An exciting bantamweight matchup is on the horizon for the UFC’s final pay-per-view of 2021.
At UFC 269, one of the most exciting fighters in the division, Sean O’Malley, will take on fellow Dana White’s Contender Series veteran Raulian Paiva.
A person with knowledge of the situation confirmed the news with MMA Junkie following an initial report from UFC broadcast partner ESPN, which O’Malley initially questioned. He subsequently announced the fight Saturday on his Instagram.
UFC 269, scheduled for Dec. 11, does not yet have a confirmed venue or location, although the event is expected to take place in Las Vegas.
O’Malley (14-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) will look to close out his strong 2021 campaign with a third consecutive victory. Three seems to be the magic number for “Sugar” as he recorded two third-round finishes earlier this year. At UFC 260, he finished Thomas Almeida by TKO behind his sharp striking and followed that up with another stoppage by punches, taking out short-notice replacement Kris Mourinho at UFC 264.
Paiva (21-3 MMA, 4-2 UFC) is quite the prospect in his own right, who has rebounded nicely after his first pair of UFC fights. He is currently on a three-fight winning streak and ranked No. 15 in the promotion’s official rankings, defeating tough competitors Mark De La Rosa, Zhalgas Zhumagulov, and Kyler Phillips consecutively.
With the addition, the UFC 269 lineup includes:
- Charles Oliveira vs. Dustin Poirier – for lightweight title
- Amanda Nunes vs. Julianna Pena – for women’s bantamweight title
- Brandon Moreno vs. Deiveson Figueiredo – for flyweight title
- Dominick Cruz vs. Pedro Munhoz
- Randy Costa vs. Tony Kelley
- Cody Garbrandt vs. Kai Kara-France
- Priscila Cachoeira vs. Gillian Robertson
- Maycee Barber vs. Montana De La Rosa
- Dricus Du Plessis vs. Andre Muniz
- Alex Perez vs. Matt Schnell
- Ryan Hall vs. Darrick Minner
Sean O’Malley returns for third fight of 2021 against Raulian Paiva at UFC 269