see which fighters took home an extra $50,000, we take a closer look at the official UFC Vegas 44 bonus winners below:

• Fight of the Night: Cheyanne Vlismas vs. Mallory Martin
• Performance of the Night: Clay Guida
• Performance of the Night: Chris Curtis
• Performance of the Night: Jamahal Hill
• Performance of the Night: Rafael Fiziev

For complete UFC Vegas 44 results and coverage click here.

Jose Aldo pushed his bantamweight win streak to three last night (Sat., Dec. 4, 2021) at UFC Vegas 44 live on ESPN/ESPN+ from inside UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada, when the former UFC featherweight champion outlasted Rob Font for a main event decision win.

Font was in control early as he proved to be the better boxer, but Aldo waited patiently and ended up catching him flush with a right hand that wobbled Font and eventually knocked him down. Font kept busy with more volume in the second, but it was Aldo who landed the more powerful punches and threatened to change the shape of the fight. Still, Font powered through and kept pressing the action.

Aldo was able to gain top control in the third and kept Font on his back for a few minutes. Font was able to break free, but Aldo made him pay with a whipping leg kick that knocked Font down. Aldo fired again in the fourth round with a vicious combination that knocked Font to the canvas once more. Luckily for Font, he was able to tie Aldo up when the former UFC champion rushed in for ground-and-pound.

The fifth round saw a desperate Font rush Aldo and try to land something of major significance. Aldo was tired, but he still did enough to keep himself out of harm’s way. Aldo even landed another barrage of punches that seriously hurt Font, who somehow held on. The fight went to the judges’ scorecards and Aldo walked away with the win.

Check out the full fight video highlights below courtesy of UFC/ESPN:

For complete UFC Vegas 44 results and coverage click here.

Rafael Fiziev kept his winning way going earlier tonight (Sat., Dec. 4, 2021) at UFC Vegas 44 live on ESPN/ESPN+ from inside UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada, as “Ataman” put a brutal stop to fellow lightweight striker Brad Riddell with a spectacular wheel kick knockout.

This was a matchup of two high-level strikers and that’s exactly what we got. Fiziev was a little more technical with his movement and counter punching, but Riddell’s ferocity and grittiness allowed him to respond with offense. After 10 minutes of back-and-forth action, Fiziev found the opening he was looking for in the third round. As Riddell was trying to circle away and get his back off the cage Fiziev timed a perfect wheel kick that stuck Riddell on the side of the head. Riddell froze and Fizeiv rushed in, but referee Herb Dean had already seen enough.

Check out the video highlights above courtesy of UFC/ESPN.

Fiziev, 28, is now the owner of a five-fight win streak in one of the toughest divisions around. “Ataman” has already proven to have some of the best striking at the lightweight level so it will be fun to see what Fiziev will pull out as he sets his sights on the top 10 heading into next year.

For complete UFC Vegas 44 results and coverage click here.

Jamahal Hill put the light heavyweight division on notice earlier tonight (Sat., Dec. 4, 2021) at UFC Vegas 44 live on ESPN/ESPN+ from inside UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada, as “Sweet Dreams” ended No. 13-ranked Jimmy Crute with a 48-second knockout (punch).

Crute started to land some kicks early but Hill stayed in the pocket to find his opening. He ended up knocking Crute down with a punch that landed on the temple, but Crute recovered. A few moments later Hill blasted Crute with a powerful right hand. Crute fell to the canvas and Hill launched one final punch as the referee rushed in for the stoppage.

Check out the video highlights above courtesy of UFC/ESPN.

Hill, who was the betting underdog in this fight, needed a win like this after coming up short against Paul Craig back in June. Crute is arguably a tougher fight than Craig so it’s a good sign to see Hill shine in an important spot. This performance could land him a shot at the light heavyweight top 10 his next time out.

For complete UFC Vegas 44 results and coverage click here.