The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) returns to Texas! Toyota Center in Houston is where UFC 271 will take place on Saturday, February 12, 2022. The fight card is full of existing bouts, the most interesting being the event headliner – Israel Adesanya vs Robert Whittaker 2.
As you’d probably figured out from the title of the fight, this is the second time Adesanya and Whittaker lock horns in the octagon. Their first fight – fought in October 2019 – ended with Adesanya unifying the UFC middleweight title.
Fast-forward to February 2022 and the title is once again at stake. Are we going to see Adesanya defend the title, or will Whittaker exact his revenge?
Israel Adesanya vs Robert Whittaker 2 Odds (UFC 271, 2022)
All odds are per FanDuel as of February 8.
Moneyline
| Israel Adesanya | -265 |
| Robert Whittaker | +210 |
Where and When to Watch
- Date: Saturday, February 12
- Time: 9:00 PM EDT
- Location: Toyota Center in Houston, TX
- Watch: ESPN+
Israel Adesanya Favored to Defend His Title
Israel Adesanya is 21-1 in his professional career, with his only defeat happening in March 2021. The loss in question happened to Jan Blachowicz, who won by unanimous decision. The fight in question was a title fight – for the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship.
It was Adesanya’s first (and so far, only) light heavyweight bout. When it comes to the middleweight division, he’s still without a single loss.
Adesanya is 10-0 in this division in the UFC, with some pretty impressive wins over the last four years. In addition to defeating Whittaker in the title bout in 2019, he’s also defended the championship belt against such elite fighters as Yoel Romero, Paulo Costa, and Marvin Vettori.
Famous as one of the best strikers in the world, Adesanya has won 15 fights by knockout. However, only four of those happened in the UFC. Since fighting in this promotion, he’s won most of his fights by decision.
Is Whittaker Ready to Be a Champ?
Robert Whittaker is 23-5 in his professional career. However, most of his losses happened early in the early days of his pro career.
Whittaker’s most recent loss was the one against Adesanya in 2019. Since then, we saw him bounce back with three straight wins – against Darren Till, Jared Cannonier, and Kelvin Gastelum.
Even though he won each of those by points, his most recent fight (vs Gastelum) was crowned the Fight of the Night at UFC Vegas 24 last April.
Whittaker is now sitting in the #1 place in the UFC Middleweight Rankings thanks to his resurgence. The question is whether this means he’s good enough to get ahold of the title?
The answer is: probably not. Unfortunately for Whittaker, the championship belt is currently in possession of one of the greatest MMA fighters of this generation.
Pick: Israel Adesanya to Win by Decision