5 most explosive moments from UFC 269: Charles Oliveira vs. Dustin Poirier

#2. Julianna Pena drags Amanda Nunes into deep water before upsetting her

Julianna Pena pulled off one of the UFC’s all-time greatest upsets by beating Amanda Nunes.

The biggest upset of UFC 269 – and probably the biggest upset of 2021 – came in last night’s co-main event. Nobody expected Julianna Pena to be the fighter to dethrone legendary UFC bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes. However, Pena not only pulled that off, but she also did it in explosive fashion too.

After gutting out a pretty tricky first round, it seemed Pena was in trouble. However, ‘The Venezuelan Vixen’ made the curious decision of choosing to exchange leather with Nunes in the center of the octagon. ‘The Lioness’ obliged. Where she has always destroyed her opponents with her punching power, it looked like Pena was somehow able to land the harder shots.

The two women exchanged massive punches - with little in the way of defense – lighting up the crowd in the process. However, incredibly, Pena’s jabs were clearly doing the greater damage.

Seconds later, the TUF 18 winner stunned Nunes with a combination and dragged her down. She then slapped a no-hooks rear naked choke to tap her out.

Even Pena seemed stunned by what she’d done in the aftermath of the fight, and it may take some time for this upset to sink in yet. Overall, though, this was not only an explosive showing by Pena, but it was also one of 2021’s most memorable.

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#1. Charles Oliveira shows why he’s the UFC’s top lightweight with his submission of Dustin Poirier

Charles Oliveira weathered a storm to defeat Dustin Poirier and cement himself as the world’s best lightweight.

UFC 269’s main event saw a lightweight title bout between champion Charles Oliveira and challenger Dustin Poirier. Based on the octagon careers of both men, most fans expected something special on the night.

A blistering first round saw Oliveira damage Poirier with heavy kicks and knees to the body. However, ‘The Diamond’ returned the favor by hurting the Brazilian with some huge punches to the head. Poirier knocked Oliveira down at one point, making observers believe they were watching the greatest lightweight title bout in UFC history.

However, while Poirier landed the more explosive shots in the first round, the body work from Oliveira paid off. When ‘The Diamond’ got tired in the second, it was clear which way this fight was going.

Sure enough, early in the third round, ‘Do Bronx’ backed Poirier up into the fence, jumped onto his back, and promptly choked him out.

Was this as explosive a win as his earlier title victory over Michael Chandler at UFC 262? Perhaps not, but in many ways, due to Poirier’s previous form, it was more impressive.

Overall, it’s clear that Oliveira is the best lightweight on the planet right now, and whoever he faces next is probably going to be in a lot of trouble.