UFC Fight Night 61 took place at Ginásio Gigantinho in Porto Alegre, Brazil, and overall it was a very solid card that featured the best night for underdogs in UFC history. Overall from a betting perspective, only one betting favorite won while 10 underdogs won based on the closing odds at Several Bookmakers. Here’s a quick recap for each fight. Underdogs That Won In the main event, former UFC Heavyweight Champion Frank Mir ended his four-fight losing streak in emphatic fashion, knocking out Antonio Silva in the first round. Mir dropped Silva on the feet and proceeded to land huge punches on the ground until the referee intervened. While at one point he was a near +300 underdog, Mir closed at +145 while Silva lost as a -155 favorite. In the co-main event of the evening, Michael Johnson pulled off the upset with a split decision victory over Edson Barboza. Johnson kept a relentless pace, pressuring Barboza constantly and keeping the Brazilian on his heels which left him unable to land his devastating kicking offense. Johnson also managed to land in top position twice during wrestling scrambles to win a (29-28, 28-29, 29-28) decision with the judges. Johnson scored the biggest win of his career as a +125 underdog while Barboza lost his momentum as a -135 betting favorite. Middleweights Cezar Ferreira and Sam Alvey squared off in the third from last fight of the evening. Alvey seemed to be biding his time, eating a variety of kicks from the TUF Brazil season one winner, but after lulling Ferreira into a false sense of security, he exploded forwards with a vicious combination that sent the Brazilian crashing to the canvas. After some unnecessary follow-up shots, the referee intervened, granting Alvey a first round TKO victory. Ferreira was finished as a -335 favorite while Alvey was a big winner as a +295 underdog. In lightweight action, Adriano Martins won a dull affair in his bout against Russian Rustam Khabilov. Neither fighter seemed eager to engage, but it was surprisingly Martins who secured a pair of takedowns in the first and third rounds to walk away with a decision victory. Martins was victorious as a +340 underdog while Khabilov failed to deliver as a -380 betting favorite. The biggest upset of the night was in the bantamweight contest between Frankie Saenz and Iuri Alcantara. Alcantara could not get much going in the opening round and Saenz turned up the heat with his wrestling, taking Alcantara down and controlling the Brazilian in the clinch en route to securing a unanimous decision victory. Overall, Saenz cashed as a huge +725 underdog while Alcantara disappointed as a -925 favorite. Welterweights Santiago Ponzinibbio and Sean Strickland kicked off the main card with a thrilling back-and-forth battle that lasted all three rounds. Strickland seemed the more technical striker while Ponzinibbio was the more aggressive of the two, throwing huge bombs and swarming the American whenever he felt he connected with something solid. Strickland was unable to get his ground game going and in the end, it was Ponzinibbio who walked away with a unanimous decision victory. In the main event of the preliminary card in the women’s bantamweight division, Marion Reneau defeated Jessica Andrade via first round submission (triangle choke). Reneau cracked Andrade with a big 1-2 combination before getting dropped herself, but Andrade was reckless and dove right into a triangle choke. After adjusting the hold, Reneau put the pressure on the Brazilian and forced her to tap out. Renau cashed as a +248 underdog (bet $100 to win $248) while Andrade lost at -270 (bet $270 to win $100). In a welterweight bout, Matt Dwyer shocked the hometown Brazilian crowd when he knocked out The Ultimate Fighter Brazil 2 finalist William Macario in the first round. Macario was having trouble dealing with Dwyer’s long frame, and then proceeded to eat a huge superman punch to the temple, which sent him stumbling to the ground where the ref stopped it after about four unnecessary extra blows. Dwyer won at +365 while Macario lost at -410. In a featherweight bout, Mike de la Torre defeated Tiago Trator via first round TKO. Trator tried to keep de la Torre pressed against the fence but the American capitalized when in open space, landing the more damaging blows when both men traded in the pocket. De la Torre eventually cracked Trator with a big left hook which dropped him and he proceeded to finish the Brazilian with repeated heavy shots on the canvas. De la Torre won at +205 while Trator lost at -225. In the second bout of the evening, Douglas Silva de Andrade made his UFC bantamweight debut against American Cody Gibson. After a close first round where de Andrade was opened up with a cut on his cheek, the Brazilian responded by dropping Gibson in a strong second round. Andrade would hold on in a close third frame and would win a unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28×2) on the judges’ scorecards. De Andrade was victorious despite some long odds, closing as the underdog at +225 while Gibson failed to deliver as a -245 favorite. Favorites That Won Crazy enough, only one favorite was victorious. In the opening bout of the evening at lightweight, Ivan Jorge outworked Josh Shockley to earn a unanimous decision. Jorge almost finished the fight in the first round with an arm triangle choke, but Shockley survived and managed to outstrike the Brazilian in the second frame. A late takedown in the final minute likely sealed the decision for Jorge as Shockley faded in the third round. Jorge won at -260 while Shockley lost at +240.
