The UFC’s first pay-per-view event of 2019 takes place this Saturday and features two blockbuster middleweight bouts at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Australia.
Headlining UFC 234 in the main event is Sydney native Robert Whittaker (20-4), as he defends his 185-pound title belt against challenger Kelvin Gastelum (15-3, 1 No-Contest) as a minus-240 favourite (bet $240 to win $100) on the UFC 234 odds at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.
Whittaker’s past two fights have both come versus top contender Yoel Romero, and each resulted in a decision victory. The last one at UFC 225 in Chicago does not officially count as a title defence because Romero missed weight, although it still resulted in a Fight of the Night bonus with Whittaker winning 100 per cent of that.
Meanwhile, Gastelum is listed as a plus-190 underdog (bet $100 to win $190) on this weekend’s UFC odds following a pair of impressive wins, knocking out former middleweight champion Michael Bisping in the first round at UFC Fight Night 122, then earning a split-decision victory against Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza at UFC 224 that also got a Fight of the Night bonus.
The 27-year-old winner of The Ultimate Fighter 17 has lost just three times in the UFC dating back to 2013, twice by split decision (Tyron Woodley and Neil Magny) and once via arm-triangle choke submission in the third round to former champion Chris Weidman.
Another former 185-pound champ will enter the Octagon in the co-main event, with the legendary Anderson “Spider” Silva (34-8, 1 NC) coming in as a massive underdog opposite unbeaten newcomer Israel Adesanya (15-0), who is a huge favourite of up to minus-650 at some online sports betting sites.
Silva ended a five-bout winless streak in his last fight, picking up a unanimous decision victory against Derek Brunson at UFC 208 nearly two years ago in Brooklyn. He was then suspended one year for failing a USADA drug test after a pair of matchups with Gastelum fell through.
Brunson was also the latest victim of Adesanya, who scored a first-round TKO win over him at UFC 230 last Nov. 3 in New York City. Adesanya is a perfect 4-0 since joining the UFC, winning three Performance of the Night bonuses during that stretch.
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