UFC Fight Night 88 took place earlier today (Sunday, May 29, 2016) at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, and was headlined by a bantamweight bout between Thomas Almeida and Cody Garbrandt. Overall from a betting perspective, five favorites won while seven underdogs came through according to the closing odds at Several Bookmakers. Here’s a quick recap for each bout. Favorites That Won In a welterweight scrap, Rick Story put on constant pressure against Tarec Saffiedine, taking all the room that the Belgian needed to operate. Story landed repeated hooks to the body to wear Saffiedine down and pushed him into the fence to pick up a unanimous decision. Story was -125 (Bet $125 to win $100) while Saffiedine was a +115 (Bet $100 to win $115) underdog. In a lightweight contest, Joshua Burkman and Paul Felder had a very competitive battle. Burkman was the aggressor early, landing heavy shots on the inside, but Felder bounced back in the second round with heavy strikes from distance, busting up Burkman’s nose. The third round was the closest of all, but the judges sided with Felder when it was all said and done. Felder was -280 while Burkman was +255. In a women’s bantamweight fight, Sara McMann utilized her superior wrestling against a very tentative Jessica Eye, who seemed overly concerned about being put on her back. It wasn’t particularly entertaining, but McMann held top position and pushed forward on the feet to win a one-sided but boring decision. McMann was victorious as a -120 favorite while Eye was +110. In a lightweight contest, Abel Trujillo and Jordan Rinaldi had a back-and-forth affair. Trujillo was the aggressor in the first round, but found himself in a perilous position, giving up his back in round two. With the score all knotted up, Trujillo turned the aggression up a notch again and won the last round to take a decision. Trujillo held serve as a huge -300 favorite while Rinaldi +270 underdog. In the opening bout of the evening, heavyweights Chris De La Rocha and Adam Milstead slugged it out deep into the second round. De La Rocha absorbed a ton of punishment, bleeding badly by the second frame and the fight was mercifully stopped after he ate a ton of unanswered shots despite never going down. Milstead was the victor and closed as a -280 betting favorite while De La Rocha was +255. Underdogs That Won In the main event of the evening, undefeated bantamweights Cody Garbrandt and Thomas Almeida collided. Garbrandt executed quick short hooks while Almeida tried to get his timing, but Almeida was rocked by a combination and Garbrandt pressed the action, knocking the Brazilian out with a huge right hook along the fence to pick up the upset victory in the first round. Garbrandt was a +175 dog while Almeida was -190. In a featherweight bout, Jeremy Stephens took on former bantamweight champion Renan Barao in a very entertaining and competitive scrap. The first and third rounds were very close but Stephens blasted Barao with a huge uppercut in the second round to put the Brazilian on rubber legs. In the end, Stephens was able to walk away with a unanimous decision despite being a +135 underdog while Barao was -145. In a middleweight contest, Chris Camozzi put on one of the best performances of his career against Vitor Miranda. Camozzi outpaced Miranda on the feet, landing crisp combinations and utilizing a stiff jab. Camozzi also secured top position on the ground, landing some elbows when he had occasional space. When it was all said and done, Camozzi easily secured a unanimous decision despite being a +130 underdog while Miranda was -140. In a welterweight scrap, Lorenz Larkin and Jorge Masvidal had a very close three round battle. Masvidal was more of the aggressor, stalking from the cage center while Larkin landed the heavier shots while circling from the outside. Masvidal also looked to clinch, but didn’t do much with it. It came down to a split decision but two judges sided with Larkin. Larkin was victorious as a +100 underdog while Masvidal was a -110 favorite. In a middleweight fight, Alberto Uda had Jake Collier on the ropes early after landing a huge knee to the face, but Collier survived. Uda was gassing in the second round and Collier unloaded with a combination punctuated by a spinning kick to the body which crumpled Uda into a heap for a TKO win. Collier won as a +115 underdog while Uda was defeated at -125. In a lightweight contest, Erik Koch returned from a long layoff and utilized his superior ground game against Shane Campbell, eventually taking his back and latching on a rear naked choke in the second round. Koch was a +125 underdog while Cambell lost as a -135 favorite. In a bantamweight bout, Bryan Caraway pulled off a huge upset over previously unbeaten prospect Aljamain Sterling. Sterling dominated the first round, easily handling Caraway on the canvas but he faded as the fight wore on and wilted under Caraway’s takedowns as the fight wore on. Caraway won the final two rounds and picked up a split decision (although it should have been unanimous). Caraway was victorious as a +265 underdog while Sterling came up short at -295.
