UFC 271
UFC 271 comes at us live this Saturday Night from Houston, Texas at 6PM EST. The pay per view takes place at the Toyota Center and is jam packed full of fights. There are 15 fights scheduled and at the time of this writing, all are fully expected to take place.
It has been a good early portion of the year if you like your title fights. This is the second pay per view card we have had in the last three weeks. After a pair of title fights on the last card, we get a bout for the middleweight strap to put an exclamation point on this card.
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Quick Look At The Card
The main event rematch between Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker is a long time coming. Adesanya won the first bout quite easily, and marks Whittaker’s only lost in the last eight years. That time frame spans 13 fights. The oddsmakers and action thus far have Adesanya as a large -280 favorite. That is a wide line, and we will have a betting pick on this fight. Scroll down to see if this betting price is justified.
The co-main event is as fun of a fight as we could ever ask for. Tai Tuivasa and Derrick Lewis will bang it out until one fighter cannot continue in the heavyweight division. The fight itself is going to be fun, but no matter which fighter wins, the post fight interview and antics will be must see tv. We will also have a betting pick for that fight.
The remainder of the pay per view card is solid, but not extraordinary. The highlight is sure the likely number one contender fight for the next crack at the middleweight title. That fight sees Jared Cannonier take on Derek Brunson. Again, we will have a betting pick for that fight.
The other two fights on the pay per view portion are fun enough, but do not scream main card placement to me. Kyler Phillips would be more exciting if he were not coming off a surprising loss. Marcelo Rojo is likely outmatched in this fight, and the UFC is looking to feature Phillips, who they clearly still view as a future star. Lastly, Bobby Green vs Nasrat Haqparast should be a fun striking affair that the judges will have to declare the winner of.
UFC 271 Prelims
On the televised prelims, the most notable fight is Roxanne Modafferi’s retirement fight against Casey O’Neil. It is difficult to believe Roxy could not have picked a different opponent for this fight, as she will now almost certainly leave the sport on a sour note. Again, we will have a betting pick on this fight.
To be blunt, the early prelims are going to bring more excitement than the televised prelims. The best prelim fight on the card is Renato Moicano vs Alexander Hernandez, and that fight is early. As is Carlos Ulberg vs Fabio Cherant. That is before even mentioning Ronnie Lawrence is on the early prelims as well.
We will have four betting plays for this card. There could have been more but there was just enough reason to be taken off of a handful more plays. Let’s take a brief look at the almost bets for UFC 271.
Almost Bets
Sergey Morozov will likely be able to wrestle his way to a win against Douglas Silva de Andrade. The true power and strength of Silva de Andrade is enough reason to be a tad gun shy on laying the -215.
Carlos Ulberg is going to have a massive striking advantage on Fabio Cherant. Cherant has been finished in each of his first three appearances under the UFC banner, and has his job on the line. Ulberg is quite a capable striker, but was finished in his first appearance. In a fight he was winning, he emptied the gas tank trying to find a finish of his own. When that did not come to fruition he was knocked out himself in the third round.
William Knight is an underdog against Max Grishin, and he is certainly the value side. The fight will be slow paced, and Grishin will try to keep himself safe from Knight’s power. This very well could see Knight get overzealous and end up on his back again. While I am picking Knight to win as an underdog, there is something about this fight that is keeping me from pulling the trigger.
One other note. Both Alex Perez and Ronnie Lawrence are expected to win their respective fights, but I am staying away due to the 3:1 or more price tags on each.
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Without any further ado, let’s get to our four betting picks. Three of the four come with a plus figure this week.
UFC 271 Bet Sheet
Click the links below to read our bets and analyses.
Israel Adesanya vs Robert Whittaker
Derrick Lewis vs Tai Tuivasa
Jared Cannonier vs Derek Brunson
Casey O’Neill vs Roxanne Modaferri
Other UFC 271 Fight Predictions
Kyler Phillips via KO over Marcelo Rojo
Bobby Green via decision over Nasrat Haqparast
Andrei Arlovski via decision over Jared Vanderaa
Alex Perez via KO over Matt Schnell
William Knight via KO over Maxim Grishin
Ronnie Lawrence via decision over Mana Martinez
Alexander Hernandez via KO over Renato Moicano
Carlos Ulberg via KO over Fabio Cherant
Jacob Malkoun via decision over AJ Dobson
Sergey Morozov via decision over Douglas Silva de Andrade
Jeremiah Wells via KO over Blood Diamond (Mike Mathetha)