UFC fight Night 269 takes place tomorrow night in Las Vegas and we’ve got our predictions for all the fights below.
Main Card
Josh Emmett vs. Kevin Vallejos
Josh Emmett badly needs a win after losing four of his last five, and now goes up against Kevin Vallejos, who has won all three of his UFC fights to date.
At 41-years-old, Emmett is still fighting high-level opponents and remains dangerous due to his big power and durability, but his cardio isn’t what it once was and his volume has declined on the feet. He’s also become increasingly predictable too as he’s overly reliant on loading up on single overhands, and rarely leans on his wrestling anymore. Meanwhile, two of his last four defeats came via submission, but he’s still only ever been finished once via strikes.
The 24-year-old Vallejos is no less than 17-years younger than his opponent on Saturday night, but has a good level of experience, having already racked up a 17-1 career record. Since earning his UFC contract with a first‑round TKO, Vallejos has kept building momentum, including a spinning‑backfist knockout of Giga Chikadze last time out. Vallejos is a compact pressure fighter with good boxing, high output and notable power that’s led him to 11 career wins via strikes, while he also has a couple of submission finishes as well.
Vallejos has already shown he can hold his own against good opponents, and with age catching up to Emmett is looks like this is the younger mans time to shine with a more active and effective striking game to win by decision.
Pick: Kevin Vallejos wins by decision.
Amanda Lemos vs. Gillian Robertson
Amanda Lemos comes in alternating wins and losses in recent years, while Gillian Robertson comes in with momentum thanks to a four‑fight winning streak.
Lemos is approaching her 39th birthday, but she is still a top‑five ranked strawweight thanks to her hard-hitting boxing and toughness, while she can use her strength to be a problem in the clinch and look for opportunistic submissions on the mat. However, her output has slowed with age and so she has to pace herself more these days, while her takedown defense remains a weaker point that’s contributed to a couple of submission losses in the Octagon.
The 30-year-old Robertson’s form was patchy when she first joined the UFC, but she’s managed to find consistency over time and has now won six of her last seven fights. Robertson is still lacking a significant threat on the mat, but it’s a different story on the mat as she currently holds the UFC women’s record for most submission victories (7), while she’s also now more of a menace with ground‑and‑pound, which has resulted in TKO finishes in two of her last four Octagon appearances.
Lemos certainly has the advantage in the striking department here, but her unreliable defensive wrestling makes that difficult to maintain over three rounds. She may look good early, but I think Robertson’s takedown pressure and grappling control should take over as the fight wears on, leading to a late submission victory.
Pick: Gillian Robertson wins by submission in Rd3.
Ion Cuțelaba vs. Oumar Sy
These two fighters both went 1-1 in the Octagon last year, but Ion Cutelaba’s overall career record stands at 19-11, while Oumar Sy is 12-1.
Cutelaba’s 8–10 (1nc ) run in the record is a reflection of his reckless, aggressive style. At 32-years-old, he’s still a fast‑starting, all‑action bruiser who charges forward with heavy strikes and vicious ground‑and‑pound. Thirteen wins via strike show how dangerous he can be, particularly early in his fights, but a lack of defensive awareness and fading intensity beyond the first round have often been issues for him. He has seemed to slow things down slightly in recent fights, leading to a few decisions, but he’s not someone who can really be trusted in that regard.
The 30-year-old Sy is a big, athletic light‑heavyweight with a three‑inch height and significant eight‑inch reach advantage here. He’s a solid striker who fights at a more measured pace with better defense, but his real strength is his well‑rounded game that mixes strong wrestling, competent grappling, and effective ground‑and‑pound.
Sy could look to use his reach advantage to try to keep Cutelaba at bay on the feet, but the option to take the fight to the mat is always there too. Either way I think he can weather the early storm and then work for a second round submission finish.
Pick: Oumar Sy wins by submission in Rd2.
Andre Fili vs. Jose Miguel Delgado
Andre Fili has spent the vast majority of his long UFC career jumping between the win and loss column, and now fights Jose Miguel Delgado, who has started his UFC run at 2–1.
