Julianna Pena pulls off upset, Charles Oliveira retains title at UFC 269

A large betting underdog going into her UFC 269 co-main event challenge of two-division champion Amanda Nunes, Julianna Pena pulled off the upset, submitting Nunes in the second round to win the UFC women’s bantamweight title.

After Nunes looked the part of dominant champion in the first frame, Pena came on strong in the second round, hurting Nunes on the feet in a firefight. She got a takedown with under two minutes to go and then took Nunes’ back for a rear naked choke that elicited a quick tap even though it didn’t appear to be fully sunk in.

The win gives the 32-year-old Pena (11-4) her first taste of UFC gold. She came into the fight winning two of her last four, evidence of a division that Nunes has dominated for years.

The loss snaps an 11-fight win streak for Nunes that dates back to March 2015. She had held the bantamweight title since July 2016 with five defenses to her credit. She still holds the women’s featherweight title, but has no clear challengers. After the fight, she gave Pena credit and indicated she wants to return, likely meaning a rematch will be next for both women.

In the night’s main event, Charles Oliveira submitted Dustin Poirier in the third round to retain the UFC lightweight title. 

Poirier had a great first round, hurting the champion with punches and showing power in doing so. However, Oliveira (32-8-0-1) came on in the second, grounding Poirier and keeping him there. He got Poirier’s back while standing in the third round, working for a rear naked choke that got the tap at 1:02 of the round.

This was Oliveira’s first defense of the title he won in May by defeating Michael Chandler for the then-vacant belt. While Poirier held the interim version of the belt, he is 0-2 when going for the undisputed title.