UFC’s two best middleweight meet again this February at the Toyota Center in Houston
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UFC delivers the best that its middleweight division has to offer when champion Israel Adesanya and top challenger Robert Whittaker meet for a second time at UFC 271. The UFC middleweight title fight headlines a pay-per-view card from the Toyota Center in Houston on Feb. 12.
Adesanya has been absolutely sublime at middleweight, with a brief detour to the light heavyweight title picture causing the only blemish on his otherwise perfect MMA record. “The Last Stylebender” (21-1) enters this title defense with a 10-0 middleweight record, eliminating elite 185-pounders like Marvin Vettori (twice), Paulo Costa, Yoel Romero, Kelvin Gastelum, Derek Brunson and Anderson Silva. Then, of course, there is the man he rolled over to win the UFC middleweight crown.
Whittaker (23-5) appeared poised to build himself a compelling case as UFC’s second greatest middleweight champion, just behind the legendary “Spider” Silva. That spark was short-lived after being outclassed and knocked out by Adesanya in front of Whittaker’s Australian faithful. The former champion defended his No. 1 contender’s position with consecutive wins over Gastelum, Jared Cannonier and Darren Till en route to redemption.
UFC 271’s marquee showdown offers each combatant something valuable. For Adesanya, the chance to further cement his place as this generation’s greatest middleweight fighter. For “The Reaper”, a moment to reclaim his soul from the man who stripped him of it.
Below is the current fight card with the latest odds from Caesars Sporstbook once they are posted.
UFC 271 fight card, odds
- Israel Adesanya (c) vs. Robert Whittaker, middleweight championship
- Kyler Phillips vs. Marcelo Rojo, bantamweight
- Alex Perez vs. Matt Schnell, flyweight
- Vinc Pichel vs. Mark Madsen, lightweight
- Roxanne Modafferi vs. Casey O’Neill, women’s flyweight
- Carlos Ulberg vs. Fabio Cherant, light heavyweight
- Ed Herman vs. Maxim Grishin, light heavyweight
- Mana Martinez vs. Ronnie Lawrence, bantamweight
- Alexander Hernandez vs. Renato Moicano, lightweight
- AJ Dobson vs. Jacob Malkoun, middleweight
- Douglas Silva De Andrade vs. Sergey Morozov, bantamweight
- Orion Cosce vs. Blood Diamond, welterweight
UFC 271 info
- Date: Feb. 12
- Location: Houston, Texas — Toyota Center
- Start time: 10 p.m. ET (Main card)
- How to watch: ESPN+ PPV
