The UFC returns to our screens for a highly stacked pay-per-view event from the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya will collide with the former titleholder Robert Whittaker. Read on for our complete betting guide taking a first look at Adesanya and Whittaker, including updated UFC odds and our free expert UFC picks, predictions, and analysis.
Israel Adesanya vs. Robert Whittaker
UFC 271 Middleweight Championship Main Event Bout
Saturday, February 12, 2022 – 10:00 PM EST at Toyota Center
Israel Adesanya (21-1-0)
The current undefeated middleweight champ returns to the UFC octagon after successfully defeating Marvin Vettori for a second time during his professional career. And now, Adesanya will attempt to emulate another second meeting when putting his championship on the line versus the man he took it from.
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Nigerian-born; New-Zealand native Israel Adesanya boasts a prosperous mixed martial arts career. He’s a former boxer (6-1) and a former kickboxer (80-5). When witnessing in-cage striking dominance, his experience in multiple striking disciplines becomes evident.
Adesanya is unquestionably one of the most highly skilled kickboxers the UFC has ever signed to their company. He remains one of the fastest rising stars, debuting in 2018 to capture the middleweight title a mere 20 months later. And with 3 successful title defenses to date, the legacy of “Stylebender” continues its evolution.
Israel Adesanya MMA Accomplishments
- UFC Middleweight Championship (One time, current, three defenses)
- UFC Performance of the Night (Five times)
- UFC Fight of the Night (Two times)
- Most knockdowns in a UFC Title Fight (4)
UFC Pick: Israel Adesanya -260 with BetOnline (visit our BetOnline Review)
Robert Whittaker (23-5-0)
New Zealand's first UFC champion Robert Whittaker will take a rightful place in a pay-per-view main event. With hopes of reclaiming the middleweight title from his only significant loss in eight years and the man who subsequently removed the gold from his waist – Israel Adesanya.
Suffering a knockout loss in front of his hometown fans couldn’t have been an easy pill to swallow. Still, a 3-fight consecutive win streak over Darren Till, Jared Cannonier, and Kelvin Gastelum has positioned the Whittaker back into the title picture.
Robert Whittaker MMA Accomplishments
- UFC Middleweight Champion (One time, one defense)
- UFC Fight of the Night (Five times)
- UFC Performance of the Night (Three times)
- The Ultimate Fighter Smashes Welterweight Tournament Winner
- First Australian UFC Champion
UFC Pick: Rob Whittaker +220 with BetOnline
Adesanya vs Whittaker II Breakdown and Analysis
Adesanya Fight Style and How Can Adesanya Defeat Whittaker?
Adesanya maintained the striking distance between himself and Vettori emphatically last time out, which rarely differs in most of his professional outings. His 6-foot-4 stature with an 80” arm reach becomes problematic, even for the opponents with significant striking experience.
As the champ displayed during his first encounter versus Whittaker, frustration develops when standing and striking with Adesanya, often causing the opposition to make mistakes. A utilization of faints will draw his opponent's defense and leave them open for the returning strikes he wants to land.
Adesanya's game plan heading into UFC 271 doesn’t change from the first fight, he’s likely to own the striking advantage, and he’ll do what he does best.
Whittaker Fight Style and How Can Whittaker Defeat Adesanya?
Whittaker has proven time and time again that his striking skillset isn’t an area of his game to overlook. However, with the worry of repeat scenarios, leaning on a grappling-based offense could open a potential path to victory.
While significantly larger, Jan Blachowicz did expose the critical weakness of Adesanya’s attributes during the middleweight champions' attempt to capture the light heavyweight strap. And this downfall in Adesanya’s skillset was his grappling defense.
I believe Whittaker’s best chance of success is to implement takedowns and avoid lengthy striking exchanges to remove Adesanya’s deadly weapons.
Israel Adesanya vs. Robert Whittaker II Prediction and UFC Odds
The available betting odds at Bookmakers Review opened with Adesanya as the betting favorite. And considering we’ve already watched this fight play out in the champions' favor once before, the odds are expected.
I agree with the price tag, and I do expect the dominance from Adesanya to continue into 2022, starting with a crucial victory over Whittaker.
UFC Pick: Israel Adesanya to win -260 [2.60u returns 1u profit] with Bovada (visit our Bovada Review)
*The line and/or odds on picks in this article might have moved since the content was commissioned. For updated line movements, visit BMR’s free betting odds product.
