Why Israel Adesanya is surprised he's betting favorite vs. Alex Pereira at UFC 287

Israel Adesanya admits he didn’t expect oddsmakers to favor him against Alex Pereira at UFC 287.

Adesanya (23-2 MMA, 12-2 UFC) will look to reclaim the middleweight belt from Pereira (7-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC) in Saturday’s main event at Miami-Dade Arena in Miami. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on ESPN+.

According to DraftKings, Adesanya is a -155 favorite, meaning a $155 bet would be needed on the former champion to return $100 profit. Pereira is a +135 underdog, meaning a $100 bet on the champion would win $135.

“I am surprised by that, to be honest, because I thought these bookies were not as smart as they are,” Adesanya told TMZ. “I’m surprised they actually picked me as the favorite because I am the more polished fighter, but he’s just the guy that’s got the tools, he’s got that nuke. Only a few fighters in history have that.

“Eugene said in an interview: You’re lucky to face a Mike Tyson. You’re lucky to face a guy like David Tua. You’re lucky to face a guy like Deontay Wilder, even just once in your career. You’re lucky to face a guy like Alex Pereira even once in your career. So yeah, lucky me.”

It may not come as a surprise that Adesanya is a slight favorite considering that he was up 3-1 on the judges’ scorecards in their first fight at UFC 281 before he was stopped late in Round 5. Adesanya almost finished Pereira at the end of Round 1, but “Poatan” likely was saved by the bell.

“One more shot – one more shot is all it took,” Adesanya said. “I did the same thing when I fought my guy Rob (Whittaker) at UFC 243 – the last second, I dropped him. I’m dangerous every second of every fight.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 287.