Current UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya has shown the odds makers something the rest of us cannot see.
At UFC 281 he is getting a chance at revenge against the man who bested him twice in kickboxing. The man who knocked him out cold in their last bout. Alex Pereira has just three fights in the UFC but he has obviously impressed the top brass enough to get this title shot. It’s a perfect storm of equal talent and back story.
Earlier this month, Adesanya and Pereira were closer in terms of the consensus odds of winning. Something changed with the odds makers that made the division a little wider and it just may be yesterday’s press conference. If not, who knows what made them change their minds.
Here are the current consensus odds:
Alex Pereira +175
Israel Adesanya – 205
It would not be a stretch of the imagination to see Pereira with his hand held aloft and belt around his waist Saturday night.