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UFC on FOX 30 Recap

VegasInsider Staff
VegasInsider Staff Sports Betting Expert
5 minute read
UFC on FOX 30 Betting Results

Dustin ‘The Diamond’ Poirier improved to 8-1-1 with seven knockouts in 10 fights as a lightweight when he dusted Eddie Alvarez via second-round KO (punches and elbow) in Saturday’s UFC on FOX 30 headliner in Calgary. Poirier hooked up his backers as a -160 favorite, while the ‘under’ (2.5 rounds at a -130 price) was also a winner.

Gamblers on proposition bets for Poirier cashed on him to win inside the distance (-115), win by KO/TKO (+115) and in Round 2 (+450). Since losing to Conor McGregor at UFC 178 and moving up to the 155-pound loop, the Lafayette, LA., product has finished a pair of former UFC lightweight champs (Alvarez and Anthony ‘Showtime’ Pettis) and KO’d former World Series of Fighting lightweight kingpin Justin Gaethje in the favorite to win Fight of the Year in 2018.

Once again, Alvarez-Poirier II had its share of controversy like the first meeting that ended in a non-contest at UFC 211 in Dallas last year. As the fighters were in a clinch situation against the fence during Round 2, Poirier pulled guard and went for a guillotine choke. He seemed to have a tight grip on and Alvarez was warned by the referee to quit grabbing the fence for leverage.

Poirier was unable to finish the submission and said afterward that his grip slipped. Alvarez ended up in top position when Poirier let go of the choke, but he worked his way back to his feet moments later. Then Poirier went for another guillotine and was unsuccessful again.

This time Alvarez was able to transition from top position to mount with Poirier backed against the fence. ‘The Underground King’ appeared to be in control at this point, although he was warned multiple times by ref Marc Goddard to get his fingers out of Poirier’s ears. Then Alvarez made a critical mistake by throwing an illegal 12-to-6 elbow.

Goddard called time and gave Alvarez a warning and most importantly, stood the fighters up and rightfully punished Alvarez by taking away the dominant mount position. Moments after the scrap got going again, Poirier started to find his boxing groove. He hurt Alvarez badly with a combination.

Alvarez began covering up, but he was still throwing Hail-Mary punches to stay in it. However, a big elbow, multiple knees and several punches downed Alvarez and prompted Goddard to intervene.

Poirier will now have to play a waiting game. McGregor is going to fight lightweight champ Khabib Nurmagomedov at some point later this year. Depending on that outcome, Poirier is line to fight the winner. He stated that he’s willing to wait about six months, but he won’t be on the sidelines for a year.

Meanwhile, Alvarez completed the final fight on his UFC contract. We’ll see how strong the promotion comes at Alvarez with a contract offer, but free agency is certainly a possibility for the 34-year-old North Philadelphia native.

In the co-main event, Jose Aldo turned back the clock and recorded his first finish since 2013 by taking out Jeremy Stephens with a late first-round KO. Aldo cashed tickets as an even-money underdog, while the ‘under’ (2.5 rounds for a +150 return) was a winner.

Things didn’t look good early for the former featherweight champ, as Stephens was unloading on the Brazilian with heavy shots. ‘Lil Heathen’ enjoyed a sequence of connecting with 6-7 unanswered strikes and Aldo appeared to be in trouble. He reached deep, however, and started returning fire.

The fight turned in his favor when Aldo floored Stephens with a big left to the liver. Aldo pounced on Stephens and started pounding him with hammer fists to the head and the body. It seemed as if Stephens might be able to recover until Aldo landed consecutive hammer fists to convince the ref to stop the bout.

The 10th KO of Aldo’s career in WEC/UFC is the most in featherweight history. Stephens saw his three-fight winning streak snapped.

Joanna Jedrzejczyk got back into the win column after losing back-to-back title fights against ‘Thug’ Rose Namajunas. The former women’s strawweight champ defeated Tecia Torres by unanimous decision (30-27 across), stuffing all 10 takedown attempts from Torres in the three-round affair.

Jedrzejczyk won as a -320 favorite, while the ‘over’ (2.5 rounds, -400) also cashed.

In the main card’s opener, 25-year-old Alexander ‘The Great’ Hernandez defeated Olivier Aubin-Mercier via UD in a pick ‘em matchup.

Poirier and Aldo both collected an extra $50,000 by garnering Performance of the Night bonuses.

**B.E.’s Octagon Nuggets**

-- [...] opened James Vick as a -115 ‘chalk’ vs. Justin Gaethje in the UFC Lincoln main event on Aug. 25. As of Sunday afternoon, Vick was up to a -150 favorite with Gaethje as the +120 underdog. Can’t wait for this scrap!

-- John Makdessi captured a UD win over Ross Pearson in the Fight of the Night. Both competitors took home an extra 50 large. Makdessi prevailed as a -230 favorite.

-- Former bantamweight kingpin Dominick Cruz has been medically cleared to resume training. He says he wants the winner of next week’s UFC 227 headliner between current champ T.J. Dillashaw and Cody ‘No Love’ Garbrandt.

Follow Brian Edwards' sports gambling opinions on Twitter at @vegasbedwards.


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