UFC Fight Night: Emmett vs. Vallejos Predictions

UFC Fight Night 269: Emmett vs. Vallejos takes place on Sunday (AEDT) at the Meta Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States. – and we’ve got our UFC predictions for all the fights below, and you can place your bets with the best betting sites Australia has to offer!

UFC Fight Night 269 Predictions

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Josh Emmett vs. Kevin Vallejos Prediction

Josh Emmett is in real need of a win after losing four of his last five fights, and to do so will have to get the better of Kevin Vallejos, who is 3-0 in the UFC so far.

Emmett has just turned 41-years-old, so time is clearly not on his side, and his recent results reflect that. Admittedly, he’s still been fighting some of the divisions top talents, but he has been showing signs of slowing down as he’s not as active offensively and appears to have a more limited gas tank. Emmett has always carried big power for the division though, and that still always gives him a fighting chance.  However, becoming overly reliant on single overhands with little in the way of variety has made him predictable. Meanwhile, Emmett doesn’t use his solid wrestling as much as he should, and two of his last four defeats were by submission.

Vallejos is 17-years his opponent’s junior at 24-years-old, but is experienced for his age with a 17-1 record to his name. His only loss came during his debut on the Contender Series back in September of 2023, where he went up against a future star of the division in Jean Silva, and to his credit fought him all the way to the scorecards. Valejos won his second Contender fight via 1st round TKO a year later to book his spot in the promotion and has continued to perform well since, including KO’ing Giga Chikadze with a spinning backfist late last year. Valejos is a tough, compact and hard-hitting pressure boxer, who has good output and can deliver solid kicks too. He also has a notable finishing rate, with 12 of his wins coming via strikes, while he also has a couple of submission wins too.

Vallejos might be unranked, but he’s already shown he has what it takes to go up against quality opposition. This is a good time to face Emmett as the veteran is at the tail-end of his career, and with his higher output and good durability I think Vallejos wins the striking battle to emerge victorious on the scorecards.

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Amanda Lemos vs. Gillian Robertson Prediction

Amanda Lemos is stuck in a cycle of win-one, lose-one ahead of her next fight against Gillian Robertson, who is on a four-fight winning run.

Lemos is getting up there in years now as she’s just a few months shy of her 39th birthday, but is still ranked No.5 in the strawweight division. Lemos has good boxing and lands her punches with respectable accuracy and significant power. Her volume is declining with age though as she puts more focus on pacing herself to avoid running out of steam. Lemos can also operate in the clinch and work for opportunistic submissions on the mat thanks to her capable grappling. She can be taken down at times though and has had a couple of submission losses during her UFC run.

The 30-year-old Robertson is a fighter whose form was patchy in the early years of her UFC run, but she’s become more consistent over time, winning six of her last seven fights. Robertson isn’t much of a threat on the feet, but she makes up for that with a strong ground game. In fact, Robertson’s well-versed grappling has led her to holding the record for the most submission wins in UFC women’s history (7). In addition to that, Robertson has sharpened up her ground-and-pound too, winning two of her last four fights via TKO.

If Lemos can keep this fight standing then she has a clear route to victory, but she doesn’t have the strongest takedown defense. Lemos might have some success early, but I think she’ll struggle to maintain that as the younger Robertson gradually gets her ground game going to wear her down and finds a submission in the final round.

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Ion Cutelaba vs. Oumar Sy Prediction

Ion Cutelaba went 1-1 in the Octagon last year, and so did his next opponent, Oumar Sy.

Cutelaba’s overall UFC record doesn’t make for great reading as he’s only gone 8-10 (+1nc), but the 32-year-old is the kind of all-action, do-or-die fighter that the UFC likes to keep around regardless. The powerfully built Cutelaba is a fast-starter who aggressively takes the fight to his opponent with power strikes on the feet, while he’s equally willing to bludgeon them with heavy ground-and-pound on the mat too. 13 victories via strikes prove that Cutelaba can be dangerous, but at the same time there are clearly obvious flaws in his strategy. For one thing, less reckless opposition who aren’t overwhelmed by the ferocity of his offense can often punish him for the gaping holes in his defense, while his intensity tends to diminish if the fight goes beyond the first round, making him less of a threat. That being said, while there was a time when his fights would almost always end inside the distance, more recently he has started to pace himself enough to go to the scorecards.

The 30-year-old Sy is a big, athletic light-heavyweight with a long wingspan, giving him a 3″ height and very notable 8″ reach advantage to work with here. However, while he’s a respectable enough striker, he’s not as potent a threat as you might expect. Sy has well-rounded skills though as he also has good wrestling and competent grappling, giving him a submission threat to go along with his effective ground-and-pound.

