As online betting UFC players prepare to bring in the New Year, it’s hard to not think about the thrilling finale we witnessed on December 30th. Days before kicking off 2018, sports wagering fanatics were treated to one of the fiercest events we’ve seen in December. Specifically, UFC fans were treated to a cringey mauling in the co-headlining match as Khabib Nurmagomedov established his dominance against one of the best strikers in the game. Afterwards, sportsbooks were treated to a breathtaking performance between two of the best MMA fighters on the planet. It goes without saying that a recap is in order.
UFC 219 || Online UFC Betting Recap
Women’s Featherweight Title || Cris Cyborg def. Holly Holm
The most important fight of the night featured two of the baddest women on the planet going toe-to-toe. In one corner was the famous Holly Holm, who rose to recognition after kicking Ronda Rousey straight in the fact to win the UFC’s Women’s Bantamweight title. At UFC 219, Holm was set to challenge another MMA titan for UFC Gold: Cris Cyborg.
Cyborg is arguably the most notorious fighter in women’s MMA. Once criticized for her steroid use, Cyborg has now entered USADA’s program and is as clean as anybody in the sport. Now as a clean fighter, the UFC has gifted her with her own division; the women’s featherweight division, or the 145 lbs. division. In the past Cyborg struggled to make weight and requested a new division. Once the UFC complied, the Brazilian hasn’t given up.
As phone betting fans who tuned in for the bout know, this title match lived up to its hype. While the talent in the women’s division has flourished in the UFC at an unprecedented level, the show these two put on rivaled the talent usually displayed by the greatest fighters around the world. On one hand Cyborg is as dominant and talented as any man could ever aspire to be. On the other, Holm is a multiple time kickboxing champion.
But after 5 grueling rounds of back and forth, the judges came to the unanimous decision that Cyborg was the better fighter. In truth, Holm’s preparation seemed questionable. Holm was too aggressive for her counter-striking style. Additionally, at times Holm committed to the clinch, drove Cyborg to the cage, and then proceeded to do nothing. In terms of talent, these two were evenly matched. But Cyborg’s experience, and ability to fight calm and collected, led to a decisive online UFC betting win for the Brazilian.
Lightweight Bout || Khabib Nurmagomedov def. Edson Barboza
Arguably the most impactful fight of the year, watching Nurmagomedov maul Barboza was not easy to witness. Nurmagomedov’s style consists of using superior wrestling and strength to pin his opponents to the mat, where no one is able to escape from.
However, many fans were anxious to witness this style because, as most online UFC betting fans know, the best defense to a pressing wrestler are some well-placed leg kicks. And who better to deliver some nasty, pin-point leg kicks than Barboza?
Once the match started, Barboza proceeded to implement this strategy by going after the Dagestani’s lead leg. Barboza was able to connect quite easily. The only problem was that, other than stop him for at most 2 seconds, the kicks had no impact on Nurmagomedov. Instead, the Russian proceeded to force his will upon Barboza for 15 minutes. It was not a pretty show.