UFC on ESPN 9 took place Saturday, May 30, 2020 in Jacksonville, Florida. The card was headlined by an welterweight bout between Tyron Woodley and Gilbert Burns.
Closing odds are courtesy of two of the most popular Las Vegas based sportsbooks: SuperBookUSA and Circa Sports. Here’s a quick recap of each of those fights.
Favorites that Won
In the co-main event, Augusto Sakai benefited from a late fence grab to avoid a takedown and outstrike Blagoy Ivanov en route to a split decision victory. Sakai was the favorite at -125 while Ivanov was +105
Hannah Cifers gave Mackenzie Dern all she could handle on the feet and in the clinch, but the second the fight went to the canvas, it was over as Dern latched onto a leg and forced Cifers to tap with a kneebar. Dern was a massive -500 favorite while Cifers was +395
Daniel Rodriguez outworked a game Gabriel Green, who had taken the fight on only a few days notice, with Rodriguez taking a unanimous decision. Rodriguez was -350 while Green was +290
Jamahal Hill utilized distance well to avoid Klidson Abreu’s grappling, then put Abreu away with a combination of knees and punches before the midway point of the first round. Hill closed -155 while Abreu closed +135
Casey Kenney dominated an overmatched Louis Smolka, controlling the striking exchanges and then finishing Smolka with a first round submission. Kenny closed -270 with the return on Smolka +230
Underdogs that Won
In the main event of the evening, Gilbert Burns took the fight to former champion Tyron Woodley, hurting Woodley in the opening seconds and never letting up for five straight rounds, winning every round on every judges’ scorecard for a unanimous decision victory. Burns closed +155. Woodley closed -180
Katlyn Chookagian improved her wrestling to secure the first three takedowns of her career to easily defeat Antonina Shevchenko in a one-sided unanimous decision. Chookagian closed +125 while Shevchenko was -145
Brandon Royval survived a grappling-heavy first round to take control against a fading Tim Elliott and submit the former title challenger in the second round. Royval closed +120 while Elliott closed -140
Pick’em Fights
Spike Carlisle started incredibly strong against Billy Quarantillo, but he started to run out of steam in the latter half of the fight, losing a unanimous decision. Both fighters were pick’em -110 odds.
In the opening bout of the evening, Chris Gutierrez made mincemeat out of Vince Morales’ legs, hurting him badly and making Morales unsteady on his feet. Eventually, Morales couldn’t support himself and a final leg kick dropped him to the canvas where the ref stepped in to stop the fight. Both fighters closed at -110 pick ’em.
