Preview: UFC 269 Prelims

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Middleweights

NR | Bruno Silva (21-6, 2-0 UFC) vs. NR | Jordan Wright (12-1, 2-1 UFC)

ODDS: Silva (-345), Wright (+285)

Silva is certainly making up for lost time. After a failed attempt to make it into the “The Ultimate Fighter Brazil” house in 2014, “Blindado” embarked on a successful regional career competing around the world, eventually becoming M-1 Global middleweight champion in 2018. That, in turn, earned him a late-notice UFC call, at which point Silva immediately failed a drug test and was forced to wait until June to finally make his promotional debut. Thus far, Silva has scored impressive knockouts of Wellington Turman and Andrew Sanchez inside the Octagon, and he takes a relatively quick turnaround here to try and cap off the year with a win. Wright’s appearance on Dana White’s Contender Series was memorable for all the wrong reasons, as “The Beverly Hills Ninja” quickly got obliterated by Anthony Hernandez, but Wright eventually earned a UFC contract and has won two of his three UFC bouts. Wright is a clear karate stylist who has depended on his opponents to give him enough range to work, but a May victory over Jamie Pickett did at least show that he has some ability to take apart an opponent in close quarters. Silva is a much stouter challenge, however, so the Brazilian figures to have little issue marching Wright down and getting the better of whatever exchanges may follow. The pick is Silva via first-round knockout.

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