UFC returned for a pay-per-view event last night (Saturday, November 12th, 2016). The card was headlined by a lightweight title bout between Eddie Alvarez and Conor McGregor. All in all, eight favorites won, while five 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, Conor McGregor battled Eddie Alvarez for the UFC lightweight title. McGregor connected with his left hands early and often. dropping Alvarez twice in the first round. He rocked Alvarez early in the second before unloading with a combination which put the champ away. McGregor dominated as a -152 favorite (Bet $152 to win $100) while Magomedov closed as a +142 underdog. In a women’s strawweight title fight, Joanna Jedrzejczyk outworked Karolina Kowalkiewicz over the course of five rounds to win a unanimous decision. Kowalkiewicz made things interesting by hurting Jedrzejczyk in the fourth round and creating some serious swelling on Jedrzejczyk’s face, but it wasn’t enough. Jedrzejczyk was a hefty -380 favorite while Kowalkiewicz was +340. In a featherweight bout, Frankie Edgar outpaced and outgrappled Jeremy Stephens to win a unanimous decision. Stephens rocked Edgar with a head kick in the second round, but couldn’t put him away and wound up losing. Edgar was victorious as a -310 favorite while Nicholson lost at +280. In a lightweight fight, Khabib Nurmagomedov did what he does best against Michael Johnson, and that’s wrestle and ground and pound. Nurmagomedov battered Johnson on the ground for nearly three rounds before finishing Johnson with a Kimura late in the third. Nurmagomedov won as a -330 favorite while Johnson was +300. In the opening bout of the FS1 Prelims, welterweight Vicente Luque absolutely brutalized Belal Muhammad with a vicious first round knockout. Luque connected and never allowed Muhammad to recover. Luque was a -120 favorite while Muhammad closed as a +110 dog. Underdogs That Won In a middleweight battle, Yoel Romero stepped up and connected with a vicious jumping knee early in the third round to put away Chris Weidman. The rounds were even one apiece beforehand, but Romero removed all doubt and earned a title shot emphatically. Romero was a +190 underdog (Bet $100 to win $190) while Weidman lost as a -210 favorite. In a women’s bantamweight contest, Raquel Pennington utilized superior striking ability as well as some impressive takedown defense and overall grappling to pull off an upset against former champion Miesha Tate. Pennington was a +124 underdog while Tate lost as a -134 favorite. In a middleweight fight, Tim Boetsch looked better than ever against Rafael Natal. Boetsch landed some big shots early, then blasted Natal along the fence, putting him out cold with some follow-up strikes. Boetsch was a +130 underdog while Natal lost despite being a -140 favorite. In a catchweight fight, Jim Miller punished Thiago Alves for missing the lightweight limit with a series of takedowns and aggressive strikes, surviving some nasty kicks en route to winning a unanimous decision. Miller was a +140 dog while Alves was a -150 favorite. In a women’s bantamweight fight, Liz Carmouche utilized her strength and grappling to control Katlyn Chookagian for the first two rounds. Chookagian nearly finished the fight with a head kick in the third round but couldn’t do enough as Carmouche held on for a decision. Carmouche was a +150 underdog while Chookagian was a -130 betting favorite. Draws In the co-main event of the evening, Stephen Thompson and Tyron Woodley battled in an extremely entertaining welterweight title bout. Woodley scored an early takedown, but Thompson took over with his striking in the second and third rounds. With the fight seemingly locked up, Woodley hammered Thompson in the fourth round, nearly finishing the fight on three separate occasions. Woodley punched himself out and allowed Thompson to dominate the fifth round. In the end, the fight was ruled a majority draw (47-47, 47-47, 48-47) and Woodley retained his title. Thompson closed as the -175 favorite while Woodley was a +165 dog.
