UFC Fight Night 129 took place Saturday night in Santiago, Chile. It was a very solid card overall, with a number of highlight-reel finishes on the main card and solid performances on the prelims. Overall from a betting perspective, nine betting favorites won while three underdogs won and there was one pick ’em fight based on the closing odds at Several Bookmakers.
Here’s a quick recap for each fight.
Betting favorites that won
In the main event, Kamaru Usman survived a pair of broken hands and a rough opening round to outwork veteran late replacement Demian Maia and win a unanimous decision. Usman was a -525 betting favorite and Maia was +425.
In the co-main event, Tatiana Suarez overpowered Alexa Grasso, eventually securing a first round rear naked choke to keep her undefeated record intact. Suarez was a -600 favorite with the comeback on Grasso +450.
In a light heavyweight bout, Dominick Reyes cemented himself as a top 15 205-pounder by finishing Jared Cannonier with a violent flurry of strikes, eventually faceplanting him in the first round. Reyes was a -210 favorite while Cannonier was +180.
Andrea Lee had her hands full with Veronica Macedo, but she was able to secure multiple clinch takedowns en route to winning a unanimous decision in her UFC debut. Lee was a -340 favorite while Macedo was a +280 dog.
Vicente Luque clocked Chad Laprise with a beautiful straight punch, knocking the Canadian down and then finishing him on the ground in the first round. Luque was a -235 betting favorite while Laprise was +195.
In a women’s strawweight contest, Pauliana Botelho proved far too powerful and accurate for Syuri Kondo, landing some heavy blows and eventually finishing Kondo along the fence in the first round via TKO. Botelho was a -180 favorite while Kondo was +158.
In a featherweight fight, Gabriel Benitez escaped a perilous armbar situation against Humberto Bandenay by slamming Bandenay to the canvas and finishing him via knockout. Benitez was a -160 betting favorite and Bandenay was +140.
In a featherweight contest, Enrique Barzola outworked Brandon Davis over the course of three rounds, easily winning a unanimous decision. Barzola was a -235 favorite while Davis was +195.
In a bantamweight fight, Frankie Saenz secured a dominant victory, winning all three rounds handily against Henry Briones. Saenz was a -335 favorite while Briones was +275.
Betting underdogs that won
Guido Cannetti overcame a younger, more powerful and most importantly, the lone Chilean fighter on the card in Diego Rivas, securing two out of three rounds to win a unanimous decision. Canetti was a +150 underdog while Rivas was -175.
Michel Prezeres was able to scrape by in a lackluster contest against Zak Cummings to earn a split decision victory. Prezeres was a +165 underdog while Cummings was -190.
In a lightweight bout, Claudio Puelles pulled off a miracle comeback against Felipe Silva after getting beaten on for two rounds, he was able to secure a kneebar in the third round to force a come-from-behind submission victory. Puelles was a +250 underdog while Silva was -305.
Pick’em Fights
In a flyweight rematch from The Ultimate Fighter, history repeated itself as Alexandre Pantoja was the better fighter, winning a convincing decision against Brandon Moreno. Both fighters closed at pick ’em -110.
