The UFC returned with a pay-per-view last night (Saturday, July 30th, 2016) for its 201st major event. The card was headlined by a welterweight title bout between champion Robbie Lawler and challenger Tyron Woodley. The 11-fight card wasn’t the most anticipated heading in, but the first few fights as well as the last few really paid everyone off. All in all, 6 favorites won, while 4 upsets occurred and there was one draw. Here’s how everything played out based on the Several Bookmakers closing odds: Favorites That Won In a bantamweight scrap, Erik Perez utilized smart footwork and movement to outmaneuver the always-dangerous Francisco Rivera. Perez mixed kicks, counters and occasional takedowns to fluster Perez in the first two rounds before Perez threw down the gauntlet at the beginning of the third, with both men swinging for the fences for the first 30 seconds. Perez wisely quit brawling and took top position to easily win a decision as a -145 favorite (bet $145 to win $100) while Rivera’s rally fell short as a +135 underdog. In the preliminary card headliner, Nikita Krylov continued to showcase his evolution as a light heavyweight prospect by absolutely destroying Ed Herman. Herman tried to counter early, but wasn’t able to match the Ukrainian’s speed, eating heavy kicks and short combinations in a one-sided first round. Krylov put Herman down for good with a heavy left head kick in the second frame to earn the knockout victory. Krylov closed at -230 while Herman was a +210 dog. In a one-sided welterweight scrap, Jorge Masvidal took care of short notice replacement Ross Pearson with efficient counter strikes. Masvidal worked from the outside, landing kicks knees and punches with ease and nearly finishing Pearson in the second round.The American Top Team product rolled to what seemed like an effortless decision victory. Masvidal was a -255 favorite while Pearson was +235. In a heavyweight contest, Anthony Hamilton steamrolled Damian Grabowski in just 14 seconds, blitzing his opponent with heavy punches and uppercuts in the opening moments before putting Grabowski away with strikes on the ground after he wilted under the pressure. Hamilton was victorious as a -130 favorite while Grabowski was +120. In a flyweight bout, Wilson Reis made a statement after his title shot was pulled out from under him by obliterating UFC newcomer Hector Sandoval. Reis quickly took the fight to the floor, advanced position and put Sandoval out with a rear naked choke in the opening minutes. The Brazilian was victorious as a -345 favorite while Sandoval lost at +315. In the opening bout of the night, Austrailian Damien Brown showcased his improved hands against Cesar Arzamendia, dropping the Paraguay-born fighter early, surviving a heel hook scare, then knocking Arzamendia out cold with a big combination on the feet to earn a first round victory in the lightweight division. Brown held serve as a slight -110 favorite while Arzamendia was even +100. Underdogs That Won In the main event of the evening, Tyron Woodley only needed one tiny opening to dethrone welterweight champion Robbie Lawler. Woodley stepped forward with a huge right hand, dropping Lawler, and then finishing him with massive follow-up strikes on the ground to put the champ away inside the first round. The win puts Woodley at the top of the heap in the UFC welterweight division and sets up several tantalizing potential match-ups, most likely next against Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson. Woodley was a +110 underdog while Lawler was -120. In the co-main event of the evening, Rose Namajunas had a terrific start against Karolina Kowalkiewicz, but she began to wilt under the pressure of her Polish foe’s brutal knees and inside strikes. Kowalkiewicz started to take over in the second round, punishing Namajunas in the clinch and she started landing a bit more from distance in the third to do enough to earn a split decision victory, moving to 10-0 in her career and likely earning the next title shot in the women’s strawweight division. Kowalkiewicz was victorious as a +170 dog while Namajunas was -185. In a welterweight scrap, Matt Brown was dropped in the opening seconds by a huge right hand from Jake Ellenberger, but seemed well on his way to recovering and taking over the fight. Just when it seemed Ellenberger was starting to run out of steam, “The Juggernaut” connected with a vicious liver kick which sent Brown to the canvas in a heap, where he never recovered. Ellenberger was a hefty +265 underdog while Brown was a -295 favorite In a flyweight bout, Ryan Benoit withstood several takedowns, axe kicks and spinning attacks from Freddy Serrano to pull out a hotly contested split decision victory. Serrano was entertaining, but wasn’t exactly mixing his attacks together in good coordination, and Benoit was able to punish him after failed takedown attempts with heavy punches, doing just enough to convince the judges in a bout which could have gone either way. Benoit was +100 while Serrano was -110. Draws In a decision that made zero sense, the welterweight bout between Michael Graves and Bojan Velickovic was ruled a majority draw. The first and third rounds were close, but the second was very one-sided in Graves’ favor. Despite that, two judges ruled the bout a 28-28 draw. Graves was a -225 favorite while Velickovic was +205.
