UFC Fight Night: Bolaji Oki vs Manoel Sousa Preview & Prediction
Click here for today’s sports betting tips from our expert analysts!
A battle between two exciting Dana White’s Contender Series graduates, Bolaji Oki welcomes the Brazilian debutant Manoel Sousa to the octagon.
Bolaji Oki vs Manoel Sousa facts
What time are Bolaji Oki and Manoel Sousa expected to walk out? Saturday March 14, 2026: 10:20pm
Where is UFC Fight Night: Emmett vs Vallejos? Meta Apex, Enterprise, USA
Where can I get tickets for UFC Fight Night: Emmett vs Vallejos? Click here for the latest ticket information for UFC Fight Night 269
What TV channel is UFC Fight Night: Emmett vs Vallejos on? UK – TNT Sports / USA – Paramount
Where can I stream UFC Fight Night: Emmett vs Vallejos? UK – TNT Sports can stream the event online via the TNT Sports website and discovery+ / USA – Paramount+ & UFC Fight Pass
UFC Fight Night: Emmett vs Vallejos main card
Josh Emmett vs Kevin Vallejos (Featherweight)
Amanda Lemos vs Gillian Robertson (Women's Strawweight)
Ion Cutelaba vs Oumar Sy (Light Heavyweight)
Andre Fili vs Jose Miguel Delgado (Featherweight)
Marwan Rahiki vs Harry Hardwick (Featherweight)
Vitor Petrino vs Steven Asplund (Heavyweight)
UFC Fight Night: Emmett vs Vallejos prelims
Charles Johnson vs Bruno Gustavo da Silva (Flyweight)
Brad Tavares vs Eryk Anders (Middleweight)
Chris Curtis vs Myktybek Orolbai (Welterweight)
Bolaji Oki vs Manoel Sousa (Lightweight)
Luan Lacerda vs Hecher Sosa (Bantamweight)
Beatriz Mesquita vs Montserrat Rendon (Women's Bantamweight)
Elijah Smith vs You Su-young (Bantamweight)
Piera Rodriguez vs Sam Hughes (Women's Strawweight)
Bolaji Oki: Ranged technician looking to find his form
Since joining the UFC, Bolaji Oki (10-3) “The Zulu Warrior” has alternated wins and losses, beating Timothy Cuamba and Michael Aswell, whilst losing to UK fighters Mason Jones and Chris Duncan – strong contenders hovering either side of the border of the top 15 rankings. The Belgian fighter noticeably possesses both a height and reach advantage over Sousa, which he uses well behind a long jab and pull-back counter that catches opponents upon entry. Oki mixes his striking well, with leg kicks and step-in knees, and shows good head movement when fighting composed. The concern with Oki is that he can get drawn into wild exchanges in the pocket where his defensive awareness drops, and if taken down, his ground game can become questionable, especially after showing little urgency to work his way back up when on bottom.
Manoel Sousa: Feint heavy pressure fighter makes his official UFC debut
After being dominated on the ground for two rounds against Cristian Perez on the Contender Series, Manoel Sousa (13-1) showed incredible heart to come back with a decisive finish in the final round. His most notable win came from the regional scene, a second-round TKO against the #9 ranked superstar striker Mauricio Ruffy. Sousa is an aggressive pressure fighter who switches stances constantly, feints heavily with his jab to draw reactions in order to set up his signature step-through straight. However, his loss to Archie Colgan in Bellator exposed significant weaknesses – his defence relies on keeping his range and hopping backwards, he attacks in straight lines and spams the step-through backhand, and he’s also prone to being taken down when he overswings.
Bolaji Oki vs Manoel Sousa prediction
Manoel Sousa comes into this fight as a sizeable favourite, but it’s hard to justify, this fight should be seen as much closer and I believe the odds are what they are due to Sousa’s cleaner record and having a win over Ruffy in his infancy. Oki’s height and four-inch reach advantage is significant in this matchup. Sousa’s predictable entry of his step-through straight can be countered effectively with Oki’s lean-back counter. Sousa also keeps his lead hand low after jabbing, leaving himself exposed to straight counters – something Oki has the length and timing to exploit.
Sousa’s pressure and constant stance switching could cause problems early, particularly his feinting and clinch work where he’s shown to be effective with knees, this would be the difference in this matchup, as Sousa has shown to be a lot stronger in the clinch. However, his tendency to attack in straight lines plays straight into Oki’s hands if he can maintain his distance management and keep this fight technical and disciplined. This will be difficult to keep up in the later rounds, as Sousa became increasingly wild and reckless as he fell behind on the scorecards against Colgan.
This fight should stay on the feet, as Oki isn’t known for his wrestling and Sousa’s grappling seems to be more opportunistic than systematic. Oki has the tools to beat and keep Sousa at the tip of his range. Sousa carries the danger of a knockout if exchanges get wild, but Oki’s step-in knee and pull-counters make him live in this matchup at a price that doesn’t quite reflect reality. Give me the underdog.
Prediction: Bolaji Oki to win
