UFC 254: Robert Whittaker vs. Jared Cannonier Betting Guide (2020)
Saturday will mark the final event in another five-fight run on “Fight Island,†located just off the coast of Abu Dhabi.
With the main card starting at 2:00 PM on ESPN+, this event brings a rare opportunity for the company to be displayed mid-day for much of the United States, and in primetime for Europe and parts of Asia.
While all eyes, rightfully so, will be focused on the main event of the evening, the co-main event in this one is a can’t miss matchup between the No. 1 and No. 2 ranked middleweight challengers.
Let’s take a closer look and see where we can find the edge.
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Robert Whittaker (22-5-0) vs. Jared Cannonier (13-4-0)
Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook
Since joining the UFC in 2012 as a welterweight after winning The Ultimate Fighter: The Smashes, Robert Whittaker has quietly put together one of the best resumes in the sport. After three wins and two losses as a welterweight, Whittaker and his team decided to make the move to middleweight, and it has since proved to be the right one.
Whittaker made the switch in 2014, and he earned a second-round TKO against Clint Hester to win Fight of the Night honors. Since then, he’s been on a tear, as he lost just one of his next nine fights. After claiming the middleweight belt following consecutive victories over Yoel Romero, Whittaker lost the belt to current champ Israel Adesanya at UFC 243 via KO (second round).
Whittaker’s challenger on Saturday, Jared Cannonier, is hoping that a win in this one sets him up for a shot at Adesanya himself. That’s a prize he’ll likely earn if he can pull off the win here.
Starting his career in the UFC as a heavyweight in 2015, Cannonier switched to light heavyweight after just one fight, and he remained in that class for fight fights before switching again to a middleweight. The final weight move also has been a godsend for Cannonier and his camp, as he has won all three fights since.
In fact, Cannonier’s last three wins all came as a middleweight, and all came in the first or second round, as he was able to use his core power advantage to TKO all three of his opponents.
Bottom Line
Because these two guys have moved around so much between weight classes, they have no common opponents, which makes this one especially tough to handicap. Both are about the same size and have Purple Belts in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, so the technique and size discussion can mostly be put to rest as well.
I do, however, think there’s something to be said for Whittaker having undergone the “Fight Island†experience once in his July fight (and win) against Darren Till. From the protocols week-of, to the abnormalities that come on fight day compared to the typical event, I think Whittaker is better prepared to mentally handle what is an anything but normal kind of day and week.
With that in mind, and the slight edge to plus money, I’ll take Whittaker in what I expect to be a great back-and-forth fight that goes the distance.
Pick: Whittaker +103 & Lean Over 2.5 Rounds
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TJ Perun is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from TJ, check out his archive and follow him @JohnnyCovers.