UFC returned for a free event today (Saturday, November 12th, 2016). The card was headlined by a light heavyweight bout between Ryan Bader and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira. All in all, seven favorites won, while five upsets occurred. Here’s how everything played out based on the Several Bookmakers closing odds: Favorites That Won In a light heavyweight main event, Ryan Bader completely dominated Antonio Rogerio Nogueira en route to scoring a third round TKO victory. Nogueira landed some big shots in the first minute but Bader utilized his superior wrestling to control Nogueira and land big shots on the ground which set up a finish. Mousasi redeemed himself as a heavy -530 favorite (Bet $530 to win $100) while Hall closed as a +455 underdog. In a bantamweight co-main event, Thomas Almeida showcased some technical improvements against Albert Morales, patiently finding his openings and unloading serious punishment en route to scoring a second round TKO victory. Almeida was -290 favorite while Morales was +260. In a strawweight fight, Claudia Gadelha beat up Cortney Casey both standing and on the ground over three rounds to easily win a unanimous decision. The only scare came when Gadelha seemingly landed a soccer kick in the third round, but replays showed the blow was either glancing or missed completely. Gadelha was a hefty -435 favorite while Casey was +385. In a welterweight battle, Kamaru Usman showcased his stand-up skills against Warlley Alves, taking advantage of Alves’ poor conditioning in the final two rounds to really lay a beatdown on the Brazilian en route to winning a unanimous decision. Usman was victorious as a -200 favorite while Alves was +185. In a welterweight bout, Zak Ottow and Sergio Moraes had a competitive fight over three rounds. Many felt Ottow had done enough to win but Moraes picked up the split decision victory on the judges’ scorecards. Moraes was victorious as a -145 favorite while Ottow lost at +135. In a bantamweight fight, Johnny Eduardo stuffed Manny Gamburyan’s takedowns and then stiffened his opponent with some jabs and straight punches to set up a TKO finish. Gamburyan subsequently retired after the defeat. Eduardo won as a -135 favorite while Gamburyan was +125. In a heavyweight bout, Luis Henrique dominated Christian Colombo, scoring takedowns and eventually finishing the bout with a guillotine choke in round three. Henrique was a -280 favorite while Colombo closed as a +255 dog. Underdogs That Won In a middleweight bout, Krzysztof Jotko beat Thales Leites both standing and on the ground, landing heavy shots on the feet and securing top position on the canvas as Leites faded to easily win a decision, the biggest win of his career. Jotko was a slight +120 (Bet $100 to win $120) underdog while Leites was -130. In a middleweight scrap, Cezar Ferreira held his own in the stand-up against Jack Hermansson in the first round before going to his bread and butter on the ground in the second frame to set up an arm triangle finish. Ferreira was a +115 underdog while Hermansson was -125. In a light heavyweight contest, Marcos Rogerio de Lima was no match for Gadzhimurad Antigulov’s submission game, eventually getting caught with a guillotine just over a minute into the first round. Antigulov was a +150 underdog while de Lima lost despite being a -160 favorite. In a bantamweight fight, Justin Scoggins seemed to be having his way with Pedro Munhoz, landing the superior strikes and gaining top position on the ground, but Scoggins slipped on a kick and ended up getting tapped out via guillotine choke in the ensuing scramble. Munhoz was a +140 dog while Scoggins was a -150 favorite. In the opening bout of the evening, light heavyweights Darren Stewart and Francimar Barroso clashed briefly. Stewart landed an accidental headbutt which went unnoticed by the referee and appeared to hurt Barroso’s orbital badly, which set up a finish in the first round. The bout result could be overturned, but the initial ruling was a TKO win for Stewart. Stewart was a +140 underdog while Barroso was a -150 betting favorite.
