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On a main card dominated by upsets, the one constant was UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson, who made history with his 10th successful title defense with a victory over Wilson Reis in the UFC Fight Night main event.
Johnson has looked better than ever in his most recent fights, but he somehow managed to take his game up another notch on Saturday night as he picked Reis apart on the feet before finishing him on the ground.
Following a lopsided performance over the first 10 minutes, Johnson finally decided to take Reis to the mat, where he battered the No. 3-ranked flyweight with punches before finally snatching an arm.
A few seconds later, Johnson got the tap out due to an armbar while becoming the first fighter to submit Reis in his nearly 30-fight professional career.
Fantasy players were definitely wise to Johnson's performance ahead of time, with an overwhelming 92 percent majority picking him to win. As it turns out, Johnson was the only favorite to walk away victorious on the main card according to the picks from fantasy players going into Saturday night.
Rose Namajunas put on a stellar outing as she landed a vicious head kick on Michelle Waterson before ending the fight a few moments later with a rear naked choke. Despite Namajunas having the higher ranking, she was only selected by 36 percent of players compared to 64 percent for Waterson.
Robert Whittaker also pulled off a shocking victory when he dealt Ronald "Jacare" Souza a second-round TKO loss in their pivotal middleweight matchup. Whittaker was a big underdog according to odds makers and fantasy players, with only 18 percent picking him to win going into the night. Out of that 18 percent, another 71 percent did predict a Whittaker knockout, so those points were extremely valuable by the end of the event.
While Whittaker certainly earned an upset win, Renato Moicano managed to pull off an even bigger feat with his victory over Jeremy Stephens after only 12 percent of fantasy players selected him, with 57 percent picking him to win by decision.
The upsets didn't stop with the main card either, because heavyweight Alexander Volkov defeated Roy Nelson by unanimous decision after only 34 percent of players selected him. Volkov used a smart strategy throughout the three rounds he spent in the Octagon with the heavy-handed Nelson to remain undefeated in the UFC.
The next three fights on the preliminary card shifted back towards the favorites, including an impressive debut for highly
touted prospect Tom Duquesnoy, who needed less than two rounds to earn a TKO win over Patrick Williams. 66 percent of players picked Duquesnoy, who also earned an additional 40 points due to the fight serving as his promotional debut.
Rashid Magomedov bounced back from a loss in his last fight to get a win over Bobby Green after a whopping 75 percent of players picked him. The same could be said for former Ultimate Fighter winner Tim Elliott, who defeated Louis Smolka after an overwhelming 79 percent of players chose him.
On the early prelims, Aljamain Sterling got back in the win column after two straight losses with his performance against Augusto Mendes. The New Yorker was selected by 83 percent of players, with another 67 percent correctly predicting that he would be victorious by unanimous decision. Devin Clark was another favorite who came away victorious, with 64 percent of players picking him to win. While both of those fights featured heavy favorites, local fighter Zak Cummings had the biggest odds on his side on the prelims, as 88 percent of players picked him to defeat Nathan Coy in a welterweight matchup and he came through in dominant fashion.
There were two more fairly sizable upsets to complete the card, however, as Anthony Smith knocked off Andrew Sanchez after only 25 percent of players picked him, while Brazilian bantamweight Ketlen Vieira got past Ashlee Evans-Smith with 36 percent of players selecting her to emerge victorious.
All told, on the 13-fight card, seven bouts ended with favorites winning while there were six upsets according to the selections made by fantasy players going into Saturday night.
