UFC 281 is set to go down in the iconic Madison Square Garden arena on November 12th.
The former middleweight and light heavyweight champion of Glory kickboxing, Alex Pereira, will challenge Israel “The Last Stylebender” Adesanya for the middleweight title. The current strawweight champion Carla Esparza, who will be attempting her first title defence, will compete against the top contender Zhang Weili in the co-main event. This card is well and truly stacked, so let’s get into it.
Molly McCann VS Erin Blanchfield – Molly McCann WIN 11/4
As of the time, this article was written, Molly “Meatball” McCann is an underdog. In her last two fights this year, she has finished both opponents with vicious spinning elbows (followed by punches), earning her both performance of the night honours, which speaks volumes about not only how good her striking is shaping up, but also how much of a confidence wave she is currently riding. Erin Blanchfield will undoubtedly be riding her own confidence wave, as she is currently undefeated in the UFC. With a black belt in BJJ, she is a dangerous customer for any fighter.
Dominick Reyes VS Ryan Spann – Dominick Reyes WIN 4/9
Dominick Reyes was the lightweight division’s man before the Jon Jones fight, going 12-0 and defeating top contenders. Fast forward to 2022, and he hasn’t won a fight since and has lost three in a row. That’s unjust to Reyes, given who he’s lost to, including current champion Jiri Prochazka, former champion Jan Blachowicz, and lightweight goat Jon Jones. This isn’t an easy match, but Reyes is now fighting lower in the rankings than he was previously, which is a great move to get him back on top. “Superman” Spann is coming off a round one guillotine choke victory over Cutelaba. Both men are expecting a great fight on this big night.
Frankie Edgar VS Chris Gutiérrez – Chris Gutiérrez WIN 2/5
In what will be Frankie Edgar’s final UFC fight, his final opponent will not be hoping for the fairytale finish that most fans would like to see Edgar receive; Gutiérrez, who is currently riding a three-fight win streak following his brutal spinning back fist win last time out, is set to face the biggest name on his resume to date. Edgar, who is currently on a two-fight losing streak, both ending in nasty KOs, is hoping for a fairytale ending to what has been an incredible career. Will the MMA gods work their magic once more?
Dustin Poirier VS Michael Chandler – Michael Chandler WIN 7/4
We are almost certain this is the people’s main event. Two warriors in, Poirier and Chandler, go head-to-head in what is sure to be a bloody contest. “The Diamond” Dustin Poirier appears to have licked his wounds following his title fight loss. Now he is ready to reclaim his position as a number one contender. Opposite him is “Iron” Michael Chandler, fresh off a stunning KO victory over Tony Ferguson earlier this year. We believe Chandler can get the job done if he uses the threat of his wrestling and his level changes.
Carla Esparza VS Weili Zhang – Weili Zhang WIN 2/5
“The Cookie Monster,” Carla Esparza will be defending her strawweight title against Weili Zhang for the first time. Esparza’s dominant forward pressure wrestling attributes have propelled her to this point, but as the saying goes, styles make fights, and we believe Weili’s power will be too much for Esparza. We saw some great evolution change in Zhang’s MMA game when she chose to take down Rose Namajunas in their respective fight; she’s evolving and getting better, which is frightening; we believe she’ll come in and win and also get a finish on this night.
Israel Adesanya VS Alex Pereira – Israel Adesanya WIN 1/2
Adesanya’s run in the middleweight division is legendary, defeating every opponent in front of him, most of them convincingly. Israel is truly becoming a victim of his own demise, like Jon Jones and Demetrious Johnson (back in the day). He’s catching a lot of flak lately for his winning style, which lately seems to be outpointing and striking his opponents and making it look too easy in the process. Imagine catching flak because you’re winning too convincingly. Across from him is a man who doesn’t understand the concept of a decision because he comes in with bad intentions from the start. Unlike the other 12 middleweight contestants Israel has faced, none of them has managed to taste victory against the champion. The same can’t be said for Pereira. Pereira has beaten Israel twice before in the kickboxing “Glory” organization. Their last fight ended in a KO win for Pereira.
Summary
So, £10 accumulator will return you £391.02. Be sure to tune in for this insanely stacked UFC 281 card. As always, be sure to check out articles for full breakdowns of these fights on this website. Once again, please note odds may have changed since writing this article.
Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images and Embed from Getty Images
