UFC Fight Night 81 took place last night (Sunday, January 17, 2016) in Costa Mesa, California, and overall it was an entertaining card highlighted by several highlight reel finishes and a very close title fight. Overall from a betting perspective, six betting favorites were victorious while seven underdogs won based on the closing odds at Several Bookmakers. Here’s a quick recap for each fight. UFC Fight Night 81 Favorites That Won In a heavyweight bout, Travis Browne took over late against Matt Mitrione. Mitrione started strong, but perhaps aided by a pair of eye pokes, Browne started doing some damage with his kicks and straight punches from distance, eventually scoring a big takedown and battering Mitrione until the ref stopped it in the final minute. Browne closed as a -165 favorite (bet $3000 to win $100) while Mitrione closed as a +155 underdog (bet $100 to win $155). In a lightweight bout, Chris Wade made quick work of Mehdi Baghdad. Wade had a huge edge on the ground and he quickly took the fight to the floor, eventually locking in a rear naked choke and forcing Baghdad to tap. Wade held serve as a heavy -450 betting favorite while Baghdad was +400. In a lightweight fight, Paul Felder looked to be on his way to losing to Daron Cruickshank before changing gears. Cruickshank got the better of the striking exchanges early but Felder took the bout to the floor and submitted the Detroit Superstar in the third round. Felder came through as a -230 favorite while Cruickshank lost at +210. In a light heavyweight bout, Ilir Latifi crushed Sean O’Connell. O’Connell was just a step too slow and got caught with a huge right hand from the Swede, and was quickly finished about a minute into the fight. Latifi was -265 while O’Connell was +245. In a featherweight contest, Charles Rosa defeated a game Kyle Bochniak in a tough decision. Bochniak started strong, even hurting Rosa briefly, but he couldn’t keep up the pace and the short notice replacement started to fade down the stretch. Rosa was victorious as a -245 favorite while Bochniak couldn’t keep up as a +225 dog. In a bantamweight bout, Rob Font returned from a long injury layoff to put on a masterful performance against Joey Gomez. Gomez hung tough, but couldn’t handle Font’s accurate and powerful combinations, eventually wilting against the fence late in the second round. Font was -210 while Gomez was +190. UFC Fight Night 81 Underdogs That Won In the main event of the evening, UFC bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw unsuccessfully attempted to defend his belt against former champ Dominick Cruz. Cruz utilized a combination of impressive defense, counterstriking and takedowns to gain an early advantage in three close first rounds and he held on late as Dillashaw came on strong in the championship rounds as the judges sided with Cruz via split decision to crown a new titleholder. Cruz pulled off the upset as a +140 dog while Dillashaw was a -150 favorite. In a lightweight bout, Eddie Alvarez scored the biggest win of his career against former champion Anthony Pettis. Alvarez utilized an intelligent gameplan of pressure boxing, heavy kicks mixed with multiple takedowns to wear Pettis down, finishing strong as Pettis faded. In the end, the judges sided with Alvarez via split decision. Alvarez was a huge +315 underdog while Pettis was defeated at -345. In a lightweight contest, Francisco Trinaldo utilized solid counter striking and heavy kicks to thwart Ross Pearson’s forward movement and aggression, convincing the judges to award the Brazilian a unanimous decision. Trinaldo was +135 while Pearson was -145. In the welterweight division, veterans Ben Saunders and Patrick Cote threw down in an exciting back-and-forth battle. Saunders started strong but took a lot of damage at the end of the first round and then was hurt badly by repeated heavy combinations of hooks and uppercuts in the second before the referee stopped it. Cote was victorious as a +135 underdog while Saunders lost at -145. In a light heavyweight bout, Ed Herman bounced back from a sluggish start against Tim Boetsch to score a huge second round finish. Herman seemed like the slower fighter but he started connecting in the second round and a big knee put Beotsch down and kept him down. Herman was a +155 dog while Boetsch was a -165 betting favorite. In a featherweight contest, Luke Sanders made an impressive UFC debut by dropping Maximo Blanco and then submitting him in the first round. Sanders started a bit slow but found his groove and finished Blanco for the first time in the UFC. Sanders was a +110 underdog while Blanco was -120. In the opening bout of the evening, light heavyweight Francimar Barroso was able to earn a decision victory over late injury replacement Elvis Mutapcic in a ho-hum fight. Barroso was in top position for a decent amount and controlled most of the action, although Mutapcic gave a strong effort in the last round. Barroso came through as a +145 underdog while Mutapcic was -155.
