UFC 166 took place tonight at Toyota Center in Houston, TX, and it turned out to be one of the best cards of the year with a number of exciting fights and knockout finishes. Overall, 11 betting favorites won while just two underdogs hit. Here’s a betting recap of UFC 166 based on the closing odds at Several Bookmakers: UFC 165 Betting Favorites That Won In the main event of the evening, Cain Velasquez defeated Junior dos Santos via fifth-round TKO to retain the UFC heavyweight championship. It was an absolute beatdown from the opening bell, and Velasquez proved he’s the best fighter in the whole division yet again. Velasquez closed as a -200 favorite (bet $200 to win $100), while dos Santos closed as a +185 underdog (bet $100 to win $185). In a heavyweight bout, Daniel Cormier won a three-round decision over Roy Nelson. Cormier won, but he certainly wasn’t impressive in the win. Cormier was -500, while Nelson closed at +435. In a lightweight bout, Gilbert Melendez outlasted Diego Sanchez en route to a unanimous decision win. It was one of the best fights of the year, and look for Melendez to get a title shot against Anthony Pettis soon. Melendez was -570, while Sanchez closed at +480. In a flyweight bout, John Dodson defeated Darrell Montague with a first-round KO. Dodson is awesome, and look for him to fight for number one contender his next time out. Dodson was -400, while Montague +355. In a middleweight bout, Tim Boetsch and CB Dollaway went to war but Boetsch ended up getting the unanimous decision win. It was a close fight and I personally scored it a draw, but Boetsch emerged as the winner. Boetsch was -145, while Dollaway closed at +135. In a welterweight bout, Hector Lombard stopped Nate Marquardt with a first-round KO. Lombard won his first fight as welterweight, while Marquardt lost his third-straight fight in the UFC. Lombard was -185, while Marquardt was +170. In a lightweight bout, KJ Noons took a boring decision win over George Sotiropoulos. Noons outboxed Sotiropoulos, but he hardly showed he’s a UFC caliber fighter in the win. Noons was -145, and Sotiropoulos closed as +135. In a welterweight bout, Adlan Amagov finished TJ Waldburger via brutal first-round KO. Amagov destroyed Waldburger from the get-go, and looks like an interesting prospect at 170. Amagov was -190, and Waldburger was +175. In a lightweight bout, Tony Ferguson defeated Mike Rio via first-round D’arce choke submission. Ferguson got the sub early in the fight to return from a long injury layoff with a win, while Rio lost his second-straight fight in the UFC. Ferguson closed at -420, while Rio was +375. In a featherweight bout, Andre Fili defeated Jeremy Larsen via second-round TKO. Fili dominated Larsen with strikes, and knocked him out with some hard punches. Fili closed at -200 and Larsen was +185. In a bantamweight bout, Kyogi Horiguchi defeated Dustin Pague with a second-round TKO after getting dominated in the first round. Horiguchi was -145, while Pague was +135. UFC 165 Betting Underdogs That Won In a heavyweight bout, Gabriel Gonzaga defeated Shawn Jordan via first-round T/KO. Gonzaga knocked Jordan out with some nasty punches, and he improves to 4-1 since his return to the UFC. Gonzaga was +140, while Jordan fell at -150. In women’s bantamweight bout, Jessica Eye defeated Sarah Kaufman via split decision. The fight was extremely competitive for all three rounds, but Eye eventually got the win on the judges’ cards. Eye cashed at +175, while Kaufman was -190.
