Someone bet on Jorge Masvidal to continue his run at UFC 251 – and lost $200K

Just after the start of the UFC 251 main card Saturday night, the William Hill sportsbook announced a hefty wager on the main event.

A Las Vegas bettor, the book announced, dropped $200,000 on Jorge Masvidal to beat welterweight champion Kamaru Usman at Yas Island in Abu Dhabi. Masvidal came into the title shot with Usman on a three-fight winning streak in 2019 that turned him into one of MMA’s most popular draws.

But by and large, Usman (17-1 MMA, 12-0 UFC) dominated Masvidal (35-14 MMA, 12-7 UFC) for the bulk of the fight with a clinch-heavy and grinding style and won a unanimous decision to defend his belt for the second time.

The $200,000 bet on Masvidal came with him as a +230 underdog. That means had he won in an upset, the bettor would’ve pocketed a total payout of $660,000 for a $460,000 profit. Instead, the bettor essentially spent the better part of five rounds hoping for a Masvidal Hail Mary to rescue his big bet.

William Hill said in a release that the price on Masvidal dropped from +230 to +220 after the big bet on him. Usman was a -260 favorite, which meant a $100 bet on him would’ve paid out a profit of a little more than $38. The bet on Masvidal was the largest the book took on him ahead of the event.

Masvidal wasn’t supposed to fight Usman for the title. It was supposed to be Gilbert Burns until Burns tested positive for COVID-19. The UFC scrambled to work out a deal with Masvidal, then got him tested and on a plane for Abu Dhabi with less than a week to spare. The short-notice nature meant Masvidal hadn’t been training for Usman, and also had to cut to the welterweight title limit with little time compared to normal – and while traveling internationally during a pandemic.

Masvidal’s 2019 made him most analysts’ “Fighter of the Year.” He knocked out Darren Till in Till’s home country of England in March. In July, he knocked out the previously unbeaten Ben Askren in 5 seconds to set a new UFC record for fastest knockout. And in November, he got a doctor’s stoppage TKO of Nate Diaz in a fight for the “BMF” belt, a one-time honor created specifically for that fight.

But in recent weeks, Masvidal had been critical of the UFC and president Dana White over his pay, and it took desperation mode to get the two sides to the table to figure something out to keep the welterweight title in the main event at UFC 251.

For his part, Usman, the Season 21 winner of “The Ultimate Fighter,” won for the 16th straight time and moved to a perfect 12-0 in the UFC, which tied Georges St-Pierre’s record for the longest welterweight winning streak in the UFC.