UFC 174 took place tonight (June 14, 2014) at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, B.C., and overall the card was mediocre as it featured a number of main card fights that went the distance and weren’t exciting to watch, although the prelims were much better than expected. Overall, five favorites won while five underdogs cashed and one fight closed as a Pick ’em. Here’s a betting recap for UFC 174 based on the closing results at Several Bookmakers. Favorites That Won In the main event of the evening, Demetrious Johnson defeated Ali Bagautinov via unanimous decision (50-45 x 3) to once again the UFC flyweight championship. Johnson used his Thai clinch to control Bagautinov and knee him to the face and body for 25 minutes to win a clear-cut decision. Johnson cashed as a -660 favorite (bet $660 to win $100) while Bagautinov was a +540 underdog (bet $100 to win $540). In a welterweight bout, Rory MacDonald defeated Tyron Woodley via unanimous decision (30-27 x 3). MacDonald picked apart Woodley from the outside for 15 minutes and clearly won the fight. MacDonald closed as a -115 favorite while Woodley was a +105 dog. In a light heavyweight match, Ryan Bader defeated Rafael Cavalcante via unanimous decision (30-27 x 3). Bader was able to take down Cavalcante at will and beat him up on the ground en route to a win on the judges’ scorecards. Feijao was +155 while Bader was -165. In a light heavyweight bout, Ovince St-Preux defeated Ryan Jimmo via second-round submission (verbal tapout due to injury). OSP was able to take down Jimmo and at some point in the second round Jimmo hurt himself on the ground and the fight was stopped due to a verbal submission. OSP was -165 while Jimmo was +145. In a bantamweight bout, Michinori Tanaka defeated Roland Delorme via unanimous decision (30-27 x 3). Tanaka took down Delorme at will and was easily able to ground-and-pound his way to victory. Tanaka cashed as a -150 favorite while Delorme lost at +140. Underdogs That Won In a heavyweight bout, Andrei Arlovski defeated Brendan Schuab via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28). Arlovski pressed Schaub against the fence but other than that did absolutely nothing and most observers believed Schaub did enough with his striking to win the fight. However, the judges gave it to Arlovski and pulled off the upset as the dog. Arlovski was a +140 dog while Schaub was a -150 favorite. In a welterweight bout, Kiichi Kunimoto defeated Daniel Sarafian via first-round submission (rear-naked choke). Kunimoto took Sarafian’s back and was able to sink in the RNC in the first round. Kunimoto cashed as a +400 underdog while Sarafian lost at -450. In a women’s bantamweight fight, Valerie Letourneau defeated Elizabeth Phillips via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28). After a strong first round by Phillips, Letourneau was able to pick apart her opponent on the feet in rounds two and three and win the decision. Letourneau was +125 while Phillips was -135. In a bantamweight contest, Yves Jabouin defeated Mike Easton via unanimous decision (29-28 x 3). Jabouin was surprisingly able to outwrestle Easton and he was able to earn the upset as an underdog. Easton was -220 while Jabouin was +200. In a lightweight bout, Tae Hyun Bang defeated Kajan Johnson via third-round KO (punch). The fight was excellent and went back-and-forth into the third round until Bang landed a massive punch that put Kajan out cold. Bang was a +170 dog while Johnson was a -185 favorite. Pick ‘Em Fights In a lightweight bout, Jason Saggo defeated Josh Shockley via first-round TKO (punches). Saggo took Shockley down early and beat him up on the mat en route to a late stoppage via strikes as Shockly wasn’t defending himself on the ground. Both fighters closed at -105 a piece in a true Pick ’em.
