Beating the Odds: UFC 156
Antonio Rogerio Nogueira sprang the upset in the UFC 156 co-main
event. | Sherdog.com File Photo
UFC 156 “Aldo vs. Edgar” on Saturday at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas proved this much: being a promotional newcomer does not mean squat and being a heavy favorite is certainly no guarantee of a win. Probability be damned, six of the 11 bouts resulted in underdog victories.
Let us take a closer look at the details:
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Evans had company in his misery.
Being a 3-to-1 underdog did not faze Antonio
Silva, but it is fair to say that former Strikeforce
heavyweight champion Alistair
Overeem, a -425 favorite, took him too lightly. The “Demolition
Man” was dominant until the third round, battering Silva with knees
and punches in the first and second. “Bigfoot” scored with some
hooks and a head kick at the start of round three and followed up
with punches in bunches. It was not long before referee Herb Dean
called a stop to the fight, as Overeem suffered his first loss
since 2007.
Sherdog.com File Photo
Maia beat the odds at UFC 156.
Fitch was not the only wrestler who exited the cage beaten and dejected.
Jacob Volkmann’s relentless takedowns were not enough to stop promotional newcomer Bobby Green, whose metabolic conditioning, takedown defense, strong top game and ground-and-pound set the stage for victory. Despite a perplexing restart from referee Kim Winslow in the second round, Green managed to control the final two frames, cinching a deep rear-naked choke with just 35 seconds left in the fight. Green, a +325 underdog, banked the “Submission of the Night” bonus for his efforts.
Elsewhere, Jackson’s Mixed Martial Arts representative Isaac Vallie-Flagg not only managed to avoid getting knocked out by Yves Edwards, a -240 favorite, but also forced the action and dictated the pace in their lightweight bout. He walked away with a split decision victory. The second round was the most precarious for Vallie-Flagg, as he used wrist control to narrowly avoid a rear-naked choke. However, he utilized front kicks, long punches and elbows to walk away with the win, despite entering the cage as a +190 underdog.
Finally, undefeated Hawaiian prospect Dustin Kimura may have disappointed at weigh-ins, where he tipped the scales overweight at 139.5 pounds, but he fared far better inside the Octagon. Although he came into the bout against Roufusport export Chico Camus as a slight underdog at +105, his Brazilian jiu-jitsu background made all the difference. Camus rocked Kimura with a heavy right hand in the first round and showcased solid striking throughout their encounter, but he repeatedly -- and inexplicably -- chased takedowns throughout the bout. The man they call “The Diamond” attempted submission after submission, including an omoplata, armbars and triangle chokes, but it was not until round three that the Hawaiian secured mount, transitioned to Camus’ back and ended the match with a rear-naked choke. Had Camus stayed with his strength and kept the bout standing, the result might have been different.
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