Live at the Toyota Center in Texas, Israel Adesanya will go against Robert Whittacker to defend his belt for the second time. The middleweight rematch will headline UFC 271 on 12th February 2022, with other matches for the day including Derrick Lewis vs Tai Tuivasa and Derek Brunson vs. Jared Cannonier. Here are the latest odds, betting tips, and early predictions of UFC 271 fights.
Adesanya (-250) vs. Whittaker (+210)
Pick: Fight goes to decision and Whittacker wins
Online sports bookies like Betway are giving Israel Adesanya the clear advantage over his opponent Robert Whittaker for this upcoming match. The style-bender (Adesanya) has been a sublime middleweight fighter, with his slight adventure to the light heavyweight fight creating the only blemish to his nearly perfect MMA record.
Adesanya goes into this title defense but with a 10-0 middleweight record, after eliminating elite 185-pounders like Paulo Costa, Martin Vettori, Yoel Romelo, Derek Brunson, Kelvin Gastelum, and Anderson Silva. However, Whittacker is poised to prove that he’s UFC’s second-best middleweight champion, standing behind the renowned “Spider” Silva.
Whittaker was brutally knocked out by Adesanya in the first fight in front of his Australian fans and he’ll be looking to reclaim his soul against the man who stripped it. Adesanya will be looking for the chance to cement his position as the greatest middleweight fighter of this generation, but he has takedown defense to worry about as exposed by Jan Blachowicz.
All things considered, punters betting on the fight with the Betway app should consider backing Whittacker as the underdog. If Whittacker can land three takedowns, the fight will probably go to a decision and he gets the nod.
Derrick Lewis (-196) vs Tai Tuivasa (+164)
Pick: Tai Tuivasa ML +164
Heading into the fight after his win against Chris Dakaus despite being the pre-match underdog, Derrick Lewis will turn to his hometown (Houston) to fight Tuivasa. Tuivasa is the sizable underdog for this heavyweight fight, which is a little surprising.
Lewis’ victory against Dukaus marked a solid comeback performance for the 36-year-old, who was defeated by Ciryl Gane in the round of UFC 265 through a technical knockout in the previous fight. Lewis has a 26-8 record, with knockout victories against notable fighters like Curtis Blaydes and Alexey Oleynik.
On the other side, Tuivasa is a rising star with a 13-3 career record that includes 12 fights by knockout. His most recent win was against Augusto Sakai in December at UFC 269 and he also won a fight at UFC 264 where he beat former NFL player Greg Hardy. The 28-year-old has a 93% finish rate (Lewis has 85%), which puts him in a great position to win the fight.
Derek Brunson (+142) vs Jared Cannonier (-175)
Pick: Cannonier -175
Jared Cannonier will go against Derek Brunson in what’s probably the best co-main event of the night. Cannonier was a light heavyweight fighter, but he has been quite impressive since joining the middleweight division. In the middleweight division, Cannonier has won four times in his last five fights, including notable victories over Anderson Silva, Jack Hermansson, and Kelvin Gastelum.
Brunson has been a great cash cow for punters as a sizeable underdog to Darren Till and Kevin Holland. The 38-year-old fighter is known for actively chasing takedowns, but only managed to land them while going against fighters with poor takedown defense. As such, Brunson will have a tough time succeeding against Cannonier in this fight.
