UFC Fight Night 79 took place this morning (Saturday, November 28st, 2015) at the Olympic Gymnastics Arena in Seoul, South Korea and was headlined by a welterweight contest between Benson Henderson and Jorge Masvidal. Overall from a betting perspective, five favorites won while six underdogs came through according to the closing odds at Several Bookmakers. Here’s a quick recap for each fight. Favorites That Won In the main event of the evening in the welterweight division, Benson Henderson battled Jorge Masvidal in a very fun back-and-forth five round affair that saw both men have their moments as Masvidal did better work with combinations but Henderson managed to drop Masvidal and landed heavy kicks throughout. Henderson also threatened more with takedowns but Masvidal responded with a scary guillotine which nearly finished the fight late. In the end, the judges were split, but they sided with the former lightweight champion Henderson in a very close decision. Henderson cashed as the -220 (Bet $220 to win $100) favorite while Masvidal failed to come through as the +200 (Bet $100 to win $200) underdog. In the welterweight division, “Stun Gun” Dong Hyun Kim easily dispatched of short notice replacement Dominic Waters. Kim scored a takedown about a minute into the fight and proceeded to hammer Waters with short strikes from the crucifix position, which he was unable to escape from. Kim came through as the -750 favorite while Waters lost as the +600 underdog. In the opening bout of the main card, featherweight Doo Ho Choi took Sam Sicilia’s best shot and proceeded to hurt the American with several heavy punches on the feet before putting him away for good in an incredibly impressive first round. Choi came through as the -240 favorite while +220 underdog Sam Sicilia was TKO’d. Flyweight Fredy Serrano kept his undefeated streak rolling by finishing Yao Zhikui quickly inside the first minute. Serrano countered Zhikui’s early aggression and slammed him hard to the canvas, dislocating the Chinese fighter’s elbow in the process to end the bout. Serrano comes through as the -150 favorite while Zhikui as the +140 underdog. In the opening bout of the evening in the welterweight division, Dominique Steele outworked UFC newcomer “Maestro” Kong Hyun Kim with superior punches, eventually wearing him down and then finishing Kim with a brutal slam early in the third round. Steele was victorious as the slight favorite -125 while Kim lost as the +115 underdog. Underdogs That Won In a welterweight bout, Alberto Mina pulled off a surprising victory over Yoshihiro Akiyama in a split decision the hometown Korean fans didn’t agree with. Mina nearly finished the fight at the end of the second round, but for the most part, Akiyama seemed to be in control of the fight with heavy leg kicks and he definitely had plenty more gas left in the tank in the third round, where Mina was punished and repeatedly flopped to his back. Mina pulled it out as a +130 dog while Akiyama lost as a -140 betting favorite. In a middleweight scrap, Dongi Yang overcame an early knockdown against Jake Collier, bouncing back to hammer Collier with ground and pound to earn a second round TKO via unanswered strikes on the canvas. Yang hit as a +110 underdog, while Collier came up short as the -120 favorite. In a featherweight bout, Mike de la Torre used superior straight strikes against Yui Chul Nam’s looping blows and constant takedown attempts to walk away with a split decision victory. De la Torre cashed as a slight +100 underdog while Nam couldn’t pull it out as a -110 betting favorite. In the lightweight division, Tae Hyun Bang defied some crazy line movement to drop Leo Kuntz early and hold on to win the third round despite being completely exhausted to walk away with a razor thin split decision victory. Bang cashed as the +280 underdog while Kuntz lost as the -310 favorite. Strawweight Seohee Ham weathered the early storm from Cortney Casey, getting hurt in the first round from a head kick and getting flash knocked down early in the second, but she bounced back in a big way with a huge output of strikes as Casey faded down the stretch, taking a close unanimous decision. Ham cashed as the +125 underdog while Casey fell short as the -135 favorite. In the bantamweight division, Marco Beltran and Ning Guangyou had a very tepid affair, with neither fighter throwing many significant strikes. Beltran walked away with a close split decision when it was all said and done. Beltran comes through as the +145 underdog, while Guangyou failed to cash as the -155 favorite.
