UFC returned for a major pay-per-view event last night (Saturday, October 8, 2016). The card was headlined by a middleweight title bout between Michael Bisping and Dan Henderson. All in all, seven favorites won, while four upsets occurred. Here’s how everything played out based on the Several Bookmakers closing odds: Favorites That Won In the main event of the evening, UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping defended his title against Dan Henderson in a rematch. Henderson gave the hometown crowd a huge scare early, nearly finishing Bisping in the first round and dropping “The Count” in the second round as well before his pace slowed down drastically. Bisping was able outwork and outpace Henderson over the final four rounds and walked away with a hard-fought unanimous decision in what was Henderson’s final career fight. Bisping was a -250 (Bet $250 to win $100) favorite while Hendersen was +230. In a middleweight co-main event, Gegard Mousasi took Vitor Belfort’s best shot in the first round before opening up and putting the former champion away in the second. Mousasi hurt Belfort with a head kick then flurried against the fence before finishing “The Phenom” with heavy strikes on the ground. Mousasi was a -345 favorite while Belfort was +315 In a heavyweight battle, Stefan Struve utilized his superior ground game to take out Daniel Omielanczuk. Omielanczuk had a little bit of success on the feet, but Struve landed good knees on the inside and dominated him whenever the fight hit the floor, eventually finishing the fight with a D’Arce choke which Omielanczuk couldn’t roll out of. Struve won as a -185 favorite while Omielanczuk was a +170 underdog. In a featherweight mismatch, Mirsad Bektic absolutely smoked Russell Doane, outstriking the undersized short notice replacement before outwrestling him and then eventually submitting him via rear naked choke in the first round. Bektic was victorious as a -555 favorite while Doane was +470. In a bantamweight bout, Iuri Alcantara made quick work of Brad Pickett, hurting the Brit badly on the feet, then working for an armbar before transitioning to a triangle choke on the ground to force a tapout. Alcantara was victorious as a -145 favorite while Pickett lost at +135. In a lightweight fight, Marc Diakiese weathered the early storm from Lucasz Sajewski, surviving some bad positions on the ground to eventually overwhelm Sajewski and put him away with a barrage of unanswered blows along the fence at the end of the second round. Diakiese won as a -280 favorite while Sajewski was +255. In a welterweight battle, Mike Perry and Danny Roberts looked to continue their undefeated UFC streaks, but it was Perry who started strong and finished strong, winning the opening round with aggressive head-hunting punches and then despite getting tired, connecting with a knee and some big punches late in the third round to knock Roberts out cold. Perry was a -125 favorite while Roberts closed as a +115 dog. Underdogs That Won In a light heavyweight battle, Ovince St. Preux started strong against Jimi Manuwa with some heavy strikes and some solid grappling, but Manuwa survived, then poured it on in the second round. Manuwa connected with a heavy body shot, then a big right hand which dropped OSP before finishing him with a left hook to the temple. Manuwa was a slight +130 (Bet $100 to win $130) underdog while Saint Preux was -140. In another big upset, bantamweights Damian Stasiak and Davey Grant threw down in a battle of grapplers. Stasiak grabbed an early takedown and both men traded evenly no the feet, but Stasiak latched on an armbar later in the fight which forced Grant to tap out. Stasiak was a hefty +170 underdog while Grant lost despite being a +185 favorite. In a welterweight fight, Leon Edwards used his grappling to thwart Albert Tumenov and his heavy hands. Edwards scored takedowns in the first round but was fended off in the second. He again too the fight to the floor in the third and this time, he locked in a choke and forced Tumenov to tap out. Edwards was a +155 dog while Tumenov was a -165 favorite. In the opening bout of the evening, Leonardo Santos and Adriano Martins had a back-and-forth stand-up battle where Martins had control of the cage center but Santos did a nice job of using his length with straight punches, jabs and kicks from the outside. In the end, the judges sided with Santos via split decision. Santos was a +185 underdog while Martins was a -200 betting favorite.
