UFC Fight Night 87 took place earlier today (Sunday, May 8, 2016) at the Ahoy Arena in Rotterdam, Netherlands, and was headlined by a heavyweight bout between Alistair Overeem and Andrei Arlovski. Overall from a betting perspective, nine favorites won while three underdogs came through and there was one pick’em fight according to the closing odds at Several Bookmakers. Here’s a quick recap for each bout. Favorites That Won In the main event of the evening, former Strikeforce heavyweight champion had a fun battle against teammate and fellow former champ Andrei Arlovski. Both Overeem and Arlovski had their moments but a second round jumping front kick followed by a huge left hand put Arlovski down before ground strikes put an end to it. Overeem was victorious as a -230 (Bet $230 to win $100) favorite while Arlovski lost as a 210 (bet $100 to win $210) underdog. In a heavyweight contest, hometown hero Stefan Strive made the fans very happy by scoring an extremely quick TKO victory over Antonio Silva in the opening seconds. Silva pushed forward but walked right into some uppercuts and a knee before elbows finished him off. Struve won at -215 while Silva lost as a +195 dog. In a women’s bantamweight bout, Germaine de Randamie obliterated an outsized Anna Elmose, pressuring her with heavy strikes before finishing her along the fence in the first round. Randamie held serve as a huge -380 betting favorite while Elmose was +340. In a light heavyweight showdown, Nikita Krylov utilized his superior size and aggression against Francimar Barroso. Krylov landed heavy strikes standing, then swept Barroso on the ground and dominated him en route to a rear naked choke victory. Krylov came through as a -192 favorite while Barroso was +177. In a strawweight scrap, undefeated Polish fighter Karolina Kowalkiewicz stayed that way by putting on a striking clinic against Heather Jo Clark. Clark was game, but her durability wasn’t enough as Kowalkiewicz walked away with a unanimous decision. Kowalkiewicz was -305 while Clark was a +275 underdog. In a lightweight contest, Rustam Khabilov survived a scare against a game Chris Wade to win a decision. Wade nearly knocked Khabilov out with a jumping switch kick in the second round but Khabilov showcased superior ground game and was able to outwrestle a fading Wade down the stretch to win. Khabilov was -160 while Wade was +150. In a middleweight fight, Magnus Cedenblad showcased improved striking against Garreth McLellan. Cedenblad utilized his superior reach to hurt the South African, eventually scoring scoring a standing TKO in the second frame Cedenblad was victorious as a -240 favorite while McLellan was +220. In a flyweight contest, Kyoji Horiguchi obliterated an extremely overmatched Neil Sorry. Horiguchi hurt Seery repeatedly, landing quick strikes on the feet and take top position on the ground. Seery showcased his toughness surviving all three rounds but that was about it as the young Japanese fighter took a decision. Horiguchi held serve as a huge -570 favorite while Seery +480 underdog. In a welterweight contest, Leon Edwards showcased major improvements in his offensive and defensive wrestling against Dominic Waters en route to winning a unanimous decision. Edwards closed as a -260 betting favorite while Waters was +240. Underdogs That Won In a welterweight scrap, Gunnar Nelson utilized his world class grappling to take Albert Tumenov down. Nelson dominated Tumenov on the canvas, advancing to mount and back control, eventually finishing Tumenov with a second round rear naked choke. Nelson was a +140 dog while Tumenov was -150. In a lightweight contest, Reza Madadi weathered the early storm from Yan Cabral. Cabral won the first round but faded badly, eventually getting TKO’d by Madadi early in the third. Madadi was a +145 underdog while Cabral lost as a -155 favorite. In the opening bout of the evening, Ulka Sasaki made a successful flyweight debut against Willie Gates. Sasaki was extremely aggressive in pursuit of the takedowns against Gates but Gates seemed to be fending him off pretty well, landing some big shots near the end of the first round. A slam from Sasaki took the wind out of Gates’ sails, however, and he was able to eventually maneuver into a rear naked choke to force the tap. Sasaki was victorious as a +120 underdog while Gates came up short at -130. Pick ’em Fights In a lightweight contest, UFC newcomer Josh Emmett made a great first impression by utizing superior speed and counterstriking en route to earning a split decision victory against Jon Tuck. Emmett suffered a hand injury in the third round but held on to get the win. Both fighters closed at dead even -105 pick ’em odds.
