Betting patterns and wagers have shadowed the fight game from the very beginning, and although the oddsmakers determine who they believe will win, there will always be fighters who give fans what they love, an underdog story.
UFC bantamweight Frankie Saenz wrote his own underdog story in 2015. The unranked Saenz signed the dotted line to lock himself in the cage with the world’s eighth-ranked fighter Iuri Alcantara.
He knew Alcantara was a tough opponent but didn’t know that his opponent was a -1000 favourite among oddsmakers, meaning a $1,000 bet would return $100. The odds, however, laid the foundation to make Saenz provide the fourth-biggest statistical upset in UFC history.
“It was funny because my manager was like, ‘I just got you the perfect matchup, Iuri Alcantara.’ And I was like what? How is that the perfect matchup,” Saenz said.
Unlike most UFC fighters, Saenz was a late bloomer who began fighting at 28 and became a pro at 30. By the age of 34, Saenz had finally got his opportunity to fight in the UFC, winning his debut.
A few months later after that opening bout, he was scheduled to fight the talented and experienced Alcantara in enemy territory.
“Fighting a Brazilian fighter in Brazil, I’m set up to lose is what I went into it thinking. But I wanted to spoil the party,” Saenz said.
For most hungry underdogs, there always seems to be a chip on their shoulder they use as motivation, and for Saenz, that fire was lit the night before his fight.
Saenz said he thought his opponent missed weight but still qualified to fight. It infuriated him.
“It pissed me off to no end. I was like, dude, I’m gonna destroy this guy, I don’t even care anymore,” he said.
After his three-round dance with Alcantara, Saenz walked back to his corner confident he got the win, and the judges agreed. His arm was raised in front of a hostile Brazilian crowd, among the most intimidating countries a foreign fighter can be in.
Regardless of his minimal UFC experience and difficult opponent, Saenz says his confidence as a fighter on a five-fight win streak also impacted his drive. This was important to him because even as a massive underdog he felt the pressure of performing against a high-ranked opponent on their home turf.
“I learned that going into a fight with confidence is huge. Being on a five-fight win-streak, I was like, nobody’s gonna beat me right now,” Saenz said.
Saenz may not be a betting man but he said during training for the fight at his longtime gym, Fight Ready, its new owner asked Saenz how he would perform in this bout.
Saenz said he simply replied, “I’m gonna f**k this dude up,” and walked away.
After the fight, the owner approached Saenz and said he admired his confidence and saw in his eyes that he was telling the truth, which led to him betting $6,000 on him to win, even though business partners of his advised against it.
Saenz said the owner proudly tells this story to everyone because the bet had won him $42,000.
Looking back, he said he prefers being the underdog as he believes he fights better as one.
Although, he also understands not every underdog embraces their role and takes advantage of it, so he offers a word of advice to other underdogs.
“Trust in your skills. Don’t ever change any kind of skill set you have thinking somebody’s better than you at it,” Saenz said.
“Have confidence in yourself, you’ve made it that far for a reason. Trust in what you do,” he said.