NFL Previews 
MLB Previews 
NBA Previews 
NHL Previews 
Soccer Previews 
Table of Contents
Enter The Betting Octagon
For UFC Picks and
Elite Handicapping Membership!
UFC Fight Night 256 surpassed expectations, as Michael Morales easily dispatched Gilbert Burns in the main event, while we got several other fights that did not disappoint.
Morales reminded everyone of his star potential as he pushed his unbeaten record to 18-0 in convincing fashion. The rest of the UFC on ESPN+ 114 card was excellent, with the main card producing two thrilling finishes and three hard-fought Decisions.
Our UFC picks were largely on point, and if you followed our advice, you could have won a lot of money. Let’s take a quick look at the UFC Fight results from UFC Fight Night 256 and see how everything unfolded.
UFC Main Card Results
| Winner | Loser | Method of Victory | Round |
|---|---|---|---|
| Michael Morales | Gilbert Burns | Knockout | Round 1 |
| Mairon Santos | Sodiq Yusuff | Decision | Round 3 |
| Nursulton Ruziboev | Dustin Stolzfus | Decision | Round 3 |
| Melquizael Costa | Julian Erosa | Decision | Round 3 |
| Gabe Green | Matheus Camilo | Submission | Round 2 |
The main card at UFC on ESPN+ 114 was really strong. It included this week’s Fight of the Night winner (more on that in a bit), as well as two impressive finishes.
The first one saw Gabe Green submit Matheus Camilo in the second round. That was pretty cool to see, especially since this bout got elevated to the main card once Rodolfo Bellato’s fight ended up getting cancelled.
We got three stellar battles outside of that match, while the main card capped things off with some serious fireworks via KO. Michael Morales (17-0) came in with an unblemished record and was a massive -950 betting favorite as he prepared to face the seasoned Gilbert Burns.
Burns was ultimately no match for the younger fighter, as Morales overwhelmed him and finished him before the end of round one.
The best handicappers were spot on for the main card, and so was I. I only missed on one fight, as I really liked the value associated with Julian Erosa. He did not stage the upset when it was all said and done, but he did go the distance and was part of quite arguably the most intense battle of the entire card.
UFC Preliminary Card Results
| Winner | Loser | Method of Victory | Round |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jared Gordon | Thiago Moises | Knockout | Round 1 |
| Yadier Del Valle | Connor Matthews | Submission | Round 1 |
| Luana Santos | Tainara Lisboa | Submission | Round 2 |
| Denise Gomes | Elise Reed | Knockout | Round 2 |
| HyungSong Park | Carlos Hernandez | Submission | Round 1 |
| Tecia Pennington | Luana Pinheiro | Decision | Round 3 |
I had a strong record with my UFC betting picks overall, but I definitely missed the mark when backing Thiago Moises to get the win. He was only a -115 favorite in a bout that was always going to be tough to call, but a first round KO defeat by the hands of Jared Gordon told us all we needed to know.
The Prelims were in a very real way more exciting than the main card. Fans and bettors alike enjoyed five fights ending via stoppage, with two by KO and three via tap outs.
Luckily, I was on the right side of most of these, as I went 4-3 overall during the Prelims. I tried targeting some value via upsets in Moises and Tainara Lisboa, but both fighters were finished early.
I was all over Gomes, who was a massive favorite and ended up having a severe upper hand over Elise Reed. I also really liked Park, who made the cut of my top four preferred picks of the weekend. My preferred picks went just 2-2, but across the board, you made out OK if you rolled with my favorite UFC FN bets.
Of course, some of these fights were more compelling than others. Let’s take a look at the top performers to rehash the best bouts from UFC Fight Night 256.
UFC Results: Performance Of The Night Bonuses
- Fight of the Night: Melquizael Costa vs. Julian Erosa
- Performance of the Night 1: Denise Gomes
- Performance of the Night 2: Michael Morales
Fight Of The Night
If you watched UFC Fight Night 256, you wouldn’t at all be surprised to learn that the bout between Melquizael and Julian Erosa took home Fight of the Night honors.
I pegged Erosa as an upset pick worth chasing, and while he failed to deliver, he was still his usually aggressive self and made Costa work for it.
Erosa did not win the first couple of rounds, but both of these guys kept the fight tight and made sure the fans got what they paid for. It led to a lot of damage for Erosa, which contributed to the Decision loss, but he still delivered some good shots and contributed to this weekend’s best bout.
Costa, meanwhile, lived up to the billing of being the favorite and upped his record to 24-7 (5-2 inside the UFC). I don’t think this is a bad loss for Erosa at all, either. He took on a lot of damage and still made it to the end, which isn’t nothing considering he was expected to lose.
Performance Of The Night
- Denise Gomes
- Michael Morales
Two of the biggest UFC FN favorites surpassed expectations. Both Gomes and Morales were big betting favorites, but sometimes you need to reward fighters when they flat out take care of business.
Gomes definitely did that, as she closed in on Elise Reed early and often, working her to the point where she simply could not defend herself. Gomes earned a convincing TKO, pushing her record to a solid 11-3 and reminding everyone of her star potential in the UFC.
As dominant as Gomes was, Morales really took the cake in terms of overpowering his opponent this past weekend. Gilbert Burns is 38 now and has been sliding, but even though Morales was a disgusting -950 favorite, I still don’t know if I expected to see what unfolded.
Regardless, Morales controlled this fight from the jump, patiently waiting for his opportunities to get at Burns. Burns was completely abused in this fight, getting dropped twice before Morales took it to him to the point of a TKO.
