The fourth UFC event of the year is in the books, and while it was not expected to be particularly good on paper, that boded to be true with nearly every fight ending in decision Overall on the night, eight favorites earned victories, while two underdogs got the job done according to the Several Bookmakers closing odds. Favorites That Won In the main event of the evening, women’s featherweights Germaine de Randamie and Holly Holm threw down in a battle for the inaugural 145 pound title. De Randamie landed significantly more head strikes than Holm over the course of the fight, especially in the first three rounds, but Holm repeatedly worked for clinches and she got stronger in the fourth and fifth rounds to make it close. When it was all said and done, the judges awarded the belt to de Randamie, all scoring it 48-47 her way. De Randamie proved herself as a -125 favorite (bet $125 to win $100) while Holm lost as a +115 underdog. In a middleweight scrap, Jacare Souza made quick work of Tim Boetsch, taking the fight to the canvas and then forcing a brutal stoppage with a downright nasty Kimura to submit his opponent. Souza proved betters correct as a heavy -570 favorite. In a light heavyweight bout, Glover Teixeira utilized his wrestling and grappling to take Jared Cannonier down repeatedly and earn a decision via top position on the ground. Teixeira played it safe and won a decision as a -220 favorite. In a lightweight fight, Dustin Poirier and Jim Miller put on an extremely entertaining three round war to kick off the pay-per-view. Miller stood his ground and did damage with leg kicks, but Poirier was able to fire back with some heavy blows of his own to win a majority decision. Poirier earned the nod at -430 odds. In a surprisingly competitive contest, Wilson Reis had his hands full against a very game Ulka Sasaki. Reis had some issues dealing with Sasaki’s length both standing and on the ground, but eventually secured top position and was able to win a close decision. Reis pulled through as a massive -630 favorite. In a one-sided lightweight fight, Islam Makhachev repeatedly was able to score trips while avoiding Nik Lentz’s guillotine chokes en route to winning an easy decision. Makhachev was victorious as a -315 betting favorite. In a featherweight scrap, Phillipe Nover and Rick Glenn had a razor close fight that honestly could have gone either way. Nover started strong but Glenn bounced back with two competitive rounds which allowed him to win a split decision. Glenn closed as a -170 favorite. In the opening bout of the evening in the welterweight division, Ryan LaFlare was far more active then Roan Carneiro, easily outworking his opponent on the feet to win a decision. LaFlare was a -310 betting favorite while Carneiro closed at +280. Underdogs That Won In a middleweight co-main event, Anderson Silva didn’t do much of anything against Derek Brunson in a lackluster bout, but despite nearly everyone watching scoring the fight for Brunson, the judges unanimously awarded the decision to Silva. Silva cashed as a +105 dog (bet $100 to win $105) while Brunson lost as a -125 favorite. In a welterweight contest, Belal Muhammed utilized superior pressure on the feet mixed with aggressive takedowns to control the fight against Randy Brown and win a relatively one-sided decision despite fighting on short notice. Muhammed was a +130 underdog while Brown was -140.
UFC 208 Closing Odds and Results
