UFC 281 midweek odds: Israel Adesanya favored over Alex Pereira, Carla Esparza underdog to Weili Zhang

Madison Square Garden in New York City will play host to UFC 281 this Saturday (November 12th) with two titles swaying in the balance on the PPV main card. The night’s marquee matchup will see the UFC’s reigning middleweight king, Israel Adesanya, defend his throne against a familiar foe in Alex Pereira. The co-main event is getting the UFC’s strawweight queen, Carla Esparza, pitted against a former 115-pound champion in Weili Zhang. Before any of that, though, let’s go take a look at the betting odds for these title tilts.

Despite already owning a pair of kickboxing losses to Alex Pereira, Israel Adesanya is favored to retain his status as supreme ruler of 185-pounds. Izzy is being offered up with a -205 moneyline, and tossing a $100 his way could see a possible total return of $148.78. That leaves Pereira in the underdog position, and he can be scooped up at a value of +175. If successful, dropping a $100 on Alex stands to see a complete payout of $275.

A rather lack-luster encounter where Carla Esparza finally captured back her strawweight crown didn’t seem to inspire the oddsmakers enough to give them a reason to pick her over Weili Zhang. Esparza is on deck as a sizable +270 underdog, with a $100 gamble on her hoping to win back $370. The bookies are heavily favoring Zhang to reclaim gold, and have her moneyline listed at -325. Betting a hundo on the former champ would bring in a total profit of $30.77, plus the $100 back of course.

Check out the UFC 281 betting odds, courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook:

Be sure to check back in with Bloody Elbow to catch the final betting odds on fight day, as the moneylines tend to shift a bit following the weigh-ins. Don’t forget to subscribe to our Bloody Elbow Presents YouTube channel to stay up to date with all of our podcast content. Happy hunting!