UFC 185 took place Saturday night (March 14, 2015) at the American Airlines Arena in Dallas, Texas, and overall the card was exciting as it featured a pair of title fights in the lightweight and women’s strawweight divisions. Overall from a betting perspective, seven favorites and five underdogs won based on the closing odds at Several Bookmakers. Here’s a quick recap for each fight. Favorites That Won In welterweight action, Johny Hendricks returned to form with a dominant unanimous decision victory over Matt Brown. Hendricks mixed up his striking and wrestling masterfully, taking Brown down repeatedly and constantly pressuring “The Immortal” with heavy punches and kicks on the feet. Brown tries to utilize a crafty guard, but it was no match for Hendricks’ relentless attack. Hendricks was successful as a -360 (bet $360 to win $100) favorite while Brown’s losing streak moves to two as a +325 (bet $100 to win $325) dog. In a heavyweight match, Alistair Overeem outworked Roy Nelson to score a unanimous decision victory (30-27) across the board. Overeem’s diversity of striking attack was on full display as he connected with flying knees, body kicks, leg kicks and plenty of punches. Nelson threatened with his power on a few occasions, but it couldn’t turn the tide in his favor. Overeem was the victor at 160 while Nelson couldn’t land the overhand right at +150. In the opening bout of the main card, Henry Cejudo made his flyweight debut with a dominant showing against recent title challenger Chris Cariaso. Cejudo was in completely control of the bout from start to finish, scoring six takedowns and landing over 100 strikes while standing and on the ground combined. Cejudo kept Cariaso on his heels in open space, scored with knees in the clinch and aggressively pursued advancement of position on the ground. Cejudo easily won a unanimous decision (30-27) on all three judges’ scorecards. Cejudo came through as a -750 favorite while Cariaso was defeated as a +600 underdog. In the preliminary card main event, Ross Pearson bounced back in a big way with an emphatic second round knockout of Sam Stout. Both men had their moments in the first frame, but Pearson began to land some heavy blows in round two, eventually connecting with a huge left hook to the jaw that sent Stout crashing to the canvas. In the end, Pearson came through as a -370 favorite while Stout moved to 9-10 in the UFC as a +330 dog. In middleweight action, TUF Nations winner Elias Theodorou overcame Roger Narvaez height and reach advantage to score a second round TKO. Theodorou had a bit of difficulty finding his range in a relatively close first round, but he poured it on in the second, breaking Narvaez arm with a blocked high kick and eventually finishing him with an assortment of ground and pound strikes. Theodorou came through as a -335 favorite while Narvaez failed to deliver at +305. In a heavyweight contest, Jared Rosholt overwhelmed Josh Copeland to score a third round TKO. The bout was close early as Copeland landed some big blows while Rosholt was tentative coming off a knockout loss in his last bout. Eventually, Rosholt was able to secure takedowns, forcing Copeland to carry his weight and a series of heavy elbows and punches on the canvas forced referee intervention. Rosholt came through as a -310 favorite while Copeland couldn’t pull off the upset as a +280 underdog. In the lightweight division, Joseph Duffy made a thrilling UFC debut, obliterating Jake Lindsey and scoring a first round TKO. Lindsey had no answer for Duffy’s aggressive striking attack and constant pressure, eventually wilting under a torrent of blows. Durry held serve as a massive -710 favorite while Lindsey moves to 0-3 in the UFC after closing as a +575 dog. Underdogs That Won In the main event of the evening, Rafael dos Anjos shocked the world by crushing UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis, winning all five rounds in convincing fashion to take the title from one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world. Dos Anjos was able to pressure Pettis all five rounds, forcing the champ to keep his back against the cage for the majority of the stand-up action, which led to a significant amount of takedowns for the Brazilian. On the feet, dos Anjos landed several heavy left kicks as well as some big left hands, which reduced vision in Pettis’ right eye. When it was all said and done, the judges awarded dos Anjos all five rounds as he became the new UFC Lightweight Champion. Pettis lost as a huge -450 favorite while dos Anjos was crowned the new champ as a +400 underdog. In the co-main event of the evening, Joanna Jedrzejczyk mauled Carla Esparza in a one-sides UFC women’s strawweight title bout to capture the title. The Polish powerhouse stuffed over 10 takedowns in the first eight minutes, landing blistering jabs and overhand rights, and hurting Esparza repeatedly. Eventually, she landed a massive combination on an exhausted Esparza to put the champ away via TKO. Jedrzejczyk took the belt as a +140 dog while Esparza failed to defend the title as a -150 betting favorite. In an entertaining lightweight battle, Beneil Dariush outworked Darren Cruickshank in all areas en route to winning via submission in the second round. Dariush repeatedly connected with heavy left kicks to the body, forcing Cruickshank to attempt takedowns. When the fight hit the canvas, it was all Dariush as he repeatedly forced scrambles and wound up in superior positions, eventually sinking in a rear naked choke and forcing the tap. Dariush was victorious as a slight +110 underdog while Cruickshank disappointed at -120. In flyweight action, Ryan Benoit was getting all he could handle from Sergio Pettis, clearly losing the first round to the Milwaukee-based prospect. That all changed in the second frame as Benoit connected with a solid left hook during a heated exchange, dropping Pettis. Benoit swarmed the 21-year old with a plethora of blows before the referee finally intervened, even throwing in a late kick to hindquarters for good measure as he got up (which he apologized for). When it was all said and done, Benoit cashed as a huge +540 underdog while Pettis failed to deliver as a +540 favorite. In the opening bout of the evening, women’s bantamweights Germaine de Randamie and Larissa Pacheco slugged it out in an exciting stand-up affair. Pacheco was 10 years younger than Randamie, and her lack of overall striking experience showed as Randamie outclassed her with her technical kickboxing advantage. Eventually, de Randamie connected with several heavy blows in secession to earn a standing TKO victory early in the second frame. De Randamie brought home the bacon as a +115 dog while Pacheco remained winless in the Octagon at -125.
