UFC 195 took place tonight (Saturday, January 2nd, 2016) at the MGM Grand Garden Arena and was headlined by Robbie Lawler defending his welterweight title against Carlos Condit. Overall from a betting perspective, Lawler/Condit closed at even money while seven favorites won along four underdogs coming through based on the closing odds at Several Bookmakers. Here’s a quick recap for each fight. Pick ’em Fights In the main event, Robbie Lawler successfully defended his title over Carlos Condit in a controversial split decision victory. Despite Lawler getting dropped in the first with a low kick, he returned fire with a big right hand in the second that dropped the Jackson/Winklejohn product. The fifth was one of the most exciting, back and forth affairs we’ve seen in quite some time. Neither fighter was afraid to throw bombs in pocket and there was hard hitting action right up until the final bell. Lawler cashes at -105, while Condit falls at the same price. Favorites That Won In the co-main event, Stipe Miocic made a serious case for the next heavyweight title shot with a first round knockout over Andrei Arlovski. The Strong Style Fight Team product landed a right hand to Arlovski’s ear which dropped the former champion. From there Miocic rained down punches for the first round victory. Miocic cashes as the -230 favorite while Arlovski fails to cash as the +210 underdog. In the welterweight division, Albert Tumenov edged out a split decision over Lorenz Larkin. Tumenov landed a number of significant strikes but Larkin countered with his own leg kicks which hurt the Russian over the three round affair. Ultimately Tumenov cashes as the -240 favorite while Larkin falls as the +220 underdog. Featherweight Brian Ortega earned an impressive third round submission victory over Diego Brandao. After Ortega landed a takedown in the third, Brandao ended up back on top. But from there, Ortega transitions into a triangle choke which forced Brandao to tap. Ortega cashes as the -160 favorite, while Brandao loses as the +150 underdog. Bantamweight Michael McDonald made a successful return to the octagon with an amazing come from behind submission victory over Masanori Kanehara. Kanehara was controlling the majority of the fight and sunk in a submission attempt in the second, only to have that reversed minutes later as McDonald earned the rear-naked choke victory. McDonald cashes as the -570 favorite with Kanehara losing as the +480 underdog. Strawweight Justine Kish earned a unanimous decision over Nina Ansaroff. Kish improved to 5-0 in her career and returned to the cage for the first time since January 2014. Kish came through as the -210 favorite while Ansaroff fails to cash as the +190 underdog. Bantamweight Michinori Tanaka edged out a split decision over Joe Soto on the Fight Pass prelims. Soto had a number of submission attempts, including one closing out the fight but ultimately the Japanese fighter was able to escape. Tanaka cashes as the -135 favorite, while Soto (who is now 0-3 in the UFC) loses as the +125 underdog. Opening up the card, Canadian Sheldon Westcott earned what commentator Joe Rogan called “a flawless performance” against Edgar Garcia. Once Westcott got Garcia to the ground moments into the fight, the Complete Martial Arts & Fitness product took over, landing bombs before the ref stepped in to stop the fight. Westcott comes through as the -160 favorite, while Garcia fails to cash as the +150 underdog. Underdogs That Won Opening up the Pay-Per View Abel Trujillo earned a surprising first round submission victory over Tony Sims. As Sims went for the takedown, Trujillo sunk in a choke which the Elevation MMA product couldn’t get out of. Trujillo eventually forced the tap and snapped a two-fight skid. As I’m sure MMAOddsBreaker’s Mike James will point out his “Crazy Prop Bets that Cashed” article, Trujillo by submission! was +1725! Trujillo cashes as a +140 underdog, while Sims fails to come through as the -150 favorite. Despite taking the fight on 11-days notice, welterweight Alex Morono earned a split decision victory over Kyle Noke. Morono was able to outpoint the Jackson/Winklejohn fighter and even broke the Aussies’ nose midway through the fight. The Legacy FC vet cashes as the +320 underdog while Noke comes up short as the -335 favorite. Lightweight Drew Dober earned a unanimous decision over Scott Holtzman. The 27-year old saved his UFC job by out wrestling “Hot Sauce” over the three round contest. Dober cashes as the +190 underdog while Holtzman suffers a defeat being the -210 favorite. Headlining the Fight Pass portion of the card, Dustin Poirier cruised to a unanimous decision victory over Joseph Duffy. Poirier outstruck and landed takedowns throughout the three-round affair and controlled the majority of the fight. Poirier cashes as the +135 underdog, while Duffy fails to cash as the -145 favorite.
