UFC 248: Adesanya vs Romero Betting Pick

The next big event on the UFC’s fight calendar is happening on March 7, 2020, at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. UFC 248 will feature the middleweight title bout between champion Israel “Last Stylebender” Adesanya and Yoel “Soldier of God” Romero.

Adesanya unified his interim belt and became the undisputed UFC middleweight title by knocking out Robert Whitaker UFC 243 last October 6, 2019. Shortly after his victory, Adesanya himself picked Romero to be his first title challenger and the UFC obliged by booking the two exciting middleweights to the main event of UFC 248. This is the third title fight for Adesanya and the fourth crack at a UFC belt for Romero.

If you are looking to buy the PPV for this event and would want to try your luck at some betting action, you’re in the right place as we’re going to teach you how to place your bets on UFC 248. Read on:

Placing a Bet on UFC 248

I know you’re a sports fan because you’ve found us. But most probably, you’ve been betting on the four major North American Professional Sports Leagues, namely the NFL, MLB, NBA, and NHL. I don’t blame you, those are the sports that get much of the coverage, really. But one sport that is fast catching up nowadays is MMA or Mixed Martial Arts. The sport has gone a long way from its beginnings as a crude and barbaric fight sport when it ushered UFC 1. With the arrival of pay per view stars like Chuck Liddell, Tito Ortiz, Georges St. Pierre, Brock Lesnar and now Conor McGregor, MMA has been rivaling boxing as the world’s premier fight sport.

For the main event of UFC 248, the current moneyline at the online sportsbook TitanBet is Israel Adesanya at -239 and Yoel Romero at +185. This means that you have to bet $239 to win $100 on Adesanya and that a $100 bet on Romero earns you $185 if the challenger wins. When fight night draws near, these betting sites usually add a draw to the odds board and I will tell you that no matter how cute the odds for a draw are, don’t fall for it. The total number of rounds for a UFC fight is an odd number, either 3 or 5 for a title bout. I’m not saying a draw is impossible but unlike boxing which has 4, 6, 8, 10 or 12 round bouts which could be split between two fighters, the chances of seeing a draw in the UFC is lower than it is in boxing.

Betting on the Winner

If you are new to UFC betting, then it’s best if you make a bet on the Moneyline. It’s simple: Just pick the fighter which you think will win the fight. That’s it. But how do you pick your winner? If you’re a UFC fan, that won’t be a problem. If not, that isn’t also much of a problem. You can always research and take a look at both fighters’ previous bouts. Take a look at their opponents, method of victory, and fight statistics. Those are available at the UFC’s site.

You should also read the news. Preparing for a UFC fight is almost as important as the fight itself. We’ve seen too many fighters have trouble with their weight cut. They either miss weight, make weight but get too drained to win fights or get pulled out due to weight cut issues. You should also take a look at the injury history of the fighters and if there is any big news coming out of the training camps.

Then take a look at the odds. For this fight, the champion is the favorite while the challenger is the underdog. The reason behind these odds is simple. Adesanya is undefeated inside the UFC octagon and he has an overall record of 18-0 with 13 knockouts. He has been the favorite in all his UFC bouts and he has won all of them convincingly.

On the other hand, Romero is coming off back to back losses to Robert Whitaker and Paulo Costa. Both bouts were too close to call and if there was a different set of judges, both could have gone Romero’s way. Romero is also way up there in age. The Cuban is 42. He will be facing an opponent who is a dozen years younger than him. Adesanya also has a massive seven-inch reach advantage so you shouldn’t be surprised why he is a solid favorite right now.

How Will This Fight Go?

Although Yoel Romero is 42 years of age, he has not looked his age at all. He has a well-chiseled frame and still has the explosive punching that we’ve seen from him over the years. Not only that, he is a world-class wrestler being a former Olympic silver medalist in wrestling. He has an odd striking style and he bursts into action in spurts. He is durable and has plenty of power in both hands. If he can’t take you out with his hands, he will take you to the ground and pound you.

Adesanya is the current toast of the promotion. The Nigerian native has never been outstruck in all his seven UFC bouts. He has incredible reflexes and accurate striking, which makes one remember a young Anderson Silva, only more powerful and more ruthless. Adesanya has a significant reach advantage in this fight, which is seven inches and that could make the night long for the Cuban. I think that Adesanya would rather fight at a distance and lead with punches and kicks to prevent Romero from exploding on offense.

I think that Romero will try to take Adesanya down here because it will be difficult for him to explode and move forward without getting hit in the face by someone who is much more rangier than him. Romero though will have to deal with Adesanya’s 85% takedown defense and try to get closer without getting punched or kicked.

But if he can take Adesanya down, Romero has a chance. While Adesanya has a solid ground game, Romero’s wrestling is world-class. However, based on what we’ve seen from the Cuban as of late, he’s more of a striker now who relies on his power more than his wrestling. That won’t work in this fight. That said, I think Adesanya is too long, too slick and too quick for Romero. At -239 at TitanBet as of 2/14/20, I think the Last Stylebender has terrific value.

Prediction: Israel Adesanya

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