UFC 248 Odds and Best Bets – Adesanya vs. Romero
VegasInsider Staff Sports Betting Expert
UFC 248: Israel Adesanya vs. Yoel Romero Betting Odds Prediction
The UFC Middleweight belt will be on the line this Saturday in Las Vegas when Israel Adesanya makes his first title defense against Yoel Romero. Adesanya is a moderate favorite per the UFC betting odds, but Romero is a powerful, experienced challenger.
That will be the main event in UFC 248, but there are some other great bouts on the card. Weili Zhang will defend her Women’s Strawweight belt against Joanna Jedrzejczyk in the co-main event, and Drakkar Klose will face Beneil Dariush in a lightweight battle of contenders.UFC 248: Israel Adesanya vs. Yoel Romero
Date and Time: Saturday, March 7, 2020, 10 p.m. ET
Location: T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada
Why: UFC Middleweight Belt
UFC Betting Online Odds at DraftKings:
Adesanya -278 / Romero +225, Over / Under 3.5 Rounds
TV Coverage: PPV
Odds provided by DraftKings (IN, NJ PA & WV only) T&C's Apply, 21+
Undefeated Israel Adesanya Wants to Move to 19-0 on Saturday Night
Given his unblemished record, Adesanya was bound to be the favorite per the UFC betting odds coming into this fight. He is 18-0 with 14 of his victories coming by knockout, and he has only been seriously challenged once in his eight-year career as an MMA fighter.Romero has lost three of his last four fights coming into this title bout. He has defeated some of the greats in the middleweight division though, and that will make him a formidable foe. His record is 13-4 with 11 of his victories coming by knockout.
Israel Adesanya Fight History
As with many of the UFC greats, Adesanya began his fighting career in a different sport. He became an amateur kickboxer after seeing Ong-Bak at the age of 18, and he ran his record to 32-0 in New Zealand before heading to China. He was 75-5 as a professional kickboxer making the move to MMA in 2012.The Last Stylebender fought with lesser promotions in Asia and Oceania for over five years. He wasted no time proving that he was much better than his foes in this part of the world, winning his first 10 fights by TKO inside of two rounds. That put him on the UFC’s radar, and he was signed by Dana White after dominating victories over Melvin Guillard and Stuart Dale in Melbourne in 2017.
Adesanya made his debut at UFC 221 and was awarded Performance of the Night for his second round TKO of Rob Wilkinson. His second bout didn’t go as smoothly, as he needed to go to the cards to beat Marvin Vettori in a split decision, but he has been fantastic since that close call. He defeated Brad Tavares by unanimous decision in July 2018 and secured a first round TKO of Derek Brunson in November of that year, setting up a bout with Anderson Silva in Melbourne.
His unanimous decision victory over Silva earned him a shot at the interim UFC Middleweight Championship, and he won the belt in a unanimous decision over Kelvin Gastelum in April 2019. That led to a unification bout with Robert Whittaker in October, and Adesanya won the belt when a flurry of punches knocked out his opponent in the second round.
Yoel Romero Fight History
Cuba is known for its excellent boxing pedigree, and the island has produced numerous Olympic gold medalists. Romero has always carved his own path though, so rather than become a boxer, he turned to wrestling and won the silver medal in freestyle wrestling at the 2000 Summer Olympics and placed fourth in the 2004 Summer Olympics. He medaled in five world championships too before defecting from Cuba to live in Germany and become an MMA fighter.  | |
| Yoel Romero is listed as a heavy underdog in his fight against Israel Adesanya. (AP) |
His first major promotion didn’t go as planned though. Romero was knocked out by Rafael Cavalcante, but he didn’t let that setback hold him down. He responded by winning eight straight UFC promotions, knocking out recognizable names like Lyoto Machida and Chris Weidman.
That led to a UFC Middleweight title fight with Whittaker, where Romero lost a unanimous decision. He earned a rematch with a knockout victory over Luke Rockhold, but then he lost the rematch with Whittaker by split decision. In his last bout back in August, he fell to Paulo Costa by way of unanimous decision.
UFC 248: Adesanya vs. Romero Selection Summary
The big question heading into this bout is whether Romero will make weight. He missed weight in two of his last three fights, so there is going to be a concern about this being a title fight until Romero steps on the scales.Adesanya has to be the play assuming Romero makes weight. He had no problem stopping their one common foe, and he has youth and athleticism on his side.
UFC 248: Adesanya vs. Romero Free Pick: Adesanya
Bet Now (IN, NJ, PA & WV only)Odds Subject to Change (T&C's Apply, 21+)
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