UFC Vegas 19 took place Saturday, February 20, 2021 at UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada. The card was headlined by a heavyweight bout between Curtis Blaydes and Derrick Lewis.
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
Chris Daukus wisely stuck to his guns, surviving an early grappling attempt from veteran Aleksei Oleinik, then proceeded to batter Oleinik with a flurry of strikes along the fence to earn a first round TKO. Daukus was -195 while Oleinik was +170
Phil Hawes utilized his wrestling to score takedowns in rounds one and two, then hung on to survive a scary third round where Nassourdine Imavov had him in trouble, earning a majority decision. Hawes was -120 while Imavov was +100
Tom Aspinall outstruck Andrei Arlovski on the feet, then surprisingly took him down and immediately latched onto a rear naked choke, which forced a second round tap. Aspinall was -280 while Arlovski was +235
John Castaneda hurt veteran Eddie Wineland in the first round, then put him away with a flurry of strikes along the fence. Castaneda was -140, while Wineland was +120
Casey O’Neil stuck to her strengths, taking Shana Dobson down, then finishing her with strikes from top position in the second round to earn a victory in her UFC debut. O’Neil was -168 was while Dobson was +148
In the opening bout of the evening, Sergey Spivak did exactly what analysts expected him to do, take Jared Vanderaa down and go to work with strikes from top position. Spivak dominated the first round, then put Vanderaa away with ground and pound in round two. Spivak was -255 while Vanderaa was +220.
Underdogs that Won
In the main event of the evening, Curtis Blaydes seemed to be in complete control of his fight against Derrick Lewis, outstriking Lewis on the feet and frustrating Lewis with takedown attempts. But as Lewis has shown his entire career, all it takes is one shot, and Lewis landed a perfectly-timed uppercut as Blaydes ducked down for a takedown, brutally knocking Blaydes out stiff in round two. Lewis was +340 while Blaydes was -420
Ketlen Vieira utilized her superior grappling to take the first round, but she found herself on bottom in the second round. With the fight tied one round apiece, Vieira held top position for over four minutes in round three, but Yana Kunitskaya took top position in the final 30 seconds and proceeded to batter her with elbows, opening up a vicious cut, which was enough for the judges to side with Kunitskaya’s damage over Vieira’s control. Kunitskaya was +240 while Vieira was -285
Darrick Minner outgrappled Charles Rosa and landed the heavier shots on the feet, thwarting Rosa’s submission attempts from bottom and then holding on as he tired late in the third round to win a unanimous decision. Minner was +150 while Rosa was -170
Jared Gordon wisely stuck to his roots and was able to take Danny Chavez off his feet, wearing Chavez down to earn a unanimous decision victory. Gordon was +108 while Chavez was -128
Julian Erosa and Nate Landwehr blasted each other on the feet, but Erosa dropped Landwehr with a flying knee and the ref stepped in (a little early) for the first round stoppage. Erosa was +135 while Landwehr was -155
Aiemann Zahabi tapped into power many weren’t sure he possessed, starching Drako Rodriguez via first round knockout after landing a clean right hand. Zahabi was +185 while Rodriguez was -215
