The Lightweight Championship is on the line and Las Vegas is set to host a war between current UFC Champion Charles Oliveira and number one contender Dustin Poirier. We also have the return of the woman's GOAT in Amanda Nunes after her battle with Covid-19 delayed her title defense a couple months back, and with the year finally coming to a conclusion we also know that this card will be nothing short of stacked. This card includes a clash between "Sugar" Sean O'Malley and the young up and comer Raulian Paiva, we also have top tier fighters in Cody Garbrandt, Dan Ige, Pedro Munhoz, Dominic Cruz, and also the UFC's new star Heavyweight Tai Tuivasa all on this card. I'm excited to see all the talent in basically every single weight division this weekend!
Dustin Poirier has had a hell of a run over the last 5 years, from becoming the Interim Lightweight Champion, and taking out Conor McGregor twice he has truly been battle tested. He has also beaten top level competition in Justin Gaethje, Eddie Alvarez, Dan Hooker, and Max Holloway. Dustin Poirier is in his prime right now and has looked better and better each time he steps into the Octagon. Now with his chance at UFC gold and the McGregor trilogy behind him he will look to finally become the true Lightweight Champion.
Charles Oliveira has had a similar run to as Dustin Poirier, he has rebuilt himself from a rocky start in the UFC to truly finding his way since his knockout loss to Paul Felder back in 2017. Since suffering that defeat Oliveira has put together a 9 fight winning streak. In those nine wins he has finished 8 of his 9 opponents within the distance. On his way to a Championship bout with Michael Chandler, Charles took out names such as; Clay Guida, Jim Miller, Kevin Lee and Tony Ferguson. With both fighters having plenty of momentum in their corner this will truly be a Championship fight.
The stage is set and Charles looks to have his first title defense this weekend, let's see what Vegas has to say about this matchup.
Charles Oliveira (+140) vs Dustin Poirier (-160) Total Rounds: Over/Under 2.5 Rounds: -110
With all this momentum on both fighters side, something is going to have to give. If you look at the body of work these two have put together over the last couple years it's hard to find any flaws. For Dustin he has shown that he may be the most battle tested fighter in the Lightweight division. He enjoys a long war and gets stronger as the fight goes on. For Charles he will look to capitalize on any mistake that Dustin makes, his Jiu-Jitsu is a problem and he can submit anyone in the Lightweight division. This is a really tough fight to call, but for Dustin I truly believe fait is on his side. I understand that Charles has put together a long winning streak, but the caliber of talent pales in comparison to the warrior's Dustin has beaten recently. If Dustin is able to avoid Olivera's wrestling and keep this a stand up fight, there is no way Charles can hang with him. I will be placing two bets for the main event. The first will be on Dustin Poirier (-160), and the second will be Under 2.5 Rounds (-110) for insurance. My hope is that Dustin wears on Charles in the beginning of the match establishing his takedown defense and then drags Charles into deep waters.
TOP BETS FOR THIS CARD:
PARLAY OPPURTUNITY:
Gillian Robertson (-375) + Alex Perez (-280)
Odds Combined: -130
Randy Costa / Tony Kelley
Randy Costa -175
Pedro Munhoz / Dominick Cruz
Pedro Munhoz -110
Augusto Sakai / Tai Tuivasa Tai Tuivasa -110
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