Middleweight champion Robert Whittaker (20-4, 9 KOs, 5 SUBs) will defend his title against Kelvin Gastelum (15-3, 6 KOs, 4 SUBs) at UFC 234 on Saturday, February 9, 2019 at the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Australia. The main card airs live on pay-per-view starting 10pm ET.
The UFC is headed to Australia for its first pay-per-view event of 2019. Headlining this Saturday’s event is middleweight champion Robert Whittaker AKA Bobby Knuckles - arguably the promotion’s most humble titleholder.
Going against the grain of the “talk-trash-get-noticed” era, Whittaker has quietly become a star in his native country. He gains fans the GSP way: through honor and respect for the sport and his opponents. It’s honestly a breath of fresh air amongst the many Conor McGregor clones clogging up our browsers.
Hoping to spoil Whittaker’s reign is Kelvin Gastelum, who will have to seize the belt in hostile territory. The 27-year old is coming off back-to-back wins over Michael Bisping and Ronaldo Souza, and is 3-1 with 1 NC since jumping up to the middleweight division. That No Contest happened to be a knockout win over Vitor Belfort that was overturned due to marijuana metabolites found in his system. Count that as a win - weed is in no way consider a PED.
In his second title defense, Whittaker will also be gunning for his 10th straight victory - a stellar run that includes wins over Yoel Romero (twice), Souza, Derek Brunson, Uriah Hall and Brad Tavares.
Let’s take a look at the UFC odds at BookMaker.eu and break down your best betting options. Live UFC betting is also available to hedge any of your bets between rounds.
UFC Odds at BookMaker.eu
Kelvin Gastelum +205
Robert Whittaker -265
Significant Striking Stats
Landed per minute: Whittaker 4.82 / Gastelum 3.86
Accuracy: Whittaker 40% / Gastelum 43%
Absorbed per minute: Whittaker 3.65 / Gastelum 2.87
Defense: Whittaker 61% / Gastelum 61%
Grappling Stats
Takedown average: Whittaker 0.37 / Gastelum 0.82
Takedown accuracy: Whittaker 57% / Gastelum 50%
Takedown defense: Whittaker 84% / Gastelum 62%
Submission average: Whittaker 0 / Gastelum 0.18
Bet Whittaker vs. Gastelum at BookMaker.eu
For the first time in six fights, Whittaker is facing somebody that isn’t above the age of 34. His last two fights came against a 41-year old Romero, and prior to that he faced a 38-year old Souza. Not to say that Romero and Souza aren’t elite fighters and athletes in their own right, but those dudes are well past their athletic primes. Whittaker had a noticeable speed advantage against them, which negated the fact that he was the smaller guy.
Gastelum is 28, the same age as Whittaker. And like the champ, he’s a quick, upjumped welterweight who thrives on fast, accurate punching combinations and a whole lot of volume. It’ll be interesting to see how Whittaker deals with that after facing slower dudes that rely on sporadic outbursts.
It should also be noted that Whittaker’s line has steadily dropped since opening in late December. Originally slated as a -230 favorite, late January saw a drop of 30 points, indicating that that most of the online betting action has been on him. Gastelum opened as a +188 favorite and has seen his price rise the other way.
UFC Odds Pick: Gastelum to win at +205
As a 2-1 underdog, Gastelum’s price is too good to pass up. Like we mentioned earlier, he brings a completely different style to this matchup, and is the best pure striker that Whittaker has faced since Uriah Hall in 2015. While Whittaker has looked sensational as of late, he’s fighting Gastelum at his strength, and the American has proved lethal against dudes that have tried to hang with his boxing. This is going to be a close, back-and-forth affair, but Gastelum’s chances of winning are far better than the odds indicate.
Bet on UFC odds at BookMaker.eu
Access live betting lines from your mobile device at BookMaker sportsbook! Real-time spreads, totals, props and money line are all available so start betting with BookMaker today. UFC 234 takes place on Saturday, February 9, 2019 at the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Australia. The main card airs live on pay-per-view starting 10pm ET.
