Israel Adesanya will defend his undisputed UFC middleweight title for the first time when he takes on Yoel Romero on Saturday in the main event of UFC 248 as a -285 favourite on the UFC odds at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.
Adesanya unified the UFC middleweight championship in impressive fashion last time out, finishing Robert Whittaker with a second-round knockout that leaves him sporting an unblemished 18-0 professional MMA record going into Saturday’s bout at T-Mobile Arena.
Adesanya’s victory over Whittaker as -130 chalk at sports betting sites marked his 14th victory inside the distance. However, the 30-year-old has also shown his staying power with four of his past six outings getting decided by the judges. That run includes a unanimous decision victory over Kelvin Gastelum at UFC 236 that earned him both the interim UFC middleweight title and the fourth of his five straight performance bonuses.
Romero enters the octagon on Saturday looking for redemption as a +225 underdog after falling to defeat in three of his past five fights. Romero posted wins in each of his first eight UFC contests, a run that featured victories over former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman and former UFC light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida.
The 42-year-old Cuban’s current slide has included two bids for the UFC middleweight crown that ended in disappointment, and a pair of losses to Whittaker, both by decision. And things got no better for Romero last time out, a three-round unanimous decision loss to Paulo Costa at UFC 241 as a -155 wager.
A belt will also be on the line in Saturday’s co-main event, as UFC women’s strawweight champion Weili Zhang battles former champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk as -150 chalk. Zhang has been dominant since embarking on her pro MMA career, posting wins in each of her past 20 fights, capped by a crushing TKO victory over Jessica Andrade just 42 seconds into their clash at UFC Fight Night 157 that earned her the title.
Zhang has finished opponents in 17 of her 20 pro fights, including seven wins by submission, but faces a wily veteran in Jedrzejczyk, who enters Saturday’s fight as a +120 underdog.
Jedrzejczyk saw her lengthy reign atop the UFC women’s strawweight division end with consecutive losses to Rose Namajunas, and she also lost in her recent battle with Valentina Shevchenko for the UFC women’s flyweight title by unanimous decision. However, she showed signs of a turnaround in her last outing, a five-round unanimous decision win over fellow strawweight Michelle Waterson at UFC Fight 161 as a strong -325 favourite.
