Israel Adesanya opens as betting favorite over Kelvin Gastelum

By James Lynch - February 21, 2019

Israel Adesanya has opened as a slight betting favorite against Kelvin Gastelum for their interim middleweight title fight at UFC 236.

Israel Adesanya

Oddsmaker Nick Kalikas of BetDSI opened “Stylebender” as a -185 favorite (bet $185 to win $100) against Gastelum +155 (bet $100 to win $155) ahead of their clash on Apr. 13.

Kalikas explained his decision on the odds on MMAOddsBreaker.

“Stylistically, if Adesanya can keep this fight standing, he clearly has an advantage with his elite kickboxing background and striking skill-set. Gastelum has power on the feet and presents issues as a southpaw, but he’s almost certainly needs to take this fight to the floor to win it. It’s easy to assume that this is a great stylistic matchup for Adesanya, but perhaps we are underestimating Gastelum here. Gastelum has faced some of the best fighters in the world at middleweight as an undersized 185-pounder and has performed well. That being said, Adesanya is on a crazy rise right now has a tremendous amount of support from the betting public so I’m going to open him as a -185 betting favorite with the comeback on Gastelum being +155.”

Israel Adesanya (16-0) is coming off a unanimous decision win over former middleweight champion at UFC 234, which pushed his UFC record to 5-0. The 29-year-old made his UFC debut in Feb. 2018 and has since defeated Rob Wilkinson, Marvin Vettori, Brad Tavares, Derek Brunson and Silva. Adesanya has opened as a betting favorite in all of his UFC fights, but the matchup against Silva was the largest by a margin as he opened at -400 when that matchup was announced.

Kelvin Gastelum (15-3, 1 NC) was slated to face middleweight champion Robert Whittaker at UFC 234 before a last minute hernia injury forced the Aussie off the card. Prior to that, Gastelum earned a split decision over Ronaldo Jacare Souza at UFC 224 and knocked out former champion Michael Bisping at  UFC Fight Night 122.

UFC 236 takes place Apr. 13 on pay-per-view and a location has yet to be determined.

What do you think off the odds for this Israel Adesanya vs. Kelvin Gastelum fight?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 2/21/2019.

This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM

Previous Post

Next Post

Topics:

Israel Adesanya Kelvin Gastelum UFC UFC 236

Related

Manel Kape, Kai Kara-France

Manel Kape goes scorched earth on Kai Kara-France after recent comments: "I'll beat you till you love me"

Josh Evanoff - December 20, 2024
Colby Covington
UFC

Daniel Cormier reveals what worries him about Colby Covington's UFC future following TKO loss to Joaquin Buckley

Fernando Quiles - December 20, 2024

Daniel Cormier believes he knows the deciding factor in how Colby Covington recovers from suffering back-to-back losses. Covington stepped inside the Octagon for the final UFC event and fight of 2024. He went one-on-one with surging welterweight contender Joaquin Buckley. Covington’s chin was certainly on display and he ate some hard shots from Buckley, who was as crisp as ever in the standup. While “Chaos” found a little bit of success with his grappling in round two, the damage from “New Mansa” was evident.

Alex Pereira Khamzat Chimaev
Khamzat Chimaev

Former UFC champion thinks Khamzat Chimaev beats Alex Pereira in rumored title fight

Fernando Quiles - December 20, 2024

One former UFC titleholder believes Khamzat Chimaev would be able to dethrone the current light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira. Rumors have been swirling since Pereira took to social media to claim that Magomed Ankalaev will not be his next title challenger. Some have speculated that Chimaev will move up from 185 pounds to challenge Pereira for the gold at light heavyweight.

Logan Paul, Conor McGregor
Logan Paul

Conor McGregor mocks "novice" Logan Paul and dubs fight UFC vs WWE

Harry Kettle - December 20, 2024

UFC star Conor McGregor has mocked Logan Paul in a recent social media post as talk of a boxing match between them intensifies. Nobody ever truly knows what Conor McGregor is going to do next. The Irishman is an absolute enigma in the world of mixed martial arts, and that’ll likely continue to be the case for as long as he’s involved in the fight game. Recently, he’s been teasing the idea of a blockbuster boxing match between himself and Logan Paul.

Jon Jones
UFC

Jon Jones teases new career for life after mixed martial arts

Harry Kettle - December 20, 2024

UFC legend Jon Jones has teased what he could end up doing when he eventually retires from mixed martial arts. As we know, Jon Jones is widely considered to be the greatest of all time in mixed martial arts. At this point, there are very few fans and pundits who dispute that. At the same time, he’s also the UFC heavyweight champion, and seems to have his eyes set on continuing his historic run next year.

Justin Gaethje, Dan Hooker

Dan Hooker vs Justin Gaethje reportedly considered in huge possible lightweight fight

Harry Kettle - December 20, 2024
Gilbert Burns, Colby Covington
Gilbert Burns

Gilbert Burns responds to Colby Covington's callout

Cole Shelton - December 19, 2024

Gilbert Burns has responded to Colby Covington’s callout. After Burns leaked Chael Sonnen’s phone number, who is now Covington’s coach, ‘Chaos’ called out the Brazilian for his next fight. Covington said he wanted to get payback for Sonnen and felt like that fight also made sense.

Colby Covington and Chael Sonnen, Gilbert Burns
Gilbert Burns

Colby Covington offers to fight Gilbert Burns for leaking Chael Sonnen's phone number: "He's despicable!"

Josh Evanoff - December 19, 2024

UFC welterweight contender Colby Covington wants to fight Gilbert Burns on Chael Sonnen’s behalf. ‘Chaos’ is fresh off his return to the octagon in the main event of UFC Tampa last Saturday night. Back for the first time since a loss to Leon Edwards last year, Colby Covington stepped up on short notice to face Joaquin Buckley. ‘New Mansa’ entered the bout riding a wave of momentum, last scoring a knockout win over Stephen Thompson in October.

Kai Asakura
Kai Asakura

Kai Asakura vows to become UFC champion after suffering loss to Alexandre Pantoja: "Make my dream come true"

Josh Evanoff - December 19, 2024

Despite his loss to Alexandre Pantoja, Kai Asakura remains confident that he’ll become UFC flyweight champion. The former RIZIN bantamweight champion is fresh off his UFC debut earlier this month in Las Vegas. Back for the first time since a knockout win over Juan Archuleta in December, Kai Asakura faced Alexandre Pantoja. The Japanese star got a rare title shot in his promotional debut, given the champion’s dominance over the flyweight division.

Kamaru Usman, Jack Della Maddalena
Kamaru Usman

Kamaru Usman interested in UFC 312 showdown against Jack Della Maddalena: "I'll put him to the test"

Josh Evanoff - December 19, 2024

Former UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman is interested in fighting Jack Della Maddalena. ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ hasn’t been seen in the octagon in over a year. He last appeared in the cage at UFC 294 last October, stepping up on short notice for a middleweight showdown with Khamzat Chimaev. Ultimately, ‘Borz’ handed Kamaru Usman his third loss in a row, this time by majority decision.