UFC 281 – Breaking Down Adesanya vs. Pereira: Exact Finish Odds

• Israel Adesanya defends the UFC Middleweight Championship against Alex Pereira on Saturday.
• Adesanya has +125 odds to win by decision and +400 odds to win by KO or TKO.
• Pereira has +600 odds to win by decision and +200 odds to win by KO/TKO.

LAS VEGAS - Alex Pereira faces off against UFC Middleweight Champion Israel Adesanya in a long-awaited UFC matchup.

Pereira holds two victories over Adesanya in kickboxing, but MMA is another game entirely, as evidenced by the exact finish odds for the fight at the online sportsbooks.

Adesanya vs. Pereira Exact Method of Victory

• Israel Adesanya - By Points +125
• Alex Pereira - By Points +600
• Israel Adesanya - By KO, TKO Or Disqualification +400
• Alex Pereira - By KO, TKO Or Disqualification +200
• Israel Adesanya - By Submission +1000
• Alex Pereira - By Submission +2500
• Draw +6600

Pereira’s victories over Adesanya came by decision and by KO, but KO is the method that he is most likely to win by.

He’s coming off of a brutal KO victory over Sean Strickland, his second in three fights, with his first coming in his UFC debut against Andreas Michailidis.

For Adesanya, the most likely method of victory is points – he’s riding a four-fight decision streak, with three of those decisions going his way.

The lone decision loss – and lone loss in an MMA ring – was to at-the-time LHW champion Jan Blachowicz, who was able to take Adesanya down in a way nobody at Middleweight can, and Pereira is unlikely to replicate.

This is made clear by the fact that Pereira’s least likely method of victory is submission – Adesanya has never been submitted, and Pereira has never won by submission.

Pereira has an interesting perspective on the fight – he thinks that Adesanya will have to come to him, rather than him going to Adesanya, as many of the champion’s recent opponents have had to.

“There’s no way he fights the way he’s been fighting, he will have to be more aggressive,” Pereira said. “I’m ready for that. We’re talking MMA, we’re not talking kickboxing. I think he comes more aggressive, and that’s perfect for me.”

If Pereira’s view of the fight rings true, MMA betting fans might want to take either of the KO odds – bettors can take both fighters by KO and still break even as long as the fight ends in a KO.

Alternatively, they could simply take no on the fight to go the distance.

Adesanya vs. Pereira – Will The Fight Go The Distance?

• Yes -125
• No -105

Adesanya and Pereira are set to face off on Saturday at UFC 281.