UFC 258 took place Saturday, February 13, 2021 at UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada. The card was headlined by a welterweight title bout between champion Kamaru Usman and challenger Giblert Burns.
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 of the evening, Gilbert Burns landed some big shots in the opening minute to hurt Kamaru Usman, but Usman responded with a beautiful stiff jab and heavy right hand that hurt Burns back. Usman eventually took the fight over, dropping Burns after switching to southpaw and throwing a right jab, then finished him with ground strikes in the third round. Usman was -290 while Burns was +245
Kelvin Gastelum wisely went back to his wrestling roots, scoring multiple takedowns to keep Ian Heinisch off balance en route to a unanimous decision victory. Gastelum was -197 while Heinisch was +172
Ricky Simon dominated Brian Kelleher, scoring repeated takedowns and opening up a nasty cut on Kelleher en route to winning a one-sided unanimous decision. Simon was -260 while Kelleher was +220
Maki Pitolo strung together some impressive wrestling to win the first two rounds against Julian Marquez, but Marquez dug deep in the third round, landing heavy shots on the feet before transitioning to a nasty D’arce choke on the ground that forced Pitolo to tap in the final minute. Marquez was -165 while Pitolo was +145
Dhiego Lima landed some heavy leg kicks, but Belal Muhammad powered through them and unloaded a series of impressive combinations on the feet while working for takedowns to earn a relatively one-sided unanimous decision. Muhammad was -485, while Lima was +385
Andre Ewell landed some good jabs and worked for takedowns, but Chris Gutierrez battered his legs with low kicks, and after likely splitting the first two rounds, Gutierrez dominated the third round to take the decision. Gutierrez was -130 was while Ewell was +110
In the opening bout of the evening, Phillip Rowe started strong, but Gabe Green was able to keep the pace for 15 full minutes, and Green dropped Rowe with leg kicks in the third round to take the decision. Green was -130 while Rowe was +110.
Underdogs that Won
Clay Guida outworked Michael Johnson with a slick combination of pressure on the feet, clinch work and takedowns to take away Johnson’s dangerous striking and win a unanimous decision. Guida was +160 while Johnson was -185
Maycee Barber looked for the big shots on the feet, but Alexa Grasso utilized superior clinch work and striking technique to outland Barber, then surprisingly put Barber in trouble the one time they went to the mat, nearly landing multiple submissions en route to a unanimous decision victory. Grasso was +100 while Barber was -120
Rodolfo Vieira worked for a quick takedown and submission, but he gassed mightily by the end of the first round, and Anthony Hernandez took advantage, landing huge punches, kicks and elbows to open Vieira up, then Hernandez shockingly jumped on an arm-in guillotine choke to force the ADCC champ Vieira to tap out early in the second round. Hernandez was +395 while Vieira was -500
Mallory Martin grabbed a leg kick to take Polyana Viana down, but Viana quickly wrapped her up in a triangle choke, then transitioned to an armbar to force a first round tap. Viana was -105 while Martin was -115
