This Saturday night, one of the biggest MMA events of the year goes down when UFC 271 takes place at Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. There are a staggering 15 fights slated to take place this weekend, including the main event rematch between UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya and his rival, Robert Whittaker.

Keep reading as we take an in-depth look at the Adesanya vs. Whittaker rematch, plus give our other best bets on this stacked UFC betting card.

UFC 271: Adesanya vs Whittaker Odds

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UFC 271 Betting Analysis: Israel Adesanya vs. Robert Whittaker

The main event of UFC 271 is a middleweight title bout between champion Israel Adesanya and challenger Robert Whittaker. This is the rematch between the two bitter rivals, who previously met at UFC 243 in October 2019, with Adesanya winning by KO.

That first fight saw Adesanya capture the middleweight belt, and since then he has defended his title against Yoel Romero, Paulo Costa, and Marvin Vettori. He also has a loss to Jan Blachowicz mixed in there, although it was up at 205lbs. At 185lbs, Adesanya is the best fighter in the world and he has shown that throughout his four-year run in the UFC.

Whittaker, meanwhile, is the second-best middleweight in the UFC. After losing his belt to Adesanya four years ago, Whittaker has won three straight fights over Darren Till, Jared Cannonier, and Kelvin Gastelum. Not only is his striking looking sharp, but he has also developed improved wrestling. Still, these recent opponents are not as good as Adesanya.

Israel Adesanya (-265) vs. Robert Whittaker (+210) Prediction

We already saw these two fight back in 2019, and Adesanya dominated the fight en-route to a second-round knockout. I don’t think there’s any reason this rematch will go differently, only that the fight may go longer given that Whittaker rushed in, got caught, and got finished in the first fight. In this rematch, I expect Whittaker to fight a bit safer, but at the end of the five rounds, I see Adesanya defending his belt again.

The pick is Adesanya to win at -265. I believe he should have the takedown defense to keep the fight standing and the superior technical kickboxing to beat Whittaker on the feet. While the first fight ended in a knockout, I’m looking at Adesanya by decision this time around. That prop is available at +170 odds over at FanDuel Sportsbook.

The pick: Israel Adesanya -265; Israel Adesanya via decision +170

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Other UFC 271 Best Bets To Back

Jared Cannonier (-165) vs. Derek Brunson (+145)

Another big fight for betting sites on the main card is a middleweight bout between top contenders Jared Cannonier and Derek Brunson. Cannonier is a -165 favorite to get his hand raised, while Brunson is an underdog yet again at +145 on betting apps despite winning his last four fights as a dog.

Brunson has looked great lately, and he deserves a ton of credit for the improvements that he’s made, which has led to him being an underdog winner in his last four fights. That being said, he has won the majority of his fights with his wrestling. Against a big, strong fighter like Cannonier, Brunson will likely have a much harder time taking the fight to the mat. If he is forced to stand and trade with Cannonier on the feet, I think it will be a really bad night for him.

Cannonier is the much more technical and powerful striker, and he has won three of his last four victories by knockout. Brunson, meanwhile, has been knocked out five times in his losses. This all adds up to a Cannonier win for me, and likely by knockout. Take Cannonier to win at -165 and take the prop on Cannonier winning by T/KO at +120 at DraftKings.

The Pick: Jared Cannonier -165; Jared Cannonier via T/KO +120

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Bobby Green (-140) vs. Nasrat Haqparast (+120)

Kicking off the main card is a lightweight bout between Bobby Green and Nasrat Haqparast. Green is a small -140 favorite, while Haqparast is a +120 underdog. This looks like a good spot to back the short favorite in Green, who should be closer to a 2-to-1 favorite in this fight.

There are three main reasons why I like Green in this matchup. First is his experience. This is his 42nd MMA fight, while Haqparast has had just 17 to this point. Green has fought much tougher opponents throughout his career, and he has better wins on his resume.

Second, Green has more momentum coming into this fight, as he just knocked out Al Iaquinta in his last fight, while Haqparast is coming off a lopsided loss to Dan Hooker. And third, the stylistic matchup favors Green in this fight. They are both strikers, but Green throws with more volume and he has the better head movement defensively. I like Green to win the fight outright and I also like him to win by decision at +140 over at DraftKings Sportsbook.

The Pick: Bobby Green -140; Bobby Green via decision +140

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