UFC 161 has come and gone, and an event that fans and media believed was poor on paper played out that way in the cage as it was top-to-bottom one of the least entertaining fights cards of the year so far. It was also a very difficult night from a gambling perspective, as a number of big favorites crashed while a few juicy underdogs surprised and won. Overall, five favorites won while five underdogs pulled through and one fight closed as a Pick ’em. Here’s a betting recap of UFC 161 based on the closing odds at Several Bookmakers: UFC 161 Betting Favorites That Won In the main event of the evening, Rashad Evans did enough on the feet and with his aggressiveness looking for takedowns as he won a split decision victory over Dan Henderson, the judges scoring the contest 29-29, 28-29 and 29-28 in favor of Evans. For my money Evans won the fight although Henderson certainly made things interesting as he was able to knock Evans down in the first round with a jab. Henderson wasn’t able to finish, however, and Evans’ superior cardio took over in the second and third as Henderson gassed and Evans pushed the pace. Evans closed as a -200 favorite (bet $200 to win $100), while the comeback on Henderson closed at +185 (bet $100 to win $185). In a light heavyweight bout, Ryan Jimmo was able to dominate Igor Pokrajac en route to a unanimous decision win in one of the most boring fights of 2013, with each of the judges scoring the fight 30-27 for the Canadian. Although Jimmo was able to get the takedowns and started to work his ground and pound, he never seemed liked he wanted to finish the fight and he admitted in his post-fight interview he fought conservative because he was coming off of a loss. Look to fade Jimmo in his next outing, but for this fight he cashed as a -310 favorite while Pokrajac was +280. In a women’s bantamweight contest, Alexis Davis was able to eek out a unanimous decision victory over Rosi Sexton, the judges scoring the contest 29-28, 29-27 and 29-28 in favor of the Canadian. Sexton made the fight very close with her never-give-up-attitude but she ultimately was too small for Davis, who controlled the majority of the second and third rounds after a brilliant start to the match by Sexton. Although Davis was though to be a potential challenger to Ronda Rousey, think again, but the -500 favorite cashed out tonight and Sexton +435 lost. In a bantamweight bout, Roland Delorme did just enough to stave off Edwin Figueroa and win a unanimous decision victory, all three judges scoring it for him 29-28. It was a very-good matchup and very competitive on both the feet and on the ground but ultimately Delorme’s control on that mat won him the fight. Delorme closed at -135, while Figueroa closed at +125. In the first fight of the night, Yves Jabouin defeated Dustin Pague via razor-thin split decision, the judges scoring it 29-28, 28-29 and 29-28 in favor of Jabouin. It was an excellent bout and both men looked for the finish at all times but most believed that Pague did enough to win the fight. Still, the judges sided with the Canadian and Jabouin cashed out at -340, while Pague was +310. UFC 161 Betting Underdogs That Won In a heavyweight bout, Stipe Miocic beat up Roy Nelson all over the Octagon over the course of three rounds to win a clear-cut 30-27 decision on all three judges’ scorecards. It was a brilliant performance by Miocic, who looks to be one of the top prospects at 265 pounds and he came through as a big dog to unseat the heavy-handed Nelson. Miocic cashed out at +245, while Nelson was -265. In a welterweight bout, Jake Shields defeated Tyron Woodley via split decision, the judges scoring it 27-30, 29-28 and 29-28 in his favor in one of the most horrible MMA matches in a long time. Neither guy did anything at all in the bout but ultimately the judges sided with Shields as he was at least delivering a number of strikes that added up and was least attempting to take Woodley down to the ground while Woodley just defended the takedowns and then did nothing else. Shields cashed at +190, while Woodley was -210. In a lightweight bout, James Krause came back to submit Sam Stout at 4:47 of round three in one of the most action-packed fights of the night. The fight was razor-thin and Krause didn’t want the judges to decide it so he grabbed a hold of Stout’s neck and didn’t let go in one of the most impressive UFC debuts in a long time. Krause cashed at +260, while Stout was a loser at -290. In a welterweight contest, Sean Pierson withstood Kenny Robertson to win a controversial majority decision, the judges scoring it 28-28, 29-28, and 29-28 in favor of Pierson. It was a competitive fight but for my money Robertson won the fight and I see it as a clear-cut Canadian home-cooking decision. Regardless, Pierson cashed as a +125 dog, while Robertson closed at -135. In a lightweight contest that was streamed on the Facebook prelims, Canadian Mitch Clarke looked much improved in defeating John Maguire via unanimous decision and cashing as a big-time dog. Clarke was far more active than Maguire and although Maguire did get his back at a few points he never did enough to win. Clarke cashed as a +230 dog, while Maguire was -250. And finally, in the only true Pick ’em fight of the evening, heavyweight Shawn Jordan knocked out Pat Barry with punches in only 59 seconds. I don’t know what to say about this fight other than that Jordan has very heavy hands and Barry is never to be trusted with anyone’s cash ever again. Jordan closed at -105 and Barry closed at -105 in a fight that could spell the end to Barry’s UFC career. Post-Fight Bonuses
- James Krause wins Submission of the Night cashed out at +1300
- James Krause vs. Sam Stout wins Fight of the Night cashed out at +600
- Shawn Jordan wins Knockout of the Night cashed out at +1600