UFC Fight Night 62 took place Saturday night (March 21, 2015) at the Ginásio do Maracanãzinho in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and overall the card was exciting as it featured several highlight-reel finishes throughout. Overall from a betting perspective, nine favorites and three underdogs won based on the closing odds at Several Bookmakers. Here’s a quick recap for each fight. Favorites That Won In the co-main event of the evening, welterweights Erick Silva and Josh Koscheck put on a very entertaining fight that only lasted one round. Both Silva and Koscheck landed heavy blows in the opening frame, and Koscheck looked much more aggressive than his last fight, but Silva hurt Koscheck late in the round before latching on a guillotine choke, which forced the former original Ultimate Fighter standout to tap out. Silva was victorious as a massive -435 favorite (bet $435 to win $100) while Koscheck was finished as a +385 underdog (bet $100 to win $385). In the women’s bantamweight division, Amanda Nunes brutally finished Shayna Baszler early in the first round. Nunes connected with nearly every strike she threw against her older, slower opponent, eventually finishing the bout after landing a nasty kick to the knee which crumpled Baszler. Nunes added a few unnecessary blows after the referee intervened, but in the end, she was successful as a massive -705 favorite while Baszler appears to be done in the UFC after losing badly as a +570 underdog. In a lightweight contest, Gilbert Burns gave everyone a huge scare by putting on a listless performance against late replacement Alex Oliveira before pulling a late finish off when he needed it. Oliveira controlled the first two rounds with solid takedown defense and superior striking ability. Burns’ coach ripped into him during the break between the second and third rounds and Burns responded, securing a takedown and advancing to mount early in the third. After several entertaining scrambles and transitions, Burns secured an armbar which forced a tap with just a minute left in the fight. Burns brought the drama with his late win as a -750 favorite, while Oliveira nearly pulled off the upset as a +600 dog. In the preliminary card main event, Francisco Trinaldo scored an easy unanimous decision victory over Akbarh Arreola in a lightweight bout. Trinaldo’s takedowns were the big story, as he repeatedly put Arreola on his back and kept the Mexican on the canvas for the majority of the action. Arreola couldn’t muster nearly enough offense on the feet to make up for Trinaldo’s and all three judges awarded the Brazilian with 30-27 scorecards. Trinaldo came out on top as a -192 favorite while Arreola couldn’t overcome his +177 odds. In featherweight action, Kevin Souza made quick work of veteran Katsunori Kikuno. Kikuno looked to work from the outside along the fence early, but Souza blasted him with a right hand as he stepped forward, crumpling the Japanese fighter into a heap. Souza was victorious as a -245 favorite while Kikuno was defeated as a +225 dog. In the biggest controversy of the night, Leandro Silva scored a submission victory over Drew Dober in lightweight action. Dober looked strong in the first round, but was taken down in the second and Silva latched on a guillotine attempt. Just as it appeared Dober was escaping the hold, the referee jumped in and stopped the bout much to the confusion and dismay of everyone watching, as Dober had not tapped out and he was clearly not unconscious. Regardless, Silva earned a win as a -140 favorite while Dober couldn’t survive some rough refereeing at +130. In another lightweight contest, Leonardo Mafra survived an early knockdown by Cain Carrizosa to easily win a unanimous decision. Mafra kept constant pressure with heavy strikes and closed out the fight with repeated takedowns, ground and pound, and positional control. Mafra cruised as a -165 favorite while Carrizosa couldn’t muster enough offense as a +155 underdog. In the lightweight division, Christos Giagos made a much better second impression than Jorge de Oliveira. Giagos scored an explosive takedown early in the first round, battering de Oliveira with strikes before eventually passing to mount and then back control, which resulted in a submission via rear naked choke. Giagos easily came through as a -200 favorite while de Oliveira failed to impress at +185. In the opening bout of the evening, flyweights Fredy Serrano and Bentley Syler made their UFC debuts. Both men competed on TUF: Latin America, and despite Syler’s advantage in fight experience, it was Serrano who appeared the sharper overall fighter. Serrano clearly won the first and scraped by in a ho-hum second round before blistering Syler with a brutal uppercut to knock the Bolivian out cold early in the third round. Serrano made a big impact as a -150 favorite while Syler goes back to the drawing board as a +140 underdog. Underdogs That Won In the main event of the evening, welterweights Demian Maia and Ryan LaFlare put it all on the line for five full rounds, but it was Maia’s takedown timing and ground game that allowed him to secure the first four frames with a majority of the time spent in dominant position on the canvas. Maia gassed badly in the fifth, but it was too little too late as LaFlare was not able to capitalize and get the finish he desperately needed. The Brazilian was ultimately rewarded a 48-46 decision across the boards (Maia was deducted a point in the final seconds for passivity). When it was all said and done, Maia was victorious even money +100 while LaFlare couldn’t come through as a slight -110 favorite. In the lightweight division, Leonardo Santos scored an impressive second round submission victory over Tony Martin. Martin looked sharp early, winning the striking exchanges and outworking the Brazilian in the clinch, and he even looked good in the beginning of the second round, but Santos pounced on a mistake, taking the fight to the canvas and attacking Martin’s back the second he left it open. Eventually, Santos latched on a rear naked choke to force the tap. Despite opening as a slight favorite, Santos closed as a +145 dog, while Martin was submitted as a -155 favorite. In the opening bout of the main card, featherweight Godofredo Pepey pulled off a very impressive flying triangle choke to submit Andre Fili. Fili was pressuring Pepey on the feet, but Pepey jumped into a triangle choke after being backed into the fence. Fili fought off the triangle choke for about two minutes, but Pepey committed to the hold, eventually forcing the tap just over three minutes into the first round. Pepey came through as a +280 underdog while Fili failed to deliver as a -310 favorite.
