Looking for some unique parlay opportunities with Super Bowl 56 this weekend? UFC has a terrific 271 card from Houston on Saturday night headlined by a rematch between middleweight champion Israel Adesanya and top contender Robert Whittaker. Check out the MMA odds, analysis, and free picks for UFC 271’s main card.

UFC 271 Event Info

• When: Saturday, February 12, 2022 at 10:00 pm ET
• Where: Toyota Center, Houston, TX
• TV: PPV
• Live Stream: UFC Fight Pass

UFC 271 Main Card Odds

UFC 271 Main Card Preview

Israel Adesanya vs. Robert Whittaker

Adesanya is a -280 favorite for the main event, with Whittaker at +230. Back in October 2019 at UFC 243, Adesanya knocked out Whittaker with a right hook-left hook combination at 3 minutes, 33 seconds of the second round from Melbourne, Australia. Adesanya unified the middleweight title with the stoppage victory. He came in as the interim champion, and Whittaker was the lineal champion.

Whittaker blitzed in with punches, Adesanya evaded and then landed two quick hooks in rapid succession. Whittaker crashed to the ground, and Adesanya followed with punches on the ground to finish it off.

“He caught me with a nice one, but I returned,” Adesanya said. “I eat it, but give it back two times. That’s a two-piece right there. I can take it and give it back. He’s right, I hate to get hit. It’s stupid to get hit. I’m tough and smart. At the end of the day, my team and I were smart.”

Whittaker revealed that his training camp for that fight was a “slog” and that perhaps he was burned out from the MMA game itself. He even pondered retirement, but within a month, Whittaker was “itching” to get back in the octagon again.

“It was such a different experience because for one, I was burnt out from the game itself,” Whittaker said. “The camp was just a slog trying to get through it. I was dragging my feet getting to training, doing everything that I was doing for the fight, that it just wasn’t fun. I wasn’t enjoying it. Whereas this time, it’s been hard work, but I’ve been enjoying it… I’m enjoying the ride. I made sure to enjoy the moments between sessions a lot more. A week out from the fight, I’m enjoying this week a lot more. I’m enjoying the lead-up and the build-up a lot more – I’m happy, I’m in a good place.”

Adesanya (21-1) comes off a unanimous decision win over Marvin Vettori last June. The fight was largely dominant in Adesanya’s favor. The champion utilized his leg kicks as a major debilitating weapon as Vettori plodded forward. Although Vettori did secure multiple takedowns in the fight, they were few and far between and often were reversed by Adesanya.

Right after the win, Adesanya called out Whittaker (23-5), who is 3-0 since the first loss to Adesanya. The Kiwi was last in the Octagon in April and beat Kelvin Gastelum by unanimous decision. Whittaker beautifully mixed up his striking over all five rounds, landing jabs, straight rights, left hooks, leg kicks and even a front kick to Gastelum’s jaw in the final frame. Gastelum was replacing Paulo Costa, Whittaker’s original opponent, who had to pull out due to lingering effects of COVID-19. Whittaker, 30, held the middleweight belt from 2017 to 2019.

UFC 271 Pick: Adesanya by decision

Derrick Lewis vs. Tai Tuivasa

At heavyweight, Derrick Lewis is a -190 favorite against Tai Tuivasa (+160) in a non-title bout. Lewis (26-8), a former interim heavyweight champion, holds the most knockouts in UFC history with 13. He finished Chris Daukaus by first-round KO in December in his last bout. The KO broke the tie for most knockouts in UFC history, breaking the tie he had with Matt Brown and Vitor Belfort. It was Lewis’ first appearance in the octagon since his disappointing heavyweight title fight loss to Cyril Gane at UFC 265 in August 2021.

Tuivasa (13-3) beat Augusta Sakai by second-round knockout in December. After a close opening round, Tuivasa landed a left hook which wobbled his Brazilian opponent early in the second. The 28-year-old Sydneysider then swarmed on Sakai, landing huge blows including a monster right hand which closed the show.

UFC 271 Pick: Lewis by KO

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