UFC Utica Daily Fantasy Picks

Well, here we go again. Another fine card to kill some time this weekend as we look forward to UFC 225. Here’s hoping that the main event washes out the taste of last week’s Thompson vs. Till snoozefest. (it should).

Main event starts on FRIDAY evening at 10pm eastern on Fox Sports 1, while the prelim fights begin at 8pm, also on FS1. The early prelims kick off your weekend at 6:30pm – time to get those happy hour beers on!

I use DraftKings for my UFC daily fantasy fix, so if you don’t have an account you can sign up here (and get a 50% bonus on your initial deposit). Also, you can check out the scoring criteria here.

Now let’s get down to business.

Value Picks

• To be perfectly honest, there are not a whole lot of “steals” this weekend, but I do like Marlon Moraes ($8,000) to win the main event, especially for that price. Is it a pick ’em fight? Probably, but the striking of Moraes is more dynamic than Jimmie Rivera’s, and he has the better ability to end the fight.
• Jose “Shorty” Torres ($8,700) is making his UFC debut this weekend, and if you don’t know his name at the moment, you will after his fight. The dude is a two weight class Titan FC titleholder, and his combination of Muay Thai, kickboxing, and junior college All-American wrestling profile as a action fighter to wrack up those DFS points.

Avoid

• I really like David Teymur ($9,100) and came into this weekend assuming that he would be in my DFS lineup. However, upon seeing his price tag, I just couldn’t justify it. Nick Lentz, Teymur’s opponent this weekend, has a smothering, grinding style, and while Teymur should be able to keep him off long enough to land the necessary shots for a win, he’s not going to land $9,100 worth.
• Another fighter who should win his fight, but not with the style to justify the DFS price tag, is Desmond Green ($9,000). “The Predator” has the youth, athleticism, and skill set to neutralize UFC fixture Gleison Tibau, but he lacks the fighting style that results in large DFS point totals. On a card bereft of steals, you need to conserve that salary space for fighters with high point ceilings.