Derek Brunson capped off an action-packed night in Brazil with a stunning first-round knockout over Lyoto Machida in a main event middleweight showdown.
While Brunson had to show caution early thanks to Machida’s fast hands and dangerous counter striking, he found his range about midway through the opening round and started to land shots with accuracy and power.
Brunson then drew Machida into a big exchange on the feet and uncorked a devastating left that put the former light heavyweight champion on wobbly legs until he ended up on the mat just a few seconds later.
Brunson wasted no time raining down shots like hammers dropping from the sky and the referee quickly rushed into stop the fight. Brunson has now earned first-round knockouts in each of his last six wins inside the Octagon.
Brunson was actually a slight underdog according to the picks made by fantasy players, with 49 percent selecting him to win and the other 51 percent favoring Machida. Because it was such a close matchup, Brunson’s win also earns the players who picked him an additional 120 points.
In the co-main event, Colby Covington earned the biggest win of his career as he took out former title contender Demian Maia by unanimous decision. While Covington had to endure a bit of a rough start in the opening round, he took over with superior conditioning and striking while battering Maia with punches throughout the final 10 minutes in the fight.
When it was all over, Maia was wearing a crimson mask from the damage he suffered while Covington was celebrating a massive win over a top three ranked opponent.
Going into the event, Covington was a massive underdog, with just 19 percent of fantasy players picking him to win. It was a very nice bonus for the players who picked him, however, as Covington also earned an extra 120 points due to the fight being a close matchup according to the oddsmakers.
The upsets kept on rolling as Pedro Munhoz picked up a first-round submission win against Rob Font in a bantamweight matchup with just 35 percent of fantasy players picking him in the fight. Once again those upsets helped some fantasy players earn a lot of bonuses as Munhoz’s win was also worth an extra 120 points because it was a close matchup on paper.
Francisco Trinaldo got back on track with a unanimous decision win over Jim Miller with just 42 percent of fantasy players selecting him going into the night. Once again, Trinaldo also took home an extra 120 points as a tight matchup in a card filled with competitive fights.
Thiago Santos was the first fighter on the main card to pull through as the favorite as he took out Jack Hermansson by first round knockout with 74 percent of fantasy players predicting his victory on Saturday night. The same could be said for John Lineker as he defeated Marlon Vera by unanimous decision with an overwhelming majority of fantasy players on his side, with 88 percent picking him in the opening bout on the main card.
On the preliminary card, Vicente Luque put on a masterful performance to hand Niko Price his first professional defeat with only 34 percent of fantasy players picking him. While that was an upset, Antonio Carlos Junior got the favorites on the board as he made short work of Jack Marshman with a first round rear naked choke finish with a whopping 82 percent of fantasy players picking him to win.
Elizeu Zaleski Dos Santos got a hard-fought win against Max Griffin in a thrilling welterweight affair, as he was selected by 70 percent of fantasy players. Meanwhile, Jared Gordon dished out one of the best performances of his career as he took out Hacran Dias by unanimous decision with just 36 percent of fantasy players picking him in the fight. Once again, those underdog picks paid off as Gordon’s win was also worth an additional 120 points in the fantasy competition.
All told, by the end of the night, seven underdogs came away victorious based on the selections made by fantasy players, with only five favorites getting wins in a topsy-turvy event from Brazil.
