5 UFC fighters that fans regretted betting on in 2021
UFC fans often put their money on some of their favorite fighters, banking on them to boost their bank accounts by picking up victories inside the octagon. Fans often bet on fighters who are either on winning streaks, are former champions, have a lot of hype around them or are dominant champions.
While most of the time certain fighters are expected to go out there and get the job done, it doesn't take too long for the tides to turn in the fight game. Sometimes overwhelming favorites fall against underdogs and 2021 was, in many ways, the year of upsets inside the octagon.
With the UFC's 2021 season officially on the books, we're looking at some of the biggest upsets that have occurred this year. In this article, we talk about five fighters that fans regretted betting on in 2021.
#5. Israel Adesanya (UFC 259)
UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya was backed by many to conquer the light heavyweight division when he fought Jan Blachowicz in the main event of UFC 259 earlier this year. Adesanya was a -230 favorite to win the fight while Blachowicz was a +180 underdog.
This means people favoring Adesanya to emerge victorious would have to wager $230 to win $100 while those favoring Blachowicz would have to wager $100 to win $180. At the time, Adesanya was undefeated in his professional career and had torn through the entire middleweight division.
Adesanya moved to light heavyweight to become a two-division champion and was eyeing a potential clash with Jon Jones. While 'The Last Stylebender' was expected to breeze past Blachowicz, the Polish fighter had other ideas.
"Cut on your eye." - Israel Adesanya to Jan Blachowicz when they had their face off earlier today at the press conference 👀 (via @ufc) #UFC259 https://t.co/XMRpMrgTMd
While Adesanya started off well, using his wide array of kicks to maintain range and keep his opponent at bay, Blachowicz took control of the fight in the later stages. He took Adesanya down thrice in the fight and landed crucial ground-and-pound strikes to tilt the fight in his favor as the Nigerian-born Kiwi fighter struggled to get back to his feet.
Blachowicz won the fight via unanimous decision, ending Adesanya's undefeated streak and retaining the light heavyweight title.
Jan Blachowicz UPSETS Israel Adesanya and hands him his first career loss 🤯
#UFC259
(via @ufc)
https://t.co/YOPdKWnc7n