UFC 245 took place Saturday, December 14, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The card was headlined by an excellent welterweight title bout between champion Kamaru Usman and challenger Colby Covington.
Closing odds are courtesy of Several Bookmakers. Here’s a quick recap of each of those fights.
Favorites that Won
Kamaru Usman flipped the script in round three breaking Colby Covington’s jaw with an overhand punch. That was the catalyst to him taking over the fight and eventually knocking out Covington in round five to retain his championship and to be the undisputed welterweight champion. Usman closed -210 while Covington closed +175
Germaine de Randamie had some positive moments against the best women’s fighter in the world, but Amanda Nunes focused on her grappling to control de Randamie for long portions of the fight to earn a decision to retain her title. Nunes closed -420 with the return on de Randamie +340
In a back and forth contest, Marlon Moraes won a split decision over former featherweight kingpin Jose Aldo in a bout that was a pickem at the closing bell. Moraes closed -170 while Aldo closed +150
Petr Yan put on a show out classing UFC Hall of Famer Urijah Faber finishing him in the third round with strikes to stake his claim to be the number one contender for the bantamweight championship. Yan closed the biggest favorite on the card at -500. Faber closed +400
In what was a fight that was expected to have fireworks, Geoff Neal wiped the floor with Mike Perry. Neal hurt Perry in the opening round and finished up with strikes on the mat to win by TKO to move up the welterweight rankings. Neal closed -290 while Perry closed +235
Matt Brown moved up to second all time on the UFC knockout list as he beat up Ben Saunders finishing him in the second round. Brown closed -345. Saunders closed +275
Chase Hooper was staggered in round one, but he recovered well to grapple with Daniel Teymur. On the mat, Hooper had a major advantage beating up Teymur with elbow strikes from mount forcing the referee to step in and stop the bout. Hooper closed -155 while Teymur closed +135
Punahele Soriano was fantastic in his UFC debut. He showed major power in his hands knocking Oskar Piechota clean out with a left hook in the opening round. Soriano closed -120. Piechota closed +100
Underdogs that Won
Alex Volkanovski went toe to toe with Max Holloway. He out landed Holloway throughout the fight and won a clear decision to win the featherweight championship. Volkanovski closed +165 while Holloway closed -190
Irene Aldana stunned the Las Vegas crowd knocking out Brazilian Ketlen Vieira on the feet. It was the biggest win of Aldana’s career. Aldana closed a +190 underdog with Vieira closing a -235 favorite
Omari Akhmedov slowed down in the third round, but was dominant in the opening two rounds to win a decision over Ian Heinisch. Akhmedov will move further up the middleweight division’s top 15 with the victory. Akhmedov closed +100 with the return on Heinisch -120
In an action intensive 15-minute battle, Brandon Moreno landed the more impactful strikes to take a decision over Kai Kara-France in a bout between top ten flyweights. Moreno closed +135. Kara-France closed -160
Jessica Eye fought a wonderfully calculated fight landing leg kicks to slow down Viviane Araujo and then picked her apart in the final two rounds to a unanimous decision in a battle of top five flyweights. Eye closed +180 while Araujo closed -220
