UFC Fight Night 271 takes place on Saturday at the Climate Pledge Arena in Chicago, Illinois, and features a UFC Middleweight fight between Israel Adesanya and Joe Pfyer as the main event. I have 3 best bets for UFC Fight Night 271, all of which are on the main card, and I’m ready to break each of them down for you.
Let’s get into it, and be sure to also check out the rest of our UFC predictions for all of the UFC Fight Night 271 main-card contests.
UFC best bet: Israel Adesanya vs. Joe Pyfer – Fight to go the Distance – No (-160)
Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook at time of publishing. Playable to -160.
The main event at UFC Fight Night 271 will see Israel Adesanya take on Joe Pyfer in the Middleweight division. Adesanya enters this fight with an MMA record of 24-5 and 13-5 in the UFC, averaging 4.02 significant strikes per minute with a striking accuracy of 48%. Adesanya absorbs 3.20 strikes and has a striking defense of 55%, but his grappling is essentially nonexistent — averaging 0.05 takedowns every 15 minutes. At 76%, his takedown defense is strong.
Adesanya is a worthy favorite, but I’m looking for this fight to end inside the distance. Pfyer has seen seven of his nine UFC fights end inside the distance, while Adesanya has seen four of his last five UFC fights do the same. With an extremely high finish rate on both ends, I don’t see this fight making it to the judges.
Read our full Israel Adesanya vs. Joe Pyfer prediction
UFC prediction: Maycee Barber ML over Alexa Grasso (-180)
Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook at the time of publishing. Playable to -180.
The co-main event at UFC Fight Night 271 will see Alexa Grasso take on Maycee Barber in the women’s Flyweight division. Barber is 15-2 overall and 11-2 in the UFC, averaging 4.61 significant strikes per minute with a striking accuracy of 53%. On the other side, she absorbs 2.76 strikes and has a striking defense of 54%. Her grappling has been solid, as she averages 1.58 takedowns every 15 minutes while boasting a takedown accuracy of 45% and a takedown defense of 51%.
Barber is the clear favorite in this fight, and I don’t mind paying the juice on her money line in this case. Grasso has been in poor form recently, going 0-2-1 in her last three UFC fights. As for Barber, she has won seven UFC fights in a row. Further, Barber has the advantage in both striking volume and grappling. She’s the better fighter in this bout.
Read our full Maycee Barber vs. Alexa Grasso prediction
UFC pick: Mansur Abdul-Malik ML over Yousri Belgaroui (-118)
Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook at time of publishing. Playable to -118.
The second fight on the main card at UFC Fight Night 271 will see Mansur Abdul-Malik take on Yousri Belgaroui in the Middleweight division. Abdul-Malik enters this fight with a flawless MMA record of 9-0-1 and 4-0-1 in the UFC. He averages 4.18 significant strikes per minute and has a striking accuracy of 48%, while he absorbs 3.46 strikes and has a striking defense of 51%. He has shown decent grappling ability, averaging 0.94 takedowns every 15 minutes with a takedown accuracy of 50% and a takedown defense of 83%.
Through four UFC fights, Abdul-Malik has been perfect, winning each of those fights by finish. I like that run to continue this weekend.
Read our full Mansur Abdul-Malik vs. Yousri Belgaroui prediction
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