UFC Fight Night 86 Closing Odds and Results

UFC Fight Night 86 took place this afternoon (Sunday, April 10, 2016) at Arena Zagreb in Zagreb, Croatia, and was headlined by a heavyweight bout between Junior dos Santos and Ben Rothwell. Overall from a betting perspective, eight favorites won while three underdogs came through and there were two pick’em fights 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, former heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos bounced back with a tremendous performance against Ben Rothwell. “Cigano” played an expert game of cat and mouse against Rothwell, dissecting the lumbering heavyweight with a perfect tactical gameplan of circling, jabs, movement and the occasional big shot to avoid Rothwell’s power and forward aggression. When it was all said and done, dos Santos easily took a unanimous decision on the judges’ scorecards. Dos Santos was victorious as a -145 (Bet $110 to win $100) favorite while Rothwell stumbled as a slight +100 (bet $100 to win $100) underdog. In a heavyweight contest, Derrick Lewis survived being put in a bad position by Brazilian jiu-jitsu specialist Gabriel Gonzaga, eventually landing a devastating right hand along the fence to put “Napao” out cold near the end of the first round. Lewis won at -145 while Gonzaga lost as a +135 dog. In a light heavyweight bout, Jan Blachowicz weathered an early storm from a game Igor Pokrajac. Both men landed heavy shots against each other but it was Blachowicz’ wrestling which made the difference as he was able to secure top position to win the last two rounds and the decision. Blachowicz held serve as a heavy -325 betting favorite while Pokrajac was +295. In a women’s strawweight showdown, Maryna Moroz weathered Cristina Stanciu’s powerful strikes and early submission attempts to outgrapple the Romanian and walk away with a hard-fought unanimous decision victory. Moroz came through as a -165 favorite while Stanciu was +155. In a welterweight scrap, Zak Cummings ended Nicolas Dalby’s undefeated record with a solid combination of forward pressure, powerful left hands and superior ground work over the course of three rounds to handle Dalby’s outside kicking game and win a unanimous decision. Cummings was -110 while Dalby was a slight +100 underdog. In a lightweight contest, Mairbek Taisumov gave UFC newcomer Damir Hadzovic a cold welcome to the promotion. Both men were trading on the feet competitively, but Taisumov rocked Hadzovic and never let him off the hook, swarming aggressively and accurately to put Hadzovic down with an uppercut. Taisumov was victorious as a -305 favorite while Nakai was +275. In a heavyweight contest, Jared Cannonier obliterated UFC newcomer Cyril Asker via first round knockout. Cannonier showcased his athleticism, avoiding a takedown and clinch from Asker before blasting him with a huge left hook which should have ended the fight. The referee allowed Asker to eat some huge hammerfists and elbows on the ground before putting a halt to it less than three minutes into the first frame. Cannonier held serve as a -130 favorite while Asker was a +120 underdog. In the opening bout of the evening, middleweight Bojan Velickovic utilized excellent footwork, leg kicks and his superior ground game to win a unanimous decision over a game Alessio de Chirico. Velickoic closed as a -170 betting favorite while de Chirico was +150. Underdogs That Won In the biggest upset of the evening, heavyweight Francis Ngannou handled Curtis Blaydes’ best takedowns and punished the American with heavy left and right hands. Blaydes was rocked in the first round, but held on, although he suffered some horrific swelling on his right eye. The swollen eye caused a stoppage as the ref put a halt to the action in between the second and third rounds. Ngannou was the winner despite being a +145 underdog while Blaydes lost as a -155 favorite. In a bantamweight fight, Alejandro Perez danced out of multiple leg lock attempts from Ian Entwistle, eventually pounding away and forcing a verbal submission in the final minute of the first round. Perez was +135 while Entwistle was -145. In the bantamweight division, Damian Stasiak made quick work of Filip Pejic. Stasiak quickly took Pejic down, advanced to a dominant position and locked in a rear naked choke to force the tap early in the first round. Stasiak was a slight +100 underdog while Pejic closed as a -110 favorite. Pick ’em Fights In the heavyweight division, Tim Johnson and Marcin Tybura had a competitive scrap, but it was Johnson’s pressure and aggression which allowed the American to win the first two rounds. Tybura came on strong in the third round as Johnson seemed to be suffering through some injuries, but it wasn’t enough as Johnson won a decision. Both fighters closed at pick’em -105. In a featherweight fight, Lucas Martins utilized superior footwork, diversity of striking and landed more accurately over the course of three rounds against Rob Whiteford to pick up a split decision victory. Both Ham and Rawlings closed at -105.