UFC Fight Night 57 took place in Austin, Texas tonight and overall it was a very good card that featured a number of standout performances, especially on the main card. Overall from a betting perspective, seven favorites and five underdogs won based on the closing odds at Several Bookmakers. Here’s a quick recap for each fight. Favorites That Won In the main event of the evening, Frankie Edgar defeated Cub Swanson via fifth-round submission (rear-naked choke). Edgar took Swanson down at will and beat him up with brutal ground and pound for nearly the full fight until getting the tapout with just seconds left on the clock. Edgar closed at -170 (bet $170 to win $100) while Swanson lost at +160 (bet $100 to win $160). In the co-main event of the evening, Edson Barboza defeated Bobby Green via unanimous decision (30-27 x 3) a lightweight bout. The fight took place almost exclusively in the center of the Octagon where Barboza easily Green over the course of 15 minutes to take home a unanimous decision for his ninth UFC victory. Barboza was -150, Green +140. In a flyweight bout, Joseph Benavidez defeated Dustin Ortiz via unanimous decision (30-27 x 3). Benavidez outstruck and outgrappled Ortiz over the full 15 minutes to win a very fair decision on the judges’ scorecards. Benavidez was -430 while Ortiz was +380. In a lightweight bout, Matt Wiman defeated Isaac Vallie-Flagg via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28). This was a very fun lightweight bout but Wiman was able to land the harder strikes in the clinch and get better positions on the ground to win the decision on the judges’ cards. Wiman was -175 while Vallie-Flagg was +165. In a heavyweight bout, Ruslan Magomedov defeated Josh Copeland via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28). Magomedov had to survive a few scares scattered throughout the fight, but overall he just outpointed Copeland for 15 minutes to win a clear-cut decision. Magomedov was -230 while Copeland was +210. In a lightweight bout, James Vick defeated Nick Hein via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28). This was a very competitive fight, one where Hein started off well early but faded badly late to lose a close one on the judges’ scorecards. Vick was -280 while Hein was +255. In a featherweight bout, Doo Ho Choi defeated Juan Manuel Puig via first-round KO (punches). Choi nailed Puig with a huge punch just seconds into the fight and finished his UFC debut in brutal fashion. Choi was -420 while Puig was +375. Underdogs That Won In a flyweight bout, Chico Camus defeated Brad Pickett via split decision (29-28, 27-30, 29-28). This was an extremely close fight that really could have gone either way, but the judges favored Camus’ superior boxing to Pickett’s aggression and awarded him the victory. Camus was +165, Pickett -175. In a heavyweight bout, Oleksiy Oliynyk defeated Jared Rosholt via first-round KO (punches). Rosholt looked good early in the fight as he roughed up Oliynyk along the fence, but Oliynyk hit him with a massive left hook out of nowhere in the centre of the Octagon to take home the upset win. Oliynyk +375, while Rosholt was -420. In a middleweight bout, Roger Narvaez defeated Luke Barnatt via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28). Barnatt was looking a bit better in the first few rounds, although neither fighter did much, but in the third Narvaez badly hurt Barnatt, dropped him to the mat, and beat him up on the ground to steal a decision in his homestate. Narvaez was +375 while Barnatt was -420. In a lightweight bout, Akhbahr Arreola defeated Yves Edwards via first-round submission (armbar). Arreola rocked Edwards early in the fight with a punch and got it to the floor where he was able to transition into a fight-ending submission. Arreola closed at +256 while Edwards lost at -265. In a women’s strawweight bout, Paige VanZant defeated Kailin Curran via third-round TKO (punches). This was an excellent women’s fight, one where VanZant arguably emerged as a star. Her workrate was tremendous for nearly the 15 full minutes and late in the third she was finally able to end things when she got the fight to the ground and won via TKO from punches. VanZant was +100 while Curran was -110.
