UFC Fight Night 71 took place Wednesday night at Valley View Casino Center in San Diego, California, and overall the card was pretty dull aside from a few excellent fights and a couple stoppages, as many of the fights went to decision. Overall from a betting perspective, nine favorites and three underdogs won based on the closing odds at Several Bookmakers. Here’s a quick recap for each fight. UFC Fight Night 71 Favorites That Won In a lightweight bout, Tony Ferguson defeated Josh Thomson via unanimous decision (30-27 x 2, 30-26). Ferguson’s striking looked incredible and his ground game was solid as he picked up the biggest win of his career. Ferguson closed at -260 with Thomson at +240. In a women’s bantamweight bout, Holly Holm defeated Marion Reneau via unanimous decision (30-27. 30-26, 29-28). Holm kept the fight standing the entire time and destroyed Reneau on the feet for a clear-cut decision victory. Holm closed at -245 while Rneau closed at +225. In a bantamweight bout, Manny Gamburyan defeated Scott Jorgensen via unanimous decision (30-27 x 3). Gamburyan controlled the wrestling and landed the harder, more damaging strikes as he took an easy decision. Gamburyan was -190 while Jorgensen was +175. In a lightweight bout, Kevin Lee defeated James Moontasri via first-round submission (rear-naked choke). Lee was able to land a takedown, transition to Moontasri’s back, and choke him out for a big win. In a welterweight bout, Alan Jouban defeated Matt Dwyer via unanimous decision (29-27 x 3). Jouban had a point deducted in the first round for an illegal knee, but he composed himself and took the second and third rounds for a decision win. Jouban closed at -480 with Dwyer closing at +423. In a featherweight bout, Sam Sicilia defeated Yaotzin Meza via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28 x 2). Sicilia controlled the grappling exchanges to earn himself his second-straight victory inside the Octagon. Sicilia closed at -255 with Meza at +235. In a women’s bantamweight bout, Jessica Andrade defeated Sarah Moras via unanimous decision (30-27 x 3). Andrade’s wrestling and striking were on point in this fight as she beat the brakes off of Moras for the win. Andrade closed at -475 while Moras closed at +420. In a welterweight bout, Sean Strickland defeated Igor Araujo via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26). Strickland hurt Araujo on the feet and on the mat with his ground and pound to cash as an easy winner. Strickland closed at -450 with Araujo at +450. In a welterweight bout, Lyman Good defeated Andrew Craig via second-round TKO (punches). Good was the more effective striker in the contest and eventually landed a big shot that put Craig out. Good cashed as a -260 favorite while Craig lost as a +240 dog. UFC Fight Night 71 Underdogs That Won In a heavyweight bout, Frank Mir defeated Todd Duffee via first-round KO (punches). Mir landed heavy punches early in the fight to put Duffee away in a huge upset. Duffee closed at -185 (bet $185 to win $100) while Mir closed at +170 (bet $100 to win $170). In a bantamweight bout, Rani Yahya defeated Masanori Kanehara via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28). Yahya spammed takedown attempts and although Kanehara defended most of them, the judges felt like he did more work and gave him the win. Yahya was +115 while Kanehara was -125. In a middleweight bout, Kevin Casey defeated Ildemar Alcantara via unanimous decision (30-27 x 3). Casey controlled Alcantara on the ground and landed the more significant strikes on the feet as he took home an easy decision. Alcantara closed at -135 with Casey at +125.
