This weekend’s card is not only headlined by the return of Jon Jones (in an obvious light heavyweight title fight), but also features a welterweight title fight between two of the best wrestlers in the division in Tyron Woodley and Kamaru Usman. Not bad for a Texas Independence Day.
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
- I understand that Johnny Walker is the current hot thing among MMA fans, but let’s not forget that his opponent is a legitimately good fighter. Misha Cirkunov ($7,800) is the cheaper of the two, and barring a first round KO loss, will simply take Walker down at will.
- The tales of Robbie Lawler’s ($7,200) demise seem to have been long documented. However, his only 2 losses on the last 4 1/2 years have been to champion Tyron Woodley and Rafael dos Anjos. Ben Askren, his opponent, has an impressive record, but in reality has been beating up on cans in One FC. Might Askren be the real deal? Possibily. Might Lawler just be that much better than all of Askren’s former opponents? Probably. And at that price it’s more than worth the shot.
Avoid
- Mickey Gall’s ($9,100) usual game plan tends to be to grapple with his opponents, the part of the sport that Diego Sanchez is still good at. There is a decent shot that Gall KOs Sanchez, but my money is on this fight turning into a grappling match, meaning Sanchez might actually get the nod.
- Polyana Viana ($9,200) has some serious BJJ skills, but that is about it. Her opponent, Hannah Cifers, isn’t amazing, but looks to be the stronger athlete of the two, which doesn’t bold well for Viana who was controlled by the worst athlete in the division in her last fight.
BROEST BROS YOU KNOW 