UFC Fight Night 83 took place earlier tonight (Sunday, February 21, 2016) at the Consul Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and was headlined by a welterweight bout between Donald Cerrone and Alex Oliveira. Overall from a betting perspective, 10 favorites won while three underdogs came through according to the closing odds at Several Bookmakers. Here’s a quick recap for each fight. Favorites That Won In the main event of the evening, Donald Cerrone withstood early pressure from Alex Oliveira, ducking a punch and scoring a big takedown. After advancing to a dominant position on the ground, Cerrone locked in a triangle from mount and rolled to his back to tighten the hold and force a tapout. Cerrone was a -260 (Bet $260 to win $100) betting favorite and Oliveira was +240 (Bet $100 to win $100). In a middleweight bout, Derek Brunson continued his hot streak by taking advantage of a mistake from Roan Carneiro. Carneiro slipped to his back against the fence, and Brunson ignored his BJJ credentials, unloading a tremendous flurry of ground and pound strikes. It seemed Carneiro had weathered the storm, but Brunson followed up with even more huge strikes to force a first round TKO. Brunson held serve as a heavy +350 favorite while Carneiro was overwhelmed as a +318 underdog. In a 142 pound catchweight fight, Cody Garbrandt took out short notice replacement Augusto Mendez, landing a big right hand to drop the Brazilian and then finishing him with a follow up punch on the ground in the first round. Garbrandt was a -430 betting favorite while Mendez was +380. In the featherweight division, Tatsuya Kawajiri put pressure on Dennis Bermudez early, working for takedowns and making things ugly in the clinch, but Bermudez took over in rounds two and three to walk away with a pretty easy unanimous decision victory. Burmudez was a hefty -340 favorite while Kawajiri was a +310 underdog. In a middleweight scrap, Chris Camozzi crushed Joe Riggs, hurting him with a jab then landing a series of huge knees that put Riggs down for the count in 30 seconds. Camozzi was victorious as a -215 betting favorite while Riggs might have seen the Octagon for the last time at +195. In a lightweight contest, James Krause started strong against Shane Campbell, nearly finishing the fight at the end of the first round, but Campbell hung tight and made the bout competitive. Campbell had Krause in trouble late, but it wasn’t enough to overcome Krause’s strong start as Krause won a unanimous decision. Krause was -175 while Campbell was a +165 dog. In a welterweight bout, Sean Strickland utilized a superior jab to outwork Alex Garcia, eventually hurting “The Dominican Nightmare” and then finishing him in the final minute of the fight with an impressive onslaught of blows. Strickland was a -110 favorite while Garcia was +100. In a middleweight fight, Anthony Smith got off to a strong start against Leonardo Guimaraes and was able to barely hold on to win a decision. Guimaraes started very slowly, but hurt Smith in the second round and proceeded to dominate the third round, but it wasn’t enough as Smith took a decision. Smith came through as a -300 betting favorite while Guimaraes couldn’t overcome his start at +120. In a women’s bantamweight bout, Lauren Murphy had her hands full early against a very game Kelly Faszholz, who had taken the fight on eight days’ notice. Faszholz began to slow down as the fight wore on, however, and Murphy battered her from top position in the third round, eventually scoring a TKO stoppage from full mount in the final 10 seconds. Murphy held serve as a -295 favorite while Faszholz was a +265 dog. In a the first fight of the night, heavyweight Shamil Abdurakhimov put on a solid striking display against Anthony Hamilton, moving around light on his feet and connecting with combinations from the outside against the slower Hamilton. It was more than enough for Abdurakhimov to be declared the winner when the judges made their decision. Abdurakhimov was victorious as a -120 favorite while Hamilton was +110. Underdogs That Won In a middleweight contest, Oluwale Bamgbose absolutely blistered Daniel Sarafian, hurting the Brazilian with a head kick and then finishing him with ground and pound to score a knockout in just one minute. Bamgbose was a +115 underdog while Sarafian was -125. In a welterweight fight, Jonavin Webb started strong against Nathan Coy, utilizing superior speed and athleticism on the feet, but he ran out of steam and had no answer for Coy’s grinding wrestling style. Coy attained top position in the second round and then proceeded to dominate Webb in the third to walk away with a unanimous decision. Coy pulled it out as a +230 dog while Webb couldn’t hold on as a -250 favorite. In a women’s bantamweight fight, Ashlee Evans-Smith and Marion Reneau put on a fun scrap for 15 minutes. Reneau hurt Evans-Smith in the first round, but Evans-Smith was game, showcasing improved striking in her second UFC bout. While nearly everyone scored the fight at least 29-28 for Reneau if not better, the judges surprisingly scored the fight for Evans-Smith via split decision, including two judges controversially giving Evans-Smith the first round despite her being nearly finished. White was a +170 underdog while Reneau was -185.
