UFC 252 took place Saturday, August 15, 2020 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada. The card was headlined by a heavyweight title trilogy bout between Stipe Miocic and Daniel Cormier.
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
Junior dos Santos was outstriking Jairzinho Rozenstruik, but all it took was one good shot as Rozenstruik connected in round two to set up a TKO finish with his heavy hands. Rozenstruik was -147 while dos Santos was +127
Mareb Dvalishvili wasn’t able to dominate John Dodson with a ton of takedowns, but he kept Dodson on the defensive throughout the fight with clinchwork, forward pressure and takedown attempts to win every round on the judges’ scorecards. Dvalishvili came through as a -260 favorite. Dodson was +220
Veteran Jim Miller started strong against Vinc Pichel, but he wasn’t able to finish him, and Pichel bounced back in rounds two and three to take a decision victory as Miller slowed down. Pichel was a -127 fav. Miller was a +107 dog.
Virna Jandiroba quickly took the fight to the floor against Felice Herrig and she went to work, softening Herrig up with ground strikes to set up an armbar to force a first round submission victory. Jandiroba was a -295 favorite while Herrig was +250
In a relatively close contest, Livinha Souza outworked a game Ashley Yoder over the course of three rounds to take a unanimous decision. Souza was victorious as a -200 favorite while Yoder was +175
Parker Porter and Chris Daukaus traded big blows in the first round, but it was Daukaus who got the better of the exchanges, eventually hurting Porter with a combination and finishing the fight in the first round. Daukaus was a slight -130 fav while Porter was +110
In the opening bout of the evening, Kai Kamaka and Tony Kelley put on a show, earning “Fight of the Night” honors in a back and forth battle. Kamaka was able to win two of the three rounds to earn a unanimous decision in an excellent scrap. Kamaka was -255. Kelley was +220
Underdogs that Won
In the main event of the evening, Stipe Miocic and Daniel Cormier went down to the wire. Cormier hurt Miocic late in the first round, Miocic hurt Cormier late in the second round, and both men landed big shots, but it was Cormier who mixed up his attack with clinch control and a stronger output of blows to take the fifth and final round to seal the trilogy and retain his heavyweight title. Miocic was a -108 underdog while Cormier was -112
Sean O’Malley entered the co-main event with a huge wave of hype, but his opponent Marlon Vera took advantage of a first round O’Malley leg injury to land heavy ground strikes and set up a first round TKO finish. Vera was a +225 underdog while O’Malley was -265
Daniel Pineda was a big underdog against Herbert Burns, but he sure didn’t look like it in his UFC return, dismantling the prospect with superior stand-up and heavy blows from top position as Burns was unable to get any of his ground game going from his back. Pineda eventually overwhelmed Burns for a second round TKO victory via ground and pound. Pineda was a +230 dog while Burns was -270
Danny Chavez outstruck TJ Brown over the first two rounds, then held off a late surge from Brown in the third round to earn the first upset of the night. Chavez was a slight +125 underdog while Brown was -145
