The UFC lightweight championship is slated to be on the line in the final month of 2021.
It’s been known for weeks now that Charles Oliveira and Dustin Poirier were on a collision course for the UFC title, but now the fight is inching closer to reality.
MMA Fighting reported on Wednesday that the expected and highly anticipated bout between ‘Do Bronx’ and ‘The Diamond’ is in the works for UFC 269 on December 11th. No contracts have been issued yet but that won’t stop us from getting hyped up anyway.
Oliveira (31-8, 1 NC) is one of the most unlikely champions in UFC history. In his 28th appearance inside the Octagon, the Brazilian won the vacant belt when, after nearly being stopped in round one, he knocked out Michael Chandler just seconds into round two at UFC 262 in Houston. He has won nine straight bouts dating back to 2018 and has finished everyone except Tony Ferguson during that stretch.
Poirier has had a massive 2021 thanks to a pair of blockbuster pay-per-view wins over Conor McGregor. He knocked McGregor out at UFC 257 in January and largely dominated the one round they fought at UFC 264 before McGregor was unable to continue with a broken leg. While Dustin did win an interim title over Max Holloway back in 2019, he’s yet to win the undisputed belt. He had his first chance when he fought Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 242 and lost by submission. If he does get the title on this occasion he’ll have managed his crowning achievement after a decorated career filled with impressive wins at both 155 and 145 lbs.
UFC 269 is also scheduled to feature a rescheduled women’s bantamweight title bout between reigning two-division champion Amanda Nunes and Julianna Pena.