At 35-years-old it feels like Fili could have achieved a bit more than just a 13-11 (+1nc) record in the UFC. He’s a tall, technical striker who works best at range with punches and kicks, pacing himself and looking to hit on the counter, though he can get into a higher-paced battle at times too. However, he can be quite hittable, is less durable than he used to be and has had mixed results on the mat, added to an overall feeling of inconsistency in his performances from one fight to the next.
The 27-year-old Contender Series recruit Delgado made a strong start to his time in the UFC with back-to-back first‑round knockouts, before dropping a decision to Nathaniel Wood. He’s a good-sized featherweight with high‑volume, varied striking that’ll see him nicely piece together his punches and kicks along with good knees. Delgado also has enough wrestling and grappling to be competitive on the mat too. So far all 10 of his wins have come inside the distance, including six from strikes, but on the other hand on the two occasions he’s gone to the scorecards he’s lost.
Coming off a win last time out, history dictates that Fili will lose here. I won’t argue with that as Delgado has given a good account of himself so far since joining the UFC and has what it takes to win the striking exchanges here and serve up a 2nd round TKO finish.
Pick: Jose Delgado wins by TKO in Rd2.
Marwan Rahiki vs. Harry Hardwick
Marwan Rahiki debuts after earning a Contender Series contract last year, while Harry Hardwick looks to rebound from a short‑notice TKO loss in his first Octagon appearance.
The 23-year-old Rahiki is an undefeated 7–0 prospect who builds his game around explosive, fast‑paced striking and puts his combinations together nicely. Six of his wins so far have come by knockout, but his ground game is less developed, though he does have good ground-and-pound. While it’s not cost him yet his cardio has been compromised at times and his striking defense also needs work.
The 31-year-old Hardwick earned his UFC spot after impressing in the Cage Warriors promotion, but was surprisingly stopped early by leg kicks in his UFC debut. He’s a pressure-based kickboxer who doesn’t have the biggest one-punch powr, but is effective staying active with his boxing, while mixing in kicks too. His forward-pressing style can lead to him eating more strikes than he should though and there’s now a doubt about his ability to defend leg kicks. Meanwhile he’s not the best wrestler, but he’s a capable grappler who can threaten with submissions and strikes on the mat.
Hardwick will have been disappointed by his debut performance and will look to make amends here, but I think Rahiki’s speed and power advantage will win out here by the 2nd round.
Pick: Marwan Rahiki wins by TKO in Rd2.
Vitor Petrino vs. Steven Asplund
Vitor Petrino picked up back-to-back wins last year and now fights Steven Asplund, who comes in off a second‑round TKO in his UFC debut.
Petrino moved up to heavyweight in 2025 after back‑to‑back losses at 205lbs, and the transition has suited him so far. The 28-year-old has carried his hard-hitting power and physical strength up with him, and while he’s not the most technical fighter, the lower skill ceiling in his new division means he has enough in his locker to be a problem both on the feet and on the mat. We haven’t really seen him tested against anybody of note yet though in this weight class, and his sometimes suspect cardio could be a concern.
The 27-year-old Asplund is a big, durable heavyweight with a 7–1 record and six knockout wins to his name. He’s not actually a huge one‑shot puncher, but he keeps a solid pace for the division and tends to wear opponents down over time. It’s still early days for him in the UFC though and this is his most significant step up in competition so far.
Asplund’s better conditioning could be a factor in this fight, but Petrino is the more experienced fighter with a more developed skill-set and heavier hands, so I think he’ll get the job done via TKO before the mid-way point of the fight.
Pick: Vitor Petrino wins by TKO in Rd2.
Prelims (Predicted winners in bold)
Charles Johnson vs. Bruno Gustavo da Silva
Brad Tavares vs. Eryk Anders
Chris Curtis vs. Myktybek Orolbai
Bolaji Oki vs. Manoel Sousa
Luan Lacerda vs. Hecher Sosa
Beatriz Mesquita vs. Montserrat Rendon
Elijah Smith vs. You Su-young
Piera Rodriguez vs. Sam Hughes
