Charles Oliveira had something to prove on Saturday night in Las Vegas. Sure, he was already the UFC lightweight champion, but many still doubted his status, opting to believe that Dustin Poirier was the best lightweight in the world. No longer.
With a third-round submission victory over Poirier, Oliveira secured his place as one of the best fighters in the world, likely moving up ESPN’s pound-for-pound list in the coming days. He also showed his heart, not backing down despite getting rocked time and time again in the first round.
Sean O’Malley also showed us something. As did Kai Kara-France, Dominick Cruz and Erin Blanchfield. UFC 269 was a card filled with standout moments and a few head-turning surprises that will definitely lead us to a memorable 2022.
Brett Okamoto, Marc Raimondi, Jeff Wagenheim and Carlos Contreras Legaspi react to the action in Las Vegas.
Charles Oliveira is no quitter
Okamoto: It’s kind of ridiculous that this needs to be stated, but it does. Charles Oliveira is not a quitter. That’s been the narrative on him for years, and it traces back to a few results he had back at featherweight. But not only has he established himself as, unquestionably, the No. 1 lightweight in the world now — he’s also put that narrative to rest for good. He was forced to come back from knockdowns in both of his championship fights this year, against Michael Chandler and now Poirier. He could have taken numerous outs at UFC 269 on Saturday, and ended up winning the fight in dramatic fashion in the third round.
Source : espn
