UFC on ESPN 73 did not disappoint eager fans, delivering a fun night of action that featured high-octane matchups and an intense finish in the main event.

Brandon Royval felt like a solid bet to give Manel Kape some problems as a contrast to his style, but Kape’s vicious power was simply too much. It was the result the odds and some pundits predicted, but was still enthralling to see play out live.

Most of the UFC Vegas 112 card was fun, while this was the rare UFC event that actually got a Fight of the Night winner. Let’s see which fight got that honor, who else won individual performance bonuses, and what the UFC results from the latest card were.

Along the way, I’ll re-hash my UFC picks to let you know how we fared at predicting this past week’s fights.

UFC Main Card Results

Winner	Loser	Method of Victory	Round
Manel Kape	Brandon Royval	Knockout	Round 1
Kevin Vallejos	Giga Chikadze	Knockout	Round 2
Cezary Oleksiejczuk	Cesar Almeida	Decision	Round 3
Melquizael Costa	Morgan Charriere	Knockout	Round 1
Kennedy Nzechukwu	Marcus Almeida	Draw	Round 3

I suppose UFC ON ESPN 73 went as it should from a high level. Kape was a pretty big favorite to beat Royval due to his striking prowess, and that’s exactly how that fight played out. I rolled with Royval due to his grappling and submission skills – plus the appealing +215 price tag – but it wasn’t to be.

Elsewhere, Kevin Vallejos made good on his huge -285 betting odds. I saw that one coming a mile away (as did many, I reckon), but a nasty spinning elbow wasn’t on my bingo card. I don’t think it was on Giga Chikadze’s, either, seeing as the seasoned fighter had never been KO’d before.

I did mention how that was a distinct possibility, while Vallejos moved to 17-1 (3-0 in the UFC) and put everyone on notice.

Cesary Oleksiejczuk and Melquizael Costa both got wins (and made me look smart), as the former was too much for an aging Cesar Almeida in a Decision, while Costa dropped Morgan Charriere with an impressive head kick in the first round.

The bummer of the UFC on ESPN 73 main card was undeniably the Draw between Kennedy Nzechukwu and Marcus Almeida. It was nice to get an even match, but I was pulling for a Nzechukwu victory and felt he was a good bet to get back to his knockout ways.

Alas, my UFC picks were strong overall on the UFC Vegas 112 main card, going 3-1-1. The Kennedy pick is technically a push for me, while Royval was just a fun shot worth taking. Overall, if you rolled with my UFC on ESPN 73 picks on the main card, you came out ahead.

Remember, though, I’m just one voice for MMA betting picks. For more UFC betting advice and for data and information on all other sporting events, be sure to see what the best sports handicappers online have lined up.

UFC Preliminary Card Results

Winner	Loser	Method of Victory	Round
Manuel Torres	Grant Dawson	Knockout	Round 1
Chris Duncan	Terrance McKinney	Submission	Round 1
Maycee Barber	Karine Silva	Decision	Round 3
Fares Ziam	Nazim Sadykhov	Knockout	Round 2
Brunno Ferreira	Marvin Vettori	Decision	Round 3
Jalin Turner	Edson Barboza	Knockout	Round 1
Iwo Baraniewski	Ibo Aslan	Knockout	Round 1
Mansur Abdul-Malik	Antonio Trocoli	Submission	Round 1
Mairon Santos	Muhammadjon Naimov	Knockout	Round 3

Bobby Green’s fight was a late addition, so I didn’t get a pick in for it. I promise you I would have been on the King Green side, but either way, he understandably got the job done with a Decision win over Lance Gibson Jr.

My UFC on ESPN 73 Prelims picks were mostly spot on, though, as I was all over an Amosov win against professional gatekeeper Neil Magny. I mentioned inside the distance bets were the way to go due to his hefty -400 moneyline, and he obliged with a submission in round one.

Amosov didn’t win any fight bonuses, but he sure did impress against an experienced fighter in his UFC debut. That was one of just three finishes in the Prelims, with Steven Asplund KO-ing Sean Sharaf in an epic heavyweight clash (more on that in a bit).

The other was a shocker, as Jamey-Lyn Horth’s power was ultimately too much for Tereza Bleda. I had Bleda pulling this one out, but Horth was super aggressive and all over her from the jump. 

I whiffed on that one, but did hit on Brito getting the win, as well as Santos, Frye, and Amosov. Overall, the Prelims were kind to us, as my picks went 5-1 in this pack of fights.

UFC Results: Performance Of The Night Bonuses

• Fight of the Night: Steven Asplund vs. Sean Sharaf
• Performance of the Night: Kevin Vallejos
• Performance of the Night: Manel Kape

Fight Of The Night

The Fight of the Night ended up going to Asplund and Sharaf, where Asplund won via TKO in the second round. He may have come away with the victory, but Sharaf did make him work for it initially.

Aspolund opened with some major damage in the first round, before Sharaf fought back initially in the second round.

Along the way, however, Asplund broke the UFC striking record for a debut, landing 170 significant strikes. The beating was so bad that it was a standing stoppage, but credit to Sharaf for hanging in there and trading the best he could.

Performance Of The Night

The best performance of UFC on ESPN 73 is a close call, as Kevin Vallejos delivered a nasty spinning elbow to finish off a guy who to this point had never been knocked out.

As great as that KO was, though, Manel Kape lived up to the billing of a -255 favorite and challenged himself against a really good submission artist in Brandon Royval. The latter is a decent striker with nice countering ability in his own right, so there was serious risk for Kape if his strikes were landing.

Ultimately, Kape was in full control and destroyed Royval, and devastated him with one punch before pressing to the point of stoppage. This win not only was impressive due to the solid opponent, but it was also simply dominant. It also furthered Kape’s argument for a potential title shot not too far down the road.hung in there and traded with Aslan before finally sending him to the mat and finishing him off.