UFC Fight Night 85 took place last night (Saturday, March 19, 2016) at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre in Brisbane, Australia, and was headlined by a heavyweight bout between Frank Mir and Mark Hunt. Overall from a betting perspective, six favorites won while five underdogs came through and there was one pick’em fight according to the closing odds at Several Bookmakers. Here’s a quick recap for each fight. Favorites That Won In the main event of the evening, heavyweight Mark Hunt did what Mark Hunt does best, scoring a first round walk-off knockout over former champion Frank Mir. Hunt connected with a big right hand three minutes into the round and the referee felt Mir was unable to continue, stepping in and stopping the action. Hunt was victorious as a -145 (Bet $145 to win $100) favorite while Mir stumbled as a +135 (bet $100 to win $135) underdog. In a welterweight bout, Neil Magny weathered the early storm from Hector Lombard to win an incredible third round TKO. Lombard nearly finished the fight multiple times in the first round, and dropped Magny in the second as well, but he was completely spent afterwards. Magny came back to dominate the second round from top position and likely should have earned a TKO then, but the referee allowed Lombard to survive to the third, where he was quickly put away. Magny held serve as a slight -115 betting favorite while Lombard was +105. In a welterweight showdown, Alan Jouban massacred Brendan O’Reilly with a series of vicious elbows against the fence, hurting the Australian and then finishing him with a few follow-up blows on the ground. Jouban came through as a massive -500 favorite while O’Reilly was +435. In a featherweight scrap, Daniel Hooker made quick work of Mark Eddiva. Hooker latched onto Eddiva’s neck during a standing clinch, eventually dragging Eddiva to the floor where he tapped him out via first round guillotine choke. Hooker was -160 while Eddiva was a +150 underdog. In a women’s bantamweight contest, Leslie smith utilized her length and superior striking to keep Rin Nakai at bay. Nakai was giving up a ton of height and reach, so her only way to win was with takedowns. She put Smith in a few perilous positions in the second and third rounds but it wasn’t enough as Smith won a unanimous decision. Smith was victorious as a -125 favorite while Nakai was +115. In the opening bout of the evening, lightweight Alan Patrick utilized superior wrestling to win a decision against short notice replacement Damien Brown. Brown was game and threw up submission after submission, but wasn’t able to seriously threaten with anything. Patrick closed as a -290 betting favorite while Brown was +260. Underdogs That Won In a lightweight bout, Jake Matthews cemented his status as a top prospect by ending Johnny Case’s 12-fight winning streak. Case and Matthews traded strikes for most of the first two rounds, and while Case seemed more easy-going and loose on the feet, it was Matthews who was landing the heavier blows, especially some gnarly left body kicks which seemed to leave a mark. Case began to slow in the third round and Matthews pounced, attacking with a rear naked choke late in the fight to earn the tapout. Matthews won at +110 while Case was defeated at -120. In the biggest upset of the evening, middleweight Daniel Kelly survived a huge first round scare against Antonio Carlos Junior, who was on his back for nearly the first five minutes. Carlos Junior slowed down after the first frame, allowing Kelly to hold his own in the second round and Kelly took over in the third, unloading on Carlos Junior with a flurry of big ground strikes as the Brazilian faded down the stretch to pick up a shocking TKO victory on his home turf. Kelly was the winner despite being a huge +410 underdog while Carlos Junior lost as a -460 favorite. In a light heavyweight bout, James Te Huna poorly chose to stand and trade with former hockey enforcer Steve Bosse, eating a pair of big shots and getting put down violently via first round knockout. Bosse earned his first UFC victory as a +225 underdog while Te Huna was a -245 betting favorite. In a middleweight fight, Viscardi Andrade won a ho-hum decision over local favorite Richard Walsh. Walsh was the aggressor, but gave up too many takedowns to the Brazilian en route to losing the bout on the judges’ scorecards. Andrade was +110 while Walsh was -120. In the lightweight division, Chad Laprise and Ross Pearson had an extremely competitive and exciting affair over the course of three rounds. Laprise worked a solid jab but Pearson connected with heavy leg kicks and while Laprise took the third round, it wasn’t enough as Pearson won via split decision. Pearson was a slight +100 underdog while Laprise closed as a -110 favorite. Pick ’em Fights In a women’s strawweight fight, Because Rawlings and Seo Hee Ham put on a very entertaining display of striking, but it was Rawlings who landed the heavier and cleaner shots in the first two rounds to pick up a decision victory. Both Ham and Rawlings were -105.
