UFC 277 delivered quite the action-packed event. Fans and bettors were in for a treat – well, except underdog bettors. The betting favorites dominated the UFC betting odds and nearly won every fight. This includes all five favorites on the main card capped by Amanda Nunes beating up Julianna Pena to reclaim her UFC Women’s Bantamweight Championship.
UFC 277 Favorites Clean Up
Favorites Go 11-2
If you loved betting online on chalk, then UFC 277 was a godsend for you. The favorites not only (mostly) won, but they did it pretty easily. There was no sweating for most of the faves as they either finished their opponents or won clear-cut decisions. Not even the infamous Texas Commission and the questionable judging could skewer fighters.
A notable moment was Joselyne Edwards (-130) needing a split decision to beat Ji Yeon Kim (Ev). The Panamanian clearly won two of the three rounds. The 19 polled MMA media members unanimously scored it 29-28 for her but judge Steve Armstrong, the lone dissenter, somehow gave two rounds to Kim. Thankfully, Edwards still won.
Nicolae Negumereanu, who received some of the heaviest action, also finished Ihor Potieria (+105). Negumereanu opened as a +130 underdog but closed as a -140 favorite by fight time. The Romanian mixed up his game and finish Potieria in the clinch.
Main Card Favorites Starched The Competition
The Pay-Per-View was notable for seeing all the favorites win. All but Nunes (-280) finished their fights. Both Sergei Pavlovich (-150) and Alexandre Pantoja (-190) needed less than two minutes to dispatch Derrick Lewis (+120) and Alex Perez (+155), respectively.
Brandon Moreno (-210) also finished Kai Kara-France (+165) in the third round to win the Interim UFC Flyweight Championship. Magomed Ankalaev (-600), the second-largest favorite, finished Anthony Smith (+400) in the second round.
And while Nunes did need all five rounds against Pena (+210), she quickly established why she was still a heavy favorite. Nunes, who switched her stance to a southpaw, butchered Pena’s face and dropped her three times. By the championship rounds, Nunes grounded Pena with her wrestling. As predicted, this rematch played out much differently. “The Lioness” fought a more tactical approach to smashing success.
Two of a Kind: Underdog Winners
Alex Morono and Hamdy Abdelwahab were the only underdogs to leave UFC 277 with victories. Morono (+125) received some support heading to his fight as he originally opened at +155 while Abdelwahab (+165) got faded as he opened at +110.
Both fighters won their bouts via a decision. Abdelwahab won via a split though, like in Edwards’ case, he clearly won two of the three rounds as the MMA media unanimously picked him to win 29-28.
The Best UFC 277 Bet …
Nunes’ Win Was A Lucrative Bet
Betting Nunes to beat Pena straight-up may have been a chalky affair, but betting her to win by a decision was the best UFC bet. Nunes to win by a decision was at +330 on the online sportsbook. While Nunes hurt Pena several times and had plenty of opportunities to finish her, Nunes elected to be more conservative.
It’s a rational approach from Nunes as she did not want to risk gassing herself out as she did in the first fight. In fact, the fight played out similarly to Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz in which the former also managed his cardio to win a decision. But in Nunes’s case, she dismantled Pena.
Conor McGregor sees similarities between these two series of fights. pic.twitter.com/qpMdzTrOKT
— MMAFighting.com (@MMAFighting) July 31, 2022
Next UFC PPV: Usman vs Edwards 2
The next UFC PPV, UFC 278, will take place on August 20 at Salt Lake City. UFC Welterweight Champion Kamaru Usman defends his title in a rematch against Leon Edwards. Usman is a considerable betting favorite as he already defeated Edwards even if it was nearly seven years ago.
