Someone placed a $1 million bet on Saturday for Amanda Nunes to win her UFC 250 bout against Felicia Spencer. Both the bet and the match set records, as Nunes successfully defended her featherweight title.
The million dollar bet was recorded at a William Hill Sportsbook in Las Vegas. Nunes, the featherweight champion, was favored going into UFC 250. At the time of the bet, the odds for Amanda Nunes -600. The Nevada bettor made a $166,666,70 profit from the wager when Nunes won her bout by unanimous decision. After the bet, William Hill moved the odds to Nunes -650.
Bet and Nunes Victory Set Records
The million dollar wager on Nunes set a record. It was the largest recorded wager on MMA in William Hill’s history. It was also was a nice way to celebrate the reopening of Las Vegas sportsbooks. While there had already been four UFC events held since the sport’s post-pandemic return, it was the first one to be held since the reopening of Las Vegas casinos.
The bet wasn’t the only record set, however. By winning her 11th-straight bout, Brazil’s Nunes claims the longest winning streak by a female fighter in UFC history. The longest UFC winning streak is 16, held by another Brazilian, Anderson Silva.
Amanda Nunes holds two championship titles, bantamweight and featherweight. She is one of only four UFC fighters to hold two titles simultaneous. On Saturday, she become the only UFC fighter to successfully defend two titles.
Spencer Goes the Distance, Dodges the KO
While Nunes’ win was decisive, it was not the finish some had predicted. In Nunes’ prior 19 professional victories, 13 were knockouts and 3 were by submission. A popular prop bet for UFC 250 was Nunes by KO, going off at -182.
So, while Spencer was almost never in it to win it, she gets credit for going the distance against Nunes. The decision finish surprised some, but it didn’t surprise Nunes. “I’m not surprised, I know she’s very tough,” Nunes said. “I said in all my interviews, I know what she’s capable of. I studied her and know she’s tough.”
When asked about the record bet made in her behalf, Nunes said it was “awesome.” She said, “Now he’s very happy. He’ll probably, like, go and drink something. He should ask me to go with him.”
Meanwhile, the other big favorite on Saturday’s card was Sean O’Malley (-500), who KO’d Eddie Wineland in the first round.
UFC 250 Results
Amanda Nunes def. Felicia Spencer UD
Cody Garbrandt def. Raphael Assuncao KO (2nd)
Aljamain Sterling def. Cory Sandhagen Submission (1st)
Neil Magny def. Anthony Rocco Martin UD
Sean O’Malley def. Eddie Wineland KO (1st)
Alex Caceres def. Chase Hooper UD
Ian Heinisch def. Geald Meerschaert TKO (1st)
Cody Stamann def. Brian Kelleher UD
Maki Pitolo def. Charles Byrd TKO (2nd)
Alex Perez def. Jussier Formiga TKO (1st)
Devin Clark def. Alonzo Menifield UD
Herbert Burns def. Evan Dunham Submission (1st)
