UFC 251 took place Saturday, July 11, 2020 on Fight Island in Abu Dhabi, UAE. The card was headlined by a welterweight title bout between champion Kamaru Usman and challenger Jorge Masvidal.
Closing odds are courtesy of one of the most popular Las Vegas based sportsbooks Circa Sports. Here’s a quick recap of each of those fights.
Favorites that Won
In the main event, welterweight champion Kamaru Usman avoided the power shots of Jorge Masvidal and utilized his strong clinch game and wrestling attack to win the final four rounds and retain his belt. Usman was the favorite at -265 while Masvidal was +225
In the co-main event, Max Holloway started strong, dropping Alexander Volkanovski in the first two rounds, but Volkanovski battled back to make the third round close, then took the fourth and fifth rounds as the judges sided with him via split decision. Volkanovski was -215 while Holloway was +185
Petr Yan and Jose Aldo put on a classic bout for four rounds, but as Aldo began to fade, Yan turned up the heat, finishing Aldo in the fifth with an onslaught of punches and ground strikes to become the new undisputed UFC bantamweight champion. Yan was -250 while Aldo was +215
Rose Namajunas outlanded Jessica Andrade in the first two rounds, then survived a third round surge from Andrade to walk away with a split decision victory to avenge her last loss. Namajunas was a -210 favorite while Andrade was +180
Amanda Ribas quickly took the fight to the mat against Paige VanZant before transitioning to a straight armbar to force a first round tap. Ribas came through as the biggest favorite of the night at -600 while VanZant was +465
In a closely contested battle, many thought Elizeu Zoleski dos Santos did enough to win, but two of the judges thought otherwise, giving a split decision to Muslim Salikhov. Salikhov was a -132 favorite while Zaleski was +112
Makwan Amirkhani took the fight to the floor quickly against Danny Henry, then rendered him unconscious with an anaconda choke in round one. Amirkhani closed -180 while Henry closed +155
Leonardo Santos was on his way to winning a decision, then had to survive three illegal strikes from Roman Bogatov in the third round, which resulted in a two-point deduction, as Santos easily won the contest. Santos closed -195 with the return on Bogatov +170
In one of the worst fights in recent memory, Marcin Tybura repeatedly took down Maxim Grishin, then laid on top of him for an easy, low-output decision. Tybura was a -137 favorite while Grishin was +117
Raulian Paiva started strong, but it seemed Zhalgas Zhumagulov may have done enough to take a decision, but the judges all sided with Paiva for the decision. Paiva came through as a -160 favorite while Zhumagulov was a +140 underdog.
Karol Rosa completely dominated Vanessa Melo for three rounds, earning a one-sided unanimous decision. Rosal was -330. Melo was +275
Underdogs that Won
Jiri Prochazka made one hell of a UFC debut, hurting former title challenger Volkan Oezdemir early in the second round with a kick before knocking him out cold with a punching combination along the fence. Prochazka was a +155 underdog while Oezdemir was -180.
In the opening bout of the evening, Davey Grant survived an early knockdown to nearly finish Martin Day with a second round submission, then he knocked Day out cold in the third round. Grant was a +100 underdog while Day was -120
