UFC 271 betting tips and Adesanya v Whittaker 2 predictions

Free MMA tips, best bets and analysis for UFC 271, which takes place at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas, on Saturday night.

Where to watch

BT Sport 1, from 1am Saturday night

Best bets

Robert Whittaker
1pt 9-4 bet365

Tai Tuivasa to win in round one
1pt 5-1 Paddy Power

UFC 271 betting preview

Robert Whittaker gets a shot at redemption when he takes on middleweight champion Israel Adesanya for the second time at UFC 271.

Adesanya defeated Whittaker via a second-round knockout at UFC 243 in October 2019 and, after three successful defences, he's starting to lap the division.

The Last Stylebender has been a dominant force at middleweight but he suffered his one and only loss when stepping up to light heavyweight to face Jan Blachowicz.

Blachowicz exposed Adesanya's lack of wrestling skills and Whittaker can also find a route to success if he follows that blueprint.

Whittaker has a background in freestyle wrestling and should be able to comfortably control proceedings on the ground.

If the fight follows the same pattern as their first meeting, which played out on the feet, then Adesanya looks likely to earn another KO win, but Whittaker insists he's learned from his mistakes and this has the potential for an upset.

The co-main event is a heavyweight clash between power punchers Derrick Lewis and Tai Tuivasa.

Lewis holds the UFC record for the most knockout victories (13) and Tuivasa boasts six KO wins since signing for the UFC, ending each of his last four via that route.

This could go either way with just one punch required to end the bout but the value lies with Tuivasa, who is riding a four-fight winning streak, to claim a first-round win.

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