UFC 248: Adesanya vs Romero Odds, Picks & Betting Preview
- Two title fights headline UFC 248 in Las Vegas on March 7
- Will Joanna Jedrzejczyk reclaim her strawweight belt?
- See the betting preview for the main and co-main event and odds for the main card below
The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is in Las Vegas, Nevada, this Saturday, March 7, for UFC 248 where two title fights headline the card.
In the main event, Israel Adesanya looks to defend his middleweight title for the first time when he takes on perennial contender, Yoel Romero. The co-main attraction sees Weili Zhang looking for her first title defense against the former strawweight queen, Joanna Jedrzejczyk.
The main card airs live at 10:00 pm EST. The table below shows odds for the entire main card, followed by best bets for the event.
UFC 248 Odds
| Fighter | Odds at Book 1 | Odds at Book 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Israel Adesanya | -270 | -270 |
| Yoel Romero | +210 | +230 |
| Fighter | Odds | Odds |
| Weili Zhang | -150 | -175 |
| Joanna Jedrzejczyk | +120 | +152 |
| Fighter | Odds | Odds |
| Beneil Dariush | -165 | -170 |
| Drakkar Klose | +135 | +145 |
| Fighter | Odds | Odds |
| Neil Magny | +145 | +145 |
| Li Jingliang | -175 | -170 |
| Fighter | Odds | Odds |
| Alex Oliveira | -150 | -147 |
| Max Griffin | +120 | +127 |
All odds taken Mar. 2
Will Adesanya Remain Undefeated?
Israel Adesanya (18-0) became the middleweight champion last time out with a second-round knockout win over Robert Whittaker at UFC 243. It was a phenomenal performance and the Nigerian-Kiwi has only gotten better every time he fights. In the fight before he claimed the interim middleweight bout with a decision win over Kelvin Gastelum in arguably the best fight of 2019. The decorated kickboxer is 7-0 and has only been in the UFC for just over two years. He holds notable wins over Derek Brunson, Brad Tavares, Anderson Silva, and Marvin Vettori.
Yoel Romero (13-4) is on a two-fight losing skid but is getting the title shot due to top contender Paulo Costa and Jared Cannonier being out with injuries. The Cuban remains one of the scariest guys in the UFC and is nicknamed “The Boogeyman” by fans and fighters as no one wants to fight him. In his career, he has knocked out Luke Rockhold and Chris Weidman among others but fell short to Robert Whittaker twice for the belt.
This fight is such an interesting one for so many reasons. For starters, Israel Adesanya has become a massive star, like one of the biggest in the company. But, stylistically, this will be one of his toughest matchups yet.
Although Yoel Romero is on a losing streak, he presents so many new challenges to Adesanya like Olympic-level wrestling and serious one-punch knockout power. The only other time we saw the champ fight, someone, with good wrestling and power was Kelvin Gastelum where it was Adesanya’s toughest fight to date.
Yet, in this scrap, I believe Romero won’t use his wrestling as he has shied away from it in recent years leaving Adesanya to use his range to piece up the Cuban and become just the second person and first since 2011 to finish Romero. I see Adesanya scoring a third-round TKO win to defend his middleweight title.
Pick: Israel Adesanya (-270)
Adesanya vs Romero
| 30 | Age | 42 |
| 6’4″ | Height | 5’10” |
| 80″ | Reach | 73.5″ |
| 3 | UFC finishes | 7 |
Can Joanna Jedrzejczyk Become Champion Again?
Weili Zhang (20-1) is riding a very impressive 20-fight winning streak after she lost her pro debut in 2013 she has never lost again. In the UFC, the Chinese champion is just 4-0 and earned a title shot after her third fight where many thought she only got it due to the event being in China. Yet, she made the most out of it as she knocked out Jessica Andrade in just 42 seconds. In her UFC tenure, she has also beat Tecia Torres, Jessica Aguilar, and Danielle Taylor.
Joanna Jedrzejczyk (16-3) is coming off a dominating win over Michelle Waterson at UFC Tampa to earn the strawweight title shot. It was her return to the division after losing to Valentina Shevchenko for the flyweight belt. She was the strawweight champion from March of 2015 to November of 2017 defending the belt five times where she beat the likes of Andrade, Jessica Penne, Claudia Gadelha, and Karolina Kowalkiewicz among others.
This is such a fascinating matchup and one that could go so many different ways. We’ve seen Joanna Jedrzejczyk get knocked out before and we know Zhang has a ton of power. But, we have also seen the Pole just outwork and piece up her opponents for five rounds, and we’ve never seen the Chinese champ go five rounds before.
Ultimately, in this fight, I believe we will see the latter happen as Jedrzejczyk is the better striker and has the better cardio where she’ll be able to avoid the power for the first round and piece up Zhang to reclaim her strawweight title with a decision win.
Pick: Joanna Jedrzejczyk (+152)
Other UFC 248 Picks
- Beneil Dariush (-165): Dariush is the better grappler where he’ll be able to take this fight to the ground and either earn a submission win or a dominant decision win.
- Li Jingliang (-170): Magny hasn’t fought since May of 2018, add that in with Jingliang’s striking and finishing ability, I believe the Jingliang will earn a TKO win.
- Max Griffin (+127): Griffin has the better chin and more power, this fight will come down to that as Griffin earns a TKO win.
Cole graduated from Sheridan College in April of 2019 with a diploma in journalism. He now is a full-time freelance writer, focusing on MMA for sites like BJPENN, while also covering the Toronto Blue Jays as a credentialed media member. At SBD, Cole covers the four major sports and MMA.
