UFC 248: Adesanya v Romero - Betting Preview

After an unparalleled year in 2019, the UFC has got off to yet another incredible start to the year, with events such as McGregor v Cerrone and Jones v Reyes. Now, in what is one of the biggest middleweight fights in recent history, Israel Adesanya takes on Yoel Romero for the middleweight title at UFC 248. Adesanya will be defending his crown for the first time since he knocked out Robert Whittaker in front of a record-breaking attendance at the Marvel Stadium in Australia, whilst Romero comes into a fight off the back of consecutive loses for the first time in his career.

The co-main event sees Weili Zhang continue her famous story in mixed martial arts, six months after she became the first-ever Asian champion in UFC history. Zhang will meet former champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk in the octagon fresh from her win over Michelle Waterson, which was the Pole's first fight back at strawweight.

Elsewhere on the main card, lightweights Beneil Dariush and Drakkar Klose come together, before two welterweight fights that see Neil Magny battle Li Jingliang, and Alex Oliveira take on Max Griffin.

The middleweight division has been a wild one since the return of Whittaker, the rise of Adesanya, and the move to 185 from Darren Till, whilst Romero and Anderson Silva are lingering. Now, after defeating Whittaker, Adesanya has made his almost inevitable way to the top of the division and now has perhaps the toughest test out there when he takes on Romero in Las Vegas.

In a fight that is set to start at 5:40 am UK time, 'The Last Stylebender' is the 4/11 favourite with Sky Bet to beat the 42-year-old in the fight capital of the world. However, with Romero's unpredictable nature and brutal knockout history, 'Soldier of God' is where the money could be at this weekend, as he is priced at 9/4 to win outright.

Romero, an Olympic silver medalist 20 years ago, has built up an almighty CV in mixed martial arts, consisting of 11 KO/TKO's in his 13 wins - only Ronaldo Souza and Brad Tavares have gone the distance with the Cuban and lost. Now, at UFC 248, you can get the knockout artist at 7/2 to win via KO/TKO.

With this being said, Romero has only gone the distance five times in his MMA career, with three of them resulting in a loss. As a result, the price for Adesanya to win via decision at 9/4 is certainly a promising one, whilst the high odds at 11/1 for the challenger is entirely justified.

As well as this, neither fighter is known for their submission qualities, with no fight - win or loss - coming via submission. Despite such incredible qualities in the stand-up game, because of their inabilities in the submission category, both fighters are at 16/1 to win via submitting their opponent.

Our UFC tip for UFC 246: Adesanya v Romero is on our UFC Tips page, where we choose either fighter to win in round three, because of the notable knockout ratios of both men and the lack of fights which have gone the distance between them. Romero himself has managed to KO seven out of 17 opponents in the third round.

Chinese superstar Zhang made history in August 2019 when she became the first-ever Asian champion in UFC history. No male or female from Asia in the organisation's 27-year history have managed to win UFC gold until the 30-year beat Jessica Andrade in her homeland, in what was one of the most special, beautiful and monumental moments in Chinese mixed martial arts history.

Zhang beat the Brazilian after just 42 seconds with a devastating flurry of punches and knees, sending the Shenzhen crowd into a frenzy. Now, you can get the Beijing fighter at 8/13 to win outright, and 5/1 to win in the first round again, whilst she is also priced at 14/1 to win inside 59.5 seconds, just like last time.

Considering Zhang has been on a 20 fight win streak ever since she lost her pro debut and that Jedrzejczyk has lost three of her last five, betting on Zhang to win on points at 3/1 is definitely worth considering. At the same, you can get the Polish fighter at a price of 21/10 to win on points, or 5/1 to win in rounds one to five.

Jedrzejczyk has just the one win via submission on her record, whilst the Hebei-born has seven wins from her 21 fights via submission - the challenger is priced at 16/1 to win via submission, whilst the champion is promising odds at15/2.

There is plenty of expectation for Zhang to continue her famous story in the world of MMA, and she has been backed by many experts and pundits to flourish once again inside the octagon.

Prior to the main event and the co-main event title fights, UFC 248 sees some interesting lightweight and welterweight bouts in Las Vegas. Beneil Dariush clashes with Drakkar Klose in the lightweight division after Li Jingliang and Neil Magny face off in the welterweight division. Alex Oliveira will also face Max Griffin in the welterweight division on the first fight of the main card after it was announced that Derek Brunson v Edmen Shahbazyan was rescheduled for UFC Fight Night 172.

*All odds are with Sky Bet

Beneil Dariush (4/7) vs Drakkar Klose (11/8)

Li Jingliang (4/7) v Neil Magny (11/8)

Alex Oliveira (4/6) v Max Griffin (6/5)