UFC Fight Night 44 took place to tonight (June 28, 2014) at AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas, and the event overall was solid from an entertainment perspective although it featured a number of controversial judging and refereeing decisions. Overall, eight betting favorites won while three underdogs came through. Here’s a betting recap for UFC Fight Night 44 based on the closing results at Several Bookmakers. Favorites That Won In the main event, featherweight contender Cub Swanson came through with a unanimous decision victory over Jeremy Stephens (49-46, 49-46, 48-47) to cement himself as the top contender in the division. Stephens came out strong, likely splitting if not winning the first two rounds but Swanson poured it on late, hurting “Lil Heathen” with a body kick to the liver in the third round and then pressing his advantage over the course of the fight’s final 15 minutes. Swanson cashed as a -250 favorite while Stephens failed to come through as a +205 dog. In a catchweight bout, Kelvin Gastelum survived an early storm from Nicholas Musoke to earn a unanimous decision (29-28 x3). Musoke gave him a scare early, using his ground skills to his advantage and spending a majority of the first frame on Gastelum’s back, but Gastelum returned fire with some big stand-up exchanges in the second round to take back all the momentum. Musoke was never able to gain top position in the second or third rounds and was outstruck by The Ultimate Fighter 17 winner handily over the final two rounds. Gastelum came through as a -270 favorite while Musoke couldn’t quite seal the deal as a +248 underdog. In a middleweight bout, Cezar Mutante defeated Andrew Craig via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27). Mutante used his wrestling to smother Craig and was also the more effective striker for much of the fight as he picked up a nice win in the UFC middleweight division. Mutante was victorious as a -265 favorite while Craig closed as a +245 dog. In a featherweight bout, Ricardo Lamas defeated Hacran Dias via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28). This was a very close fight but Lamas used his wrestling to grind Dias out and win a very close decision on the cards. Lamas delivered as a -270 favorite while Dias came up short as a +248 underdog. In a lightweight bout, Joe Ellenberger defeated James Moontasri via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28). After Moontasri had a dominant first round and hurt Ellenberger badly, Jake’s brother used his wrestling to grind out rounds two and three and win the fight. Ellenberger cashed as a -177 favorite while Moontasri was defeated as a +166 dog. In a lightweight bout, Carlos Diego Ferreira defeated Colton Smith via first-round submission (rear-naked choke). Ferreira used a throw to take Smith down, where he then finished him with a no-hooks RNC. Ferreira delivered as a -185 favorite while Smith was dismantled as a +170 underdog. In a flyweight bout, Ray Borg defeated Shane Howell via first-round submission (rear-naked choke). Borg took down Howell and worked on a choke until he finally got it. Borg cruised as a hefty -460 favorite while Howell proved plenty worthy of his +410 underdog price. In a heavyweight bout, Oleksiy Oliynyk defeated Anthony Hamilton via first-round submission (neck crank). Oliynyk took down Hamilton early in the first and finished him with his signature neck crank for his first UFC win. Oliynyk scored a finish as a -140 favorite while Hamilton was unable to get anything going as a +130 underdog. Underdogs That Won In a middleweight bout, Clint Hester defeated Antonio Braga Neto via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28). Although Neto had a number of dominant positions on Hester on the ground, the judges somehow gave it to Hester and he won the decision. Hester pulled off a shocker as a +140 underdog while Neto was upset as a -150 betting favorite. In a bantamweight bout, Cody Gibson defeated Johnny Bedford via first-round TKO (punch). Gibson rocked Bedford with a punch and the referee stopped the bout controversially for a first-round knockout win for Gibson. Gibson came through as a +170 underdog while Bedford was upset as a -185 favorite. In a middleweight bout, Marcelo Guimaraes defeated Andy Enz via split decision (29-28, 27-30, 29-28). Guimaraes was the better striker and grappler throughout the three rounds and deserved the decision. Guimaraes closed as a +185 underdog while Enz was defeated despite being a -195 favorite.
