UFC 271 Adesanya vs Whittaker 2: Prelims Odds, Predictions, Picks

• Both Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker’s team mates feature in the prelims.

• “Blood Diamond” makes his UFC debut.

• Retirement fight for Roxanne Modafferi.

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Featured Prelim

Andre Arlovski vs Jared Vanderaa – Heavyweight Division

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Former UFC heavyweight champion Andre Arlovski is a veteran of the sport who managed to secure two wins out of three fights last year, with his one loss coming against rising British heavyweight contender Tom Aspinall. Anyone who gets past Arlovski goes on to do big things in the division. Aspinall for example will be headlining UFC London this March, where he faces Alexander Volkov. So far Jared Vanderaa has gone 1-2 in his UFC career which started when he defeated Harry Hunsucker via TKO in round 1 in his contender series fight. This will undoubtedly be Vanderaas most difficult test to date and while Arlovski lacks the knockout power he once had, he brings a veteran mind set and with that, the ability to win the fight round by round.

Our Pick

Andre Arlovski by judges decision (+130)

Roxanne Modafferi vs Casey O’Neill – Women’s Flyweight Division

Roxanne Modafferi AKA “The Happy Warrior” is a pioneer of women’s MMA and has been in the sport since 2003. Womens MMA would not be the way it is today if it wasn’t for fighters like her paving the way for other female MMA fighters. She is the true embodiment of what it means to be a martial artist and while she is not as athletically gifted as some other athletes, she has all the skills to make up for it. All that being said, Roxanne is coming off two losses in a row and recently announced that this would be the last fight of her long career. This leaves no doubt whatsoever that Casey O’Neill, the younger, undefeated fighter will be hungrier for the win. O’Neill has been on an absolute tear through the women’s flyweight division having finished all three of her opponents. She recently defeated Antonina Shevchenko via TKO in round 2.

Our Pick

Casey O’Neill by KO/TKO/DQ in round 2 (+900)

Alex Perez vs Matthew Christopher Schnell – Flyweight Division

Alex Perez has been in the top 5 of the flyweight division for the past couple of years however he lost submission in his last fight vs current flyweight champion Deiveson Figuereido. Matt Schnell has had a mixed bag of results ever since joining the UFC after taking part in “The Ultimate Fighter season 24”. Perez has been the more consistent fighter throughout his career having always faced high level opponents and finishing the majority of his fights.

Our Pick

Alex Perez by judges decision (+200)

William Knight vs Maxim Grishin – Light Heavyweight Division

William Knight has been smashing his way through the Light Heavyweight division ever since being signed to the UFC via the contender series. Maxim Grishin is a 42 fight MMA veteran fighting out of Akhmat fight club in Russia. Knight has the ability to knock out his opponents at any time in the fight and tends to be very explosive in the first few minutes of his fights. Maxim Grishin on the other hand has had most of his wins come by way of judges’ decisions and will be at a huge disadvantage when it comes to physical strength. This could be crucial in clinches up against the fence where Knight likes to exhaust his opponents before going for a devastating finishing strike.

Our Pick

William Knight by KO/TKO/DQ in round 1 (+650)

Early Prelims

Mana Martinez vs Ronnie Lawrence – Bantamweight Division

Ever since his first round submission loss in his contender series bout, Mana Martinez managed to impress Dana White when he defeated Jose Johnson by first round knockout at “Fury FC 46: Lookin’ for a fight”. He extended his winning streak to 3 when he beat Guido Canetti via split decision. Coincidentally, Ronnie Lawrence also earned himself a contract by defeating Jose Johnson on the contender series via unanimous decision and also won his UFC debut. This is a very even matchup but Lawrence has a slight edge when it comes to mixing up the striking and the grappling.

Our Pick

Ronnie Lawrence by judges decision (+100)

Alexander Hernandez vs Renato Moicano – Lightweight Division

This is an awesome fight that could have easily been on the main card. Two fantastic strikers with underrated grappling and a fan friendly fighting style. They have both had a similar run in the UFC and have faced the highest caliber of fighters in the sport. Alexander Hernandez burst onto the scene when he got an early flash KO over Beneil Dariush in 2018, while Moicano has defeated the likes of Calvin Katter and Cub Swanson just to name a few. As evenly matched as this fight is, Hernandez has all the momentum on his side coming off a first round KO win over Mike Breeden in October of last year.

Our Pick

Alexander Hernandez by KO/TKO/DQ in round 1 (+600)

Carlos Ulberg vs Fabio Cherant – Light Heavyweight Division

Carlos Ulberg is yet another former kickboxer, fighting out of City Kickboxing in New Zealand and also one of Israel Adesanya’s main sparring partners. His UFC debut didn’t go as planned when he was knocked out in the second round of his fight vs Kennedy Nzechukwu. On the other hand Fabio Cherant has had an awful stint so far in the UFC having lost both of his fight so far. Both losses came in round one against notable opponents in Alonzo Menifield and William Knight.

Our Pick

Carlos Ulberg by KO/TKO/DQ in round 1 (+120)

AJ Dobson vs Jacob Malkoun – Middleweight Division

Undefeated Middleweight fighter Aj Dobson is fresh off the contender series and enters the UFC with a streak of three first round finishes. There is no doubt that Dobson will be looking to end the fight early, however he is facing his toughest opponent to date in Jacob Malkoun. Malkoun is the long time team mate and sparring partner of former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker, who faces Israel Adesanya for the middleweight championship in the main event. Malkoun had a nightmare UFC debut vs Phil Hawes where he was knocked out in just 18 seconds of the first round but since then has defeated Abdul Razak Alhassan by decision. If Dobson can avoid getting taken down by Malkoun, it should be another day at the office for the debutant.

Our Pick

AJ Dobson by KO/TKO/DQ in round 1 (+400)

Douglas Silva de Andrade vs Sergey Morozov – Bantamweight Division

Douglas Silva de Andrade enters this fight coming off a brutal KO victory over Gaetano Pirello last October, however he faces a much tougher opponent this time around in Sergey Morozov. With his solid striking and grappling, Morozov has managed to KO most of his opponents throughout his career, suffering only one loss vs Umar Nurmagomedov in his last seven fights. While Douglas Silva de Andrade has shown he can end the fight at any moment, Morozov has what it takes to be competitive throughout the bouts’ duration and win the rounds.

Our Pick

Sergey Morozov by judges decision (+110)

Jeremiah Wells vs Mike Mathetha – Welterweight Division

Another one of Adesanya’s team mates, Mike Mathetha better known as “Blood DIamond” makes his UFC debut this weekend after having just 3 pro MMA fights. This comes after a lengthy kickboxing career where he has had over 60 fights. Jeremiah Wells is now on a 3 fight win streak and had a fantastic UFC debut where he knocked out Warrley Alves in the second round of their bout. While Blood Diamond does possess KO power he seems to lack sharpness in the early stages of his fights and will have tons of pressure to perform in his debut which may cause some distraction. Although Wells will be at a disadvantage in the kickboxing department, he is way more experienced in MMA and has a tendency to be explosive early on in his fights.

Our Pick

Jeremiah Wells by KO/TKO/DQ in round 1 (+250)

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