UFC Fight Night 59 took place Saturday night at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts, and overall it was a decent card that provided a few highlights, including a nice main event to cap off the evening. Overall from a betting perspective, 10 betting favorites won while two underdogs won based on the closing odds at Several Bookmakers. Here’s a quick recap for each fight. Favorites That Won In the main event, Conor McGregor defeated Dennis Siver via second-round TKO (punches). This fight went exactly how everyone expected, as McGregor was just too powerful for the chinny Siver, and he eventually found the finish in the second round. McGregor cashed at -975 (bet $975 to win $100) while Siver lost at +775 (bet $100 to win $775). In a middleweight bout, Uriah Hall defeated Ron Stallings via first-round TKO (doctor stoppage). Stallings looked good early on but Hall caught him with a huge punch that dropped him and he followed up with ground and pound to get his second knockout win in the UFC when the doctor stopped the fight due to a cut. Hall was -1000, Stallings +800. In a lightweight bout, Gleison Tibau defeated Norman Parke via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28). This was a very close fight that could have gone either way but ultimately the judges sided with the veteran Tibau to get the win. Tibau was -150, Parke +140. In a welterweight bout, Lorenz Larkin defeated John Howard via first-round TKO (punches). Larkin hurt Howard badly with strikes and was able to keep landing follow-up punches until the referee stopped the bout. Larkin was -178 and Howard +167. In a lightweight bout, Chris Wade defeated Zhang Lipeng via unanimous decision (30-26 x 3). This was a gritty battle between two strong grapplers but Wade was just a little better in the wrestling department and he did what he needed to do to grind out the win. Lipeng was also deducted a point for repeated groin strikes. Wade was -605, Zhang +505. In a flyweight bout, Patrick Holohan defeated Shane Howell via unanimous decision (30-27 x 3). Holohan took Howell down to the ground in every round and achieved numerous dominant positions, had a number of submission attempts, and landed some nice ground and pound, but Howell showed good toughness and was able to survive the full 15 minutes. Holohan was -345, Howell was +315. In a lightweight bout, Johnny Case defeated Frankie Perez via third-round TKO (punches). Case controlled the fight with his wrestling and mixed in some nice ground and pound to beat Perez up for the first two rounds and in the third achieved a dominant position on the ground and rained down punches until the ref was forced to stop the contest. Case was -165 and Perez was +155. In a featherweight bout, Charles Rosa defeated Sean Soriano via third-round submission (D’arce choke). This was a closely contested fight for the first two rounds but Soriano got very tired in the third and Rosa took advantage of it by taking the fight to the ground and getting the submission late in the fight, although the tapout was somewhat controversial. Rosa cashed as a -125 favorite while Soriano lost as a +115 underdog. In a light heavyweight bout, Sean O’Connell defeated Matt Van Buren via third-round TKO (punches). O’Connell pushed forward the entire bout and showed a good chin in eating a number of Van Buren’s strikes, and when Van Buren got tired in the third O’Connell was able to exploit it and connect on Van Buren’s chin for a brutal knockout finish. He cashed at while Van Buren lost at. O’Connell was -235 while Van Buren was +215. In a flyweight bout, Joby Sanchez defeated Tateki Matsuda via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 30-27). Sanchez dropped Matsuda early in round one but Matsuda survived and made it a fight, stealing the second with more effective striking. But Sanchez made up for it in the third by hurting Matsuda again and doing enough to win a decision on two of three judges’ scorecards for a split nod. Sanchez cashed at while Matsuda lost at. Sanchez was -230 and Matsuda was +210. Underdogs That Won In a lightweight bout, Donald Cerrone defeated Benson Henderson via unanimous decision (29-28 x3). Henderson and Cerrone went back-and-forth for three rounds and the decision realistically could have went to either fighter, but Cerrone took a close one to win his seven-straight fight. Cerrone was +125 and Henderson was -135. In a welterweight bout, Cathal Pendred deafeated Sean Spencer via unanimous decision (29-29, 30-27 x 2). Spencer was the more effective striker in this fight and stuffed most of Pendred’s takedowns and should have won the decision but the judges robbed him and gave the nod to Pendred. Pendred was +160 and Spencer was -170.
