UFC on ESPN Plus 16 took place Saturday, September 14, 2019 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The card was headlined by a tremendous lightweight fight between future Hall of Famer Donald Cerrone and Justin Gaethje.
Closing odds are courtesy of Several Bookmakers. Here’s a quick recap of each of those fights.
Favorites that Won
Justin Gaethje routinely landed his right hand throughout the first round dropping Donald Cerrone and finishing him for third consecutive first round knockout victory. Gaethje closed -190 while Cerrone closed +150
Glover Teixeira was the more dangerous fighter as he nearly earned a submission in the opening round. In a bout where each fighter had periods of top control, it was Teixeira’s larger impact moments that earned him a split decision win over Nikita Krylov. Teixeira closed -125 with the return on Krylov +105
Augusto Sakai started out fast battering Marcin Tybura with right hands and put him away early in round one. Sakai closed -128 while Tybura closed +106
After a tough first round, Miles Johns took over in the second half of the fight landing the bigger punches and stuffing takedowns to sneak out a split decision win over Cole Smith in his UFC debut. Johns closed -145. Smith closed +125
Louis Smolka started out fast landing over fifty strikes in the opening round and finished it off by dropping Ryan MacDonald late in the first round. The referee was forced to step in and award Smolka the victory. Smolka closed -238 with the return on MacDonald +190
Austin Hubbard secured takedowns in rounds two and three dominating the action on the ground to earn a unanimous decision victory over Kyle Prepolec. Hubbard closed -141 while Prepolec closed +119
Underdogs that Won
Tristan Connelly put on a tremendous pace throughout all three rounds to out work Michel Pereira to earn a decision victory as the biggest undercard of the event. Connelly closed +365 while Pereira closed -460
Uriah Hall battered Antonio Carlos Jr. in the first two rounds, but had to survive a full third round on the mat with the talented jiu jitsu black belt in order to earn a decision victory. Hall closed +230. Carlos Jr. closed -270
In a back and forth opening round, Misha Cirkunov reverse sweeped Jimmy Crute and turned it into a submission attempt in which he forced Crute to tap. Cirkunov closed -108 while Crute closed -115
Hunter Azure landed the bigger punches throughout the bout to earn a decision over Brad Katona. Azure closed -104 while Katona closed -115
In a real entertaining fight, Chas Skelly secured back control and threatened with submissions throughout the bout to take a hard-fought decision over Jordan Griffin. Skelly closed +137 with Griffin closing -159
Fights to End in a No Contest
In a wild one round fight, Todd Duffee and Jeff Hughes exchanged heavy punches. Hughes damaged both of Duffee’s eyes. The doctor took a look and determined that Duffee couldn’t continue and determined that the fight should end in a no contest. Hughes closed -125. Duffee closed +105
