UFC 259 took place Saturday, March 6, 2021 at UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada. The card was headlined by a light heavyweight bout between champion Jan Blachowicz and middleweight champion Israel Adesanya.
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
Amanda Nunes completely starched Megan Anderson in the first round, hurting her on the feet, then putting her away with a triangle/armbar combination. Nunes was the biggest favorite on the card at -780 while Anderson was +575
Islam Makhachev put his greatness on display, dominating Drew Dober on the canvas and eventually submitting him with a third round arm triangle choke. Makhachev was -445 while Dober was +360
Aleksander Rakic fought at a measured pace, but it was enough to outpoint Thiago Santos over the course of three rounds to win a unanimous decision. Rakic was -190 while Santos was +165
Askar Askarov avoided Joseph Benavidez’s power, then mixed in a nice combination of takedowns, offensive grappling, front kicks and occasional punches to earn a unanimous decision in the biggest victory of his career. Askarov was -150 while Benavidez was +130
Rogerio Bontorin was pressuring Kai Kara-France well on the feet and with grappling, but then Kara-France blasted Bontorin with a walk-off shot to earn a late first round stoppage. Kara-France was -130 while Bontorin was +110
Tim Elliott utilized his superior grappling to dominate Jordan Espinosa on the canvas, winning all three rounds to take a unanimous decision. Elliott was -150 while Espinosa was +130
Sean Brady was in complete control against Jake Matthews, eventually putting Matthews away with an arm triangle late in the third round. Brady was -210, while Matthews was +180
Amanda Lemos picked apart Livinha Souza, hurting her then putting her away with a beautiful jab in the first round. Lemos was -230 was while Souza was +200
Uros Medic landed a big right hand early against Aalon Cruz, then swarmed him with heavy punches to eventually pick up a first round TKO victory. Medic was -195 while Cruz was +170
Underdogs that Won
In the main event of the evening, Israel Adesanya held his own on the feet with Jan Blachowicz, but Blachowicz utilized his size and strength to pick up takedowns in rounds four and five to win a decision and retain his light heavyweight title. Blachovicz was +215 while Adesanya was -250
Aljamain Sterling looked to be on the way to losing a decision to bantamweight champion Petr Yan, but Yan landed a blatantly illegal knee to the face, forcing a stoppage to the fight and Sterling was crowned the champion by disqualification. Sterling was +105 while Yan was -125
Dominick Cruz perplexed Casey Kenney with movement, combinations and takedowns to pick up a split decision in his first victory in 4 1/2 years. Cruz was +122 while Kenney was -142
Kyler Phillips utilized an impressive mixture of striking and takedowns against Song Yadong to earn a unanimous decision and possibly jump into the top 15 rankings. Phillips was +180 while Yadong was -210
Carlos Ulberg was dominating Kennedy Nzechukwu on the feet, outlanding him badly, but he couldn’t put him away. Just when it seemed Ulberg was running away with the fight, Nzechukwu blasted Ulberg with a right hand and knocked him out in round two. Nzechukwu was +185 while Ulberg was -215
In the opening bout of the evening, Tevin Jones and Mario Bautista were duking it out in a back-and-forth striking battle, but then Jones flatlined Bautista with a vicious right hook to set up a second round TKO finish. Jones was +200 while Bautista was -235
