In a middleweight title fight on the main card, Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker meet Saturday at UFC 271 at the Toyota Center in Houston. Below, we analyze the UFC 271: Adesanya vs. Whittaker odds and lines, with picks and predictions.
The early prelims can be viewed on ESPN+ starting at 6 p.m. ET, followed by the prelims on ESPN/ESPN+ at 8 p.m., and then the main card on Pay-Per-View at 10 p.m. ET.
Adesanya, a.k.a. “The Last Stylebender”, picked up a second-round KO/TKO at UFC 243 over Whittaker in a title fight Oct. 5, 2019. He dropped the belt to Jan Blachowicz at UFC 259 March 6, 2021, but re-claimed the strap from Marvin Vettori at UFC 263 June 12, 2021.
Adesanya takes the walk to the octagon with a 4-inch height and 7-inch reach advantage that he’ll look to use to keep Whittaker at a distance. The switch-stance fighter has 3.94 significant strikes landed per minute to 4.68 for Whittaker, but the champ lands his significant strikes at a 53.15% clip.
Whittaker has posted three consecutive unanimous-decision wins over Darren Till, Jared Cannonier and Kelvin Gastelum to get himself back into title contention since that setback to Adesanya at UFC 243. Five of his past six bouts have gone the distance, with just the Adesanya fight ending via stoppage.
UFC 271 Adesanya vs. Whittaker: Odds and lines
Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated Friday at 8:18 a.m. ET.
- Fight result (2-way line): Adesanya -300 (bet $300 to win $100) | Whittaker +225 (bet $100 to win $225)
- Will the fight go the distance? (Yes -130 | No -105)
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UFC 271 Adesanya vs. Whittaker: Odds, lines, predictions and picks
Records: Adesanya (21-1-0) | Whittaker (24-5-0)
Fight result (2-way line or money line)
Adesanya (-300) is a little on the expensive side, costing you three times your potential return. Instead, get more specific with Method of Victory.
The champ knocked out Whittaker in the first matchup, and you can expect the same result in this one. Take ADESANYA BY KO/TKO OR DQ (+140) for a much better value.
Over/Under (O/U)
Take NO (-105): FIGHT TO GO THE DISTANCE, as Adesanya will retain his strap by dropping Whittaker again.
In addition, take a three-round betting block for Winner & Exact Rounds. Play ADESANYA IN ROUND 2 (+720), ADESANYA IN ROUND 3 (+1000) and ADESANYA IN ROUND 4 (+1400) in a three-round block. You’ll lose two ends if he gets the finish in Rounds 2-4, but you’ll still be quite a bit ahead.
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