Sy is the more measured fighter here with better defense, longer reach and the option of taking the fight to the mat if he’s unable to keep Cutelaba at bay from range. The longer the fight goes the more it favors him, and so I think he could find his way to a submission finish in the 2nd round.

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Andre Fili vs. Jose Delgado Prediction

Andre Fili has been alternating between wins and losses with almost metronomic precision for the majority of his 13-year UFC career, and now goes up against Jose Miguel Delgado, who has gone 2-1 in the Octagon so far.

It feels like Fili is better than his 13-11 (+1nc) UFC record would suggest, but try as he might it’s been six years and 13 fights ago since he last strung together two wins in a row. A tall, lanky featherweight, Fili throws his punches and kicks with nice technique from range, and is also equipped to work on the counter. He tends to fight at a measured pace, but he’s not adverse to turning up the tempo if required. Fili can also mix in a takedown or two and is decently capable on the mat. However, on the downside for Fili, he can be hittable, and at 35 he’s less durable than he was earlier in his career, while he’s also been submitted a few times.

The 27-year-old Delgado joined the UFC via the Contender Series in 2024 and hit the ground running with two 1st round KO victories, but has since suffered a unanimous decision loss to Nathaniel Wood. Delgado is a good sized 145lb’er, has a high-volume striking style and does a really nice job of combining his punches and kicks, along with effective knees. Delgado isn’t the finished article on the mat, but he has capable wrestling and can be a submission threat. Delgado has finished all 10 of his career wins inside the distance so far, including 6 via strikes, but his two defeats both came on the scorecards.

History would suggest that after a win last time out, Fili is due for a loss,.  I think that could well be the case as Delgado has looked good in the Octagon so far and I feel will win the striking battle here to come away with a 2nd round TKO finish.

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Marwan Rahiki vs. Harry Hardwick Prediction

New Contender Series recruit Marwan Rahiki makes his UFC debut on the main card against Harry Hardwick, who lost his first fight in the promotion via TKO last year.

The 23-year-old Rahiki holds a 7-0 career record, including a TKO win in his Contender Series fight back in October of last year. He’s primarily an explosive striker with fast combinations and good power, which has helped him to six wins via strikes so far. He still needs to learn to pace himself better and be more mindful defensively though. He’s not got as much to offer on the mat, though he does have a single submission win and decent ground-and-pound.

The 31-year-old Hardwick had some good results in the Cage Warriors promotion prior to joining the UFC, so it was somewhat of a surprise to see him succumb to leg kicks barely halfway through the opening round in his short-notice UFC debut. Hardwick likes to take the fight to his opponents with solid boxing and he will work in kicks too. Applying pressure does lead to him eating strikes in return though, and his vulnerability to leg kicks is now a concern. He’s not the best wrestler, but if he can get the fight to the mat he’s a capable grappler who will work for submissions and striking opportunities.

I think Hardwick will give a better account of himself this time around, but even so Rahiki is faster will prove to be harder hitting too on his way to a 2nd round TKO finish.

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Vitor Petrino vs. Steven Asplund Prediction

Vitor Petrino went 2-0 last year and is now set to fight Steven Asplund, who marked his UFC debut at the end of last year with a 2nd round TKO victory.

Petrino initially joined the UFC as a light-heavyweight back in 2023 and racked up four wins in a row, but two subsequent losses led him to move up to heavyweight in 2025. That’s paid off for him so far with a submission win over Austen Lane followed by a KO victory against Thomas Peterson. Petrino wasn’t the most polished fighter at 205lbs, but he was physically strong, had big power, was able to land on the counter, and could work his way into takedowns to unleash his heavy ground-and-pound. The signs so far are that the 28-year-old has been able to carry those attributes up with him to heavyweight and he’s benefited from the lower skill-ceiling in that weight class. That being said, he’s faced poor quality opposition so far, and it remains to be seen how his sometimes questionable cardio holds up in tougher fights up at this weight.

The 27-year-old Asplund is a big heavyweight with a solid finishing record so far, with six of his wins on his 7-1 career record coming via strikes. He generally doesn’t have the biggest one-punch stopping power though and will instead tend to use his respectable cardio and durability to outlast opponents in an extended firefight. This Contender Series recruit hasn’t really faced anyone of note so far though, so this is a significant step-up in competition for him.

This fight may favor the better conditioned Asplund if it goes long, but I think Petrino is better technically wherever the fight goes and has the heavier hands, so I’m taking him to earn a TKO finish by the second round.

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UFC Fight Night 269 Prelims

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(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