UFC returned for a televised event last night (Saturday, December 10th, 2016). The card was headlined by an interim featherweight title bout between Max Holloway and Anthony Pettis. All in all, seven favorites won, while six 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, Michelle Waterson earned the biggest victory of her career, taking Paige VanZant to the ground, taking her back and sinking in a rear naked choke. VanZant fought off the choke for nearly a minute but then went out cold, giving Waterson the victory via technical submission. Waterson was victorious as a -110 (Bet $110 to win $100) betting favorite while VanZant lost as a +100 underdog. In a welterweight co-main event, Mickey Gall utilized his superior ground game to dominate Sage Northcutt in round one, and just when it looked like Northcutt was turning the tide in round two, Gall dropped him, took his back and finished him with a rear naked choke. Gall was victorious as a -155 favorite while Northcutt lost at +145. In a sentimental bantamweight fight, Urijah Faber had a great retirement party against Brad Pickett. Faber dropped Pickett in the first round and utilized his superior wrestling to dominate most of the fight en route to winning every round and the decision. Faber came through as a -325 favorite while Pickett lost at +295. In a welterweight scrap, Colby Covington put a beating on Bryan Barberena from bell to bell, landing 11 takedowns and also scoring some impressive strikes during stand-up exchanges en route to earning a one-sided tireless decision victory. Covington proved his massive -340 favorite odds to be true while Barberena closed at +310. In a lightweight contest, Josh Emmett overcame getting hurt early against Scott Holtzman to power back into the fight and win the final two rounds and earn a unanimous decision. Emmett picked up the win as a -190 favorite while Holtzman lost as a +175 underdog. In a bantamweight bout, Eddie Wineland continued his recent resurgence by not just taking the fight to veteran Takeya Mizugaki, but also putting Mizugaki away via first round TKO. Wineland was victorious as a -165 favorite while Mizugaki lost at +155. In a flyweight fight, Hector Sandoval showcased a significant striking advantage over Fredy Serrano, easily outworking Serrano on the feet while avoiding being put on his back repeatedly by the wrestler to win a decision. Sandoval won as a -120 favorite while Serrano was +110. Underdogs That Won In a welterweight bout, Alan Jouban utilized a perfect gameplan against Mike Perry, landing body kicks from distance and utilizing straight jabs and left hands, scoring knockdowns in both the first and second rounds as Perry’s output dropped considerably by the third round. Jouban easily took a unanimous decision when it was all said and done. Jouban pulled off the win as a +130 (Bet $100 to win $130) underdog while Perry was -140. In a light heavyweight battle, Paul Craig pulled off a shocker against Henrique da Silva, landing good strikes on the feet and working over da Silva on the ground before scoring an armbar finish in the second round. Craig was a +200 dog while da Silva was -220. In a featherweight scrap, Mizuto Hirota survived an early knockdown against Cole Miller and managed to secure repeated takedowns while avoiding Miller’s vaunted ground game en route to earning a unanimous decision victory. Hirota was a slight +100 underdog while Miller was -110. In a welterweight fight, James Moontasri started strong with heavy kicks and straight punches from distance, but he faded down the stretch and allowed Alex Morono to completely take over the fight in the final half, easily allowing Morono to win the final two rounds and the decision. Morono was +120 while Moontasri was a -130 favorite. In a women’s bantamweight contest, Leslie Smith pulled off a shocker against hyped UFC newcomer Irene Aldana. Smith dropped Aldana in the first round and was able to continue pushing a high pace over the course of three rounds to win a unanimous upset decision. Smith was a +265 underdog while Aldana was -295. In the opening bout of the evening, welterweights Bojan Velickovic and Sultan Aliev threw down. Velickovic got the better of the stand-up exchanges, but Aliev scored a takedown each round and spent a majority of both the second and third rounds in top position, even if he didn’t do too much from the spot. When it was all said and done, the judges sided with Aliev via split decision. Aliev was a +145 underdog while Velickovic was -155.
