Former middleweight champion Robert “Bobby Knuckles” Whittaker (21-5, 9 KOs, 5 SUBs) and the explosive Jared Cannonier (13-4, 9 KOs, 2 SUBs) at UFC 254 on Saturday, October 24, 2020 at UFC Fight Island in Abu Dhabi, UAE. The middleweight feature takes place on a pay-per-view card headlined by undefeated lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov (28-0, 8 KOs, 10 SUBs), making his third title defense against the violent Justin Gaethje (22-2, 19 KOs, 1 SUB). The UFC odds at BookMaker.eu opened with Cannonier as a slight -120 favorite, with Whittaker at -110 on the comeback. Let’s break down the scrap and get to your best online betting picks.
Bet on UFC at BookMaker.eu
Robert Whittaker (21-5, 9 KOs, 5 SUBs)
It’s easy to forget that The Reaper was the undisputed middleweight champ just one year ago. But he was dunked on by Israel Adesanya and left in the dust as Stylebender has transcended into superstardom. After getting back on track with a hard-fought win over Darren Till, here are a few things to remember: Whittaker is on a 12-1 run, which includes wins over Till, Yoel Romero (twice), Jacare Souza, Derek Brunson and Uriah Hall. He’s still just 29 years old!
However, the wars with Romero were the kind that can take years off a fighter’s life. And Whittaker has been through all sorts of crazy injuries - Fox Sports Australia wrote that he just might be “the unluckiest man in Aussie sport”. He missed almost all of 2017 with a knee injury. As champion, he pulled out of a 2018 title defense after a staph infection in his stomach left him in serious condition. Later that year, Gastelum pulled out of yet another title defense against Kelvin Gastelum just hours before the fight was scheduled to take place - this time due to an abdominal hernia and collapsed bowel. Whittaker was literally fighting for his life instead of fighting in the cage.
Here’s hoping that Bobby Knuckles is 100% recovered, and fights at 100% moving forward. Because he is a stellar boxer with serious pop, and has championship level stuff.
Jared Cannonier (13-4, 9 KOs, 2 SUBs)
While not a name casuals will be familiar with, Jared Cannonier is well known to his peers. At 205, Cannonier was good enough to earn matchups with Glover Teixeira, Jan Blachowicz and Dominick Reyes. While he lost all of those matchups, it’s impressive that he was in the cage with the elite tier in the first place. Still, a move to middleweight yielded huge rewards: three fights, three TKOs against David Branch, Anderson Silva and Jack Hermansson - all very solid dudes.
But here’s the ultimate sign of respect: Israel Adesanya called him out after putting on a clinic against Paulo Costa. Cannonier has been putting in work, and it caught the eye of the king. Of course, he needs to get past Whittaker, which is far easier said than done.
Cannonier has elite physical tools - that much is clear. There aren’t many guys as quick and explosive as the 36-year old. This is a guy that hung with light heavyweights and is now knocking out middleweights. That kind of speed and power is a cheat code.
Significant Striking Stats
Strikes landed per minute: Whittaker 4.82 / Cannonier 3.62
Striking accuracy: Whittaker 40% / Cannonier 51%
Strikes absorbed per minute: Whittaker 3.65 / Cannonier 2.76
Striking defense: Whittaker 61% / Cannonier 67%
Grappling Stats
Takedowns per 15 minutes: Whittaker 0.37 / Cannonier 0.2
Takedown accuracy: Whittaker 57% / Cannonier 33%
Takedown defense: Whittaker 84% / Cannonier 44%
Submissions per 15 minutes: Whittaker 0 / Cannonier 0
UFC Picks
What a tough fight to bet on. This is pretty much a pick’em for good reason, and it’s tough to really lean on anyone here. Instead, we’ll go with the rounds over or the decision prop. This will be so competitive that we don’t expect anyone to pull ahead, which should mean for a back and forth battle that goes into deep water.
UFC 254: Khabib vs. Gaethje Card & Odds
Lightweight Championship - Justin Gaethje +273 vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov -347
Middleweight - Jared Cannonier -117 vs. Robert Whittaker -107
Heavyweight - Walt Harris +147 vs. Alexander Volkov -176
Light Heavyweight - Ion Cutelaba +243 vs. Magomed Ankalaev -303
Middleweight - Jacob Malkoun +207 vs. Phil Hawes -255
Heavyweight - Tai Tuivasa -102 vs. Stefan Struve -122
Light Heavyweight - Sam Alvey +273 vs. Da Un Jung -347
Women’s Flyweight - Liana Jojua +338 vs. Miranda Maverick -444
Welterweight - Shavkat Rakhmonov -107 vs. Alex Oliveira -117
Catchweight - Casey Kenney -186 vs. Nathaniel Wood +154
Lightweight - Joel Alvarez -162 vs. Alexander Yakovlev +134
Access live betting lines from your mobile device at BookMaker Sportsbook! Real-time spreads, totals, props, and money lines are all available so start betting with BookMaker today.
