- Alex Pereira is a +115 underdog against Israel Adesanya, coming off of a TKO win over Adesanya.
- Pereira has +165 odds to win by KO or TKO.
- He only has one fight as a professional MMA fighter that he’s won by anything other than KO or TKO.
LAS VEGAS - Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira will face off in the main event of UFC 287, with Adesanya, the challenger, favored.
UFC 287: Pereira Vs. Adesanya 2 Odds
- Alex Pereira +115
- Israel Adesanya -140
This comes despite the fact that Adesanya not only lost to Pereira in their previous matchup, which saw Pereira take his UFC Middleweight Championship, he also has lost to Pereira twice in kickboxing.
UFC 287: Pereira Vs. Adesanya 2 Method Of Victory Odds
- Alex Pereira Wins By Decision Or Technical Decision +475
- Israel Adesanya Wins By Decision Or Technical Decision +175
- Alex Pereira Wins By KO, TKO Or DQ +165
- Israel Adesanya Wins By KO, TKO Or DQ +350
- Alex Pereira Wins By Submission +2800
- Israel Adesanya Wins By Submission +1200
The online gambling sites seem to believe that a Pereira KO/TKO is the most likely outcome, giving it +165 odds.
He won by TKO against Adesanya the first time they fought in the UFC, and has next-to-no submission game.
It makes sense that even though Adesanya is favored, Pereira’s stone hands and immaculate precision make his KO odds significantly more likely than any other outcome for him. Still, bettors can get a bump of about 50 points by taking Pereira by KO/TKO instead of his outright moneyline.
In his MMA history, Pereira has only seen one decision victory, and every other victory has been via KO or TKO.
Even in kickboxing, Pereira’s prowess as a KO artist was pronounced – almost two thirds of his kickboxing wins came by knockout.
His nickname, Poatan, even means “stone hands” in the language of the Tupi people of Brazil.
If he wins, it’ll almost certainly be in a similar manner to his previous fight against Adesanya – Adesanya dancing around him and scoring points until one of those stone hands catches him – and that means bettors can get 50 extra points by taking Pereira by KO instead of outright.