It has been nearly three years since Robert Whittaker and Israel Adesanya met to unify the Middleweight Championship, and now these two will once again cross paths. A rematch between Whittaker and Adesanya was inevitable at this point, Robert has earned it. After suffering a second round TKO loss to Adesanya in his hometown of Australia, Whittaker has completely redefined his game and has looked unstoppable lately. If a rematch for the Middleweight Championship isn't enough for you the Co-Main event alone is an absolute banger. The UFC's KO King Derrick Lewis will make a quick turnaround after his KO win in December to face rising star Tai Tuivasa. These two will be throwing caution to the wind and someone is hitting the canvas unconscious. The only question is will Derrick add another highlight to his legendary reel or will someone be throwing Tai another shoe? I can't wait to find out!
Israel Adesanya was beginning to make his case as the GOAT of MMA after stepping into the UFC undefeated and then going onto win his first nine fights and the Middleweight Championship. Israel looked so far above his competition that he decided he would step out of his weight class for a new challenge and face Light-Heavyweight Champion Jan Blachowicz. Although it was a bold move for the Last Stylebender it did not pay off as he suffered his first ever loss in Mixed Martial Arts. The fight was extremely close but Jan was able to outlast Israel by utilizing his wrestling and using ground control to win him the fight. Even though Israel fell short at becoming a two-division champ he would bounce back in a brilliant way putting out a flawless performance over Marvin Vettori. The most impressive part of Israel's win was his ability to completely neutralize Marvin's grappling. Going into that fight everyone believed that Vettori had the best wrestling in the Middleweight Division, but Israel showed that he is extremely well verse and taking him down is no easy task.
With Israel showing constant improvements and Robert doing the same what does Vegas think about this rematch? Moneyline: Israel Adesanya (-280)/Robert Whittaker (+225) Total Rounds: Over/Under 4.5 -110
This line is not surprising considering Israel owns such a dominant win over Whittaker the last time they faced. Vegas always put a lot of stock into previous fights and understandably so, but for this rematch I don't think they're taking into account how much Robert's game has truly evolved. The first time these two met the circumstances were completely different. Robert was under immense pressure as he was fighting in his hometown of Australia with the entire nation watching. This clearly effected Robert's style of fighting and also made him fight out of his element. He lunged at Adesanya throughout the entire fight forcing the action which played into Adesanya's style perfectly. Israel was able to find his range and time Robert's lunging attack with his own beautiful counters, eventually putting Robert down, twice.
Whittaker acknowledges the mistakes he made in his first fight with Israel and also admits that he just wanted to hurt Adesanya and fought with reckless abandonment. Now, after he has fought and clawed his way back to the top of the division, he is ready to put on his best performance. When I try to envision this fight taking place I see it going one of two ways. Israel fights at range and slowly picks Whittaker away, or Robert fights a grueling 5 round war that is mixed in with a lot of grappling. At +225 and knowing how much Robert has improved I will be siding with the former champion and taking a shot with such high odds. With that said I wouldn't be surprised at all is Israel is able to win again, but with the odds so heavy in his favor the risk is not worth the reward. I do believe these men will fight the full twenty-five minutes this time so I will also be going with Over 4.5 rounds at -110. I don't see Robert making the same mistakes that lead to his demise before and I also believe Robert will look to make this a long fight so he can wear down the Champion. Whittaker by decision at +550 is also something worth looking at! (I know I'll be placing laying some money down on this prop)
Lets not forget the Co-Main event, don't blink because this most likely ends in the first round. Derrick Lewis has established himself as one of the most dangerous men on the planet, and now he's paired up against Australian native Tai Tuivasa. Tai Tuivasa has recently emerged as a solid threat to the Heavyweight Division coming off of four brutal knockouts in last four fights. His style is very similar to Lewis as he looks to stay in the pocket and trade punches. The problem with that game-plan against someone like Derrick Lewis is that it never ends well. I do believe Tai is a highly entertaining fighter with a lot of potential but with that said I think Derrick Lewis is by far the superior fighter. The last time Tai lunged in recklessly against Greg Hardy he got rocked and then ended up landing a power punch of his own that secured him a victory, but if he does the same thing against Lewis he will be sleeping on the mat. I see Lewis adding another person to his long list of knockouts and redeeming himself in-front of his hometown with another flashy KO win. My pick is Derick Lewis -175.
TOP BETS FOR THIS CARD:
PARLAY OPPURTUNITY:
Carlos Ulberg (-270) + Alex Perez (-350)
Odds Combined: -120
Alexander Hernandez / Renato Moicano
Renato Moicano -165
Andrei Arlovski / Jared Vanderaa
Andrei Arlovski -140
William Knight / Maxim Grishin
William Knight +150
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