Sports
UFC 269: Oliveira vs Poirier- Cody Garbrandt vs Kai Kara-France: Prediction and Analysis
The main event of UFC 269 will see Dustin Poirier challenge Charles Oliveira for the lightweight title. Furthermore, in the co-main event, Amanda Nunes will defend her bantamweight gold against Julianna Pena. Besides the title fights, the UFC 269 fight card reflects many amazing bouts. One fight which might garner much attention from the UFC fans is the flyweight bout between Cody Garbrandt and Kai Kara-France.
LAS VEGAS, NV – DECEMBER 30: (L-R) Cody Garbrandt and Dominick Cruz taunt each other in their UFC bantamweight championship bout during the UFC 207 event at T-Mobile Arena on December 30, 2016 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Brandon Magnus/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
‘No Love‘, after his recent loss against Rob Font, announced his move to the flyweight division. Having won one fight since 2017, the former bantamweight champion will look to revive his UFC career in a new division.
WATCH THIS STORY: Dustin Poirier’s Grueling Training Routine for His Title Fight Against Charles Oliveira at UFC 269
Meanwhile, ‘Don’t Blink‘ has had a decent run in the promotion. He will look to thwart the divisional debutant and secure consecutive wins for the first time since 2019.
It is an important match for both fighters. Hence, ahead of the intriguing flyweight fight, we look at how the contest could play out.
Cody Garbrandt vs Kai Kara-France: The Flyweight War
‘No Love’ (12-4) is one of the prominent names in the promotion and has a reputation as a knockout artist with ten knockouts on his MMA resume. His opponent also has 10 T/KO wins, but he has competed in 15 more fights than the American. The Kiwi, who sits at #6 in flyweight, has a professional MMA record of 22-9 under his name.
While Garbrandt has a four-inch height advantage, the Kiwi has a 3.5-inch reach advantage in the fight. As both the fighters possess amazing striking skills, expect Kara-France to attempt innumerable body shots. However, the former champion can’t be ruled out as he has competed against top-tier fighters in the division.
83% of his wins in the promotion have come via knockout. ‘No Love’ also has a good ground game over the Kiwi. The former lands an average of 0.84 takedowns per 15 minutes and is a skilled defensive fighter with 100% takedown defense. He may not have to focus on maintaining that on Saturday night.
However, given Garbrandt’s current form, ‘Don’t Blink’ might have a slight advantage in the fight. Nevertheless, we have to back Garbrandt to announce his flyweight arrival with a win.
Final prediction- Cody Garbrandt defeats Kai Kara France via knockout.
The post UFC 269: Oliveira vs Poirier- Cody Garbrandt vs Kai Kara-France: Prediction and Analysis appeared first on EssentiallySports.
