Charles Oliveira survived an onslaught before defending his UFC lightweight title with a third-round submission win over Dustin Poirier in their main event at UFC 269, earning praise from former champion Khabib Nurmagomedov.
The early stages at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas were frantic as Poirier – who was contesting a second undisputed title fight at 155lbs – dropped his opponent inside the opening round while Oliveira hurt his rival with kicks and knees to the body.
Round two saw Oliveira utilize his ground game more as he landed some heavy ground-and-pound shots to close out a dominant stanza.
Into the third round, the defending champion took Poirier’s back and worked in a standing rear-naked choke which forced the American to tap at the 1:02 mark.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="und" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AndStill?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AndStill</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/UFC269?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#UFC269</a> <a href="https://t.co/Q15rogtpQi">pic.twitter.com/Q15rogtpQi</a></p>— ShayMyName2 (@imstillshannon) <a href="https://twitter.com/imstillshannon/status/1469905143986536450?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 12, 2021</a></blockquote>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">DOUBT HIM NOW 🤫<br><br>CHARLES OLIVEIRA SUBMITS DUSTIN POIRIER! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/UFC269?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#UFC269</a> <a href="https://t.co/2PKJ4oVqfn">pic.twitter.com/2PKJ4oVqfn</a></p>— UFC_AUSNZ (@UFC_AUSNZ) <a href="https://twitter.com/UFC_AUSNZ/status/1469905693587169280?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 12, 2021</a></blockquote>
“I’m a world champion. I’m the man,” said a defiant Oliveira after seeing off Poirier.
“They talk, I do it. They can hit me a lot but I’m going to walk forward.”
‘Do Bronx’ defended the title he first won with victory over Michael Chandler back in May, when he was forced to come through similar adversity on the way to a gritty victory.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="pt" dir="ltr">The champ is here. Love y'all! Thanks for the support.<br><br>Campeão aqui. Amo vcs. Obrigado pela torcida<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/UFC269?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#UFC269</a></p>— Charles Oliveira (@CharlesDoBronxs) <a href="https://twitter.com/CharlesDoBronxs/status/1469908865747759104?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 12, 2021</a></blockquote>
Poirier, 32, was gracious in defeat but could not hide his upset at seeing a second chance at the undisputed lightweight title go begging.
“It sucks, man, you know?” Poirier said at his post-fight press conference.