2 years agoAfter a close split-decision win in his debut, Armen Petrosyan (7-1) is set to face off with another newcomer who only has one loss in Caio Borralho. Six of Petrosyan's seven career wins have come by knockout/TKO, and he has scored three of them in the first round of action. Prior to scoring a first-round knockout in his Contender Series showing, Petrosyan earned a 15-second knockout. DraftKings sees Petrosyan as the underdog with a salary of $7,300 on Saturday. Throughout his early UFC career, Petrosyan averages 81.0 fantasy points per contest. Though he is the underdog against a tough opponent, Petrosyan holds devastating knockout power that can end a fight in one shot.--Matt Bricker - RotoBallerSource: UFC

2 years agoWinning his debut after back-to-back Contender Series victories, Caio Borralho (11-1) enters Saturday's co-main event looking to win his 10th straight fight while facing Armen Petrosyan. With dangerous knockout power and a submission game to boot, Borralho has earned finishes in seven of his 11 career wins. After his victory in September of last year, Borralho returned the next month to earn a first-round knockout victory in the Contender Series. Borralho averages 3.66 significant strikes landed per minute, which is much less than his opponent's 7.56 mark. DraftKings sees Borralho as the big favorite with a salary of $8,900. Throughout his young UFC career, he's averaging 77.1 fantasy points per contest.--Matt Bricker - RotoBallerSource: UFC

2 years agoLooking for his third straight win, Douglas Silva de Andrade (28-4) will face his toughest test to date in Said Nurmagomedov on Saturday. His last two victories have been impressive, both coming by the finish. Andrade is typically a finisher in his career, with 22 of his 28 wins coming via the finish -- 20 by knockout/TKO. DraftKings has Andrade as the night's second-biggest underdog with a salary of $7,000. Throughout his UFC career, Andrade averages 58.9 fantasy points per contest. Nurmagomedov is on a run of his own, winning nine of his last 10 contests.--Matt Bricker - RotoBallerSource: UFC

2 years agoOn a nice run since joining the UFC at 4-1, Said Nurmagomedov (15-2) returns to action for the second time in 2022 on Saturday and is looking to build off of a January unanimous-decision win. Dangerous on the mat and at controlling the pace of the matchup, Nurmagomedov has scored seven decision wins among his 15 career victories. He also comes in with about a .75 significant strikes landed-per-minute advantage over Douglas Silva de Andrade. DraftKings sees Nurmagomedov as the night's second-biggest favorite with a salary of $9,200. Throughout his UFC career, he averages 88.6 fantasy points per contest.--Matt Bricker - RotoBallerSource: UFC

2 years agoThe lone heavyweight matchup on Saturday's main card will feature two heavyweights on the wrong end of losing streaks and in dire need of a victory to keep their jobs. Chase Sherman (15-10) is on a four-fight losing streak coming into Saturday and will be facing Jared Vanderaa, who is on a three-fight losing streak. This matchup can be a sneaky one for fight-of-the-night honors, not only because both of these guys need a win, but because both fighters typically finish when they win. Fourteen of Sherman's 15 career wins have come by knockout/TKO. DraftKings sees Sherman as the underdog with a salary of $7,600. Throughout his UFC career, Sherman averages 41.4 fantasy points per contest.--Matt Bricker - RotoBallerSource: UFC

2 years agoOur lone heavyweight bout on the main card this Saturday will feature two struggling fighters in dire need of a victory to save their jobs. Jared Vanderaa (12-8) enters the Octagon on a three-fight losing streak and is set to face Chase Sherman, who has lost four fights in a row. This could surprise fans and be the fight of the night. Not only do both of these heavyweights need a win, but they typically get the finish when they are victorious. All 10 of Vanderaa's career wins have come by the finish, with seven of those coming via knockout/TKO. DraftKings sees Vanderaa as the favorite with a salary of $8,600. Throughout his UFC career, he averages 29.2 fantasy points per contest.--Matt Bricker - RotoBallerSource: UFC

2 years agoNina Nunes (10-7), formally known to many fight fans as Nina Ansaroff, will return to action for the first time in 15 months on Saturday when she takes on Cynthia Calvillo in the only female bout on the main card of action. The last time we saw Nunes victorious was in December of 2018, which was the end of her four-fight winning streak. Able to mix up her method of victory, six of her 10 career wins have come by decision. DraftKings sees the Strina as the underdog with a salary of $7,700. Throughout her UFC career, Nunes averages 50.4 fantasy points per contest.--Matt Bricker - RotoBallerSource: UFC

2 years agoIn the lone women's contest on Saturday's main card, flyweight Cynthia Calvillo (9-4-1) returns to action for the first time in 2022 to battle Nina Nunes. On a three-fight losing streak, Calvillo is in dire need of a big win at this point of her career. Able to mix up her finishes, she has four decision wins and five wins by knockout/submission. With a lower rate of significant strikes landed per minute, she will need to use her average of 1.75 takedowns to earn a victory. DraftKings sees Calvillo as the big favorite with a salary of $8,500. Throughout her UFC career, Calvillo averages 64.2 fantasy points per contest. Nunes has also lost back-to-back fights, so this might be the perfect opportunity for Calvillo to dominate this one on the mat.--Matt Bricker - RotoBallerSource: UFC

2 years agoJamie Mullarkey (14-5) looks to have reversed his recent good fortunes after suffering a second-round knockout in March. Entering the UFC, Mullarkey lost his first two contests by decision before winning back-to-back bouts by knockout/TKO. A finisher when he does get a victory, 13 of his 14 career wins have come via the finish, with 10 coming by KO/TKO. DraftKings sees Mullarkey as the big favorite on Saturday with a salary of $9,100. Throughout his UFC career, Mullarkey averages 69.8 fantasy points per contest. Heading into this contest against a battle-tested veteran like Michael Johnson, Mullarkey has to be careful if he decides to engage in a fire-fight while looking for a knockout win.--Matt Bricker - RotoBallerSource: UFC

2 years agoA veteran of the UFC since TUF Season 12 in 2010, Michael Johnson (20-17) returns to action on Saturday after a big knockout victory in May. Going into his last matchup against Alan Patrick with a four-fight losing streak, Johnson showed he still has some power in the gas tank. DraftKings sees Johnson as the big underdog with a salary of $7,100. Through his extensive UFC career, Johnson averages 51.9 fantasy points per contest. A big-time striker, nine of his 20 career wins have come by KO/TKO. His opponent, Jamie Mullarkey, is 2-3 in the UFC and is coming off of a loss. If there is another chance for Johnson to score a big knockout victory, this just might be it.--Matt Bricker - RotoBallerSource: UFC

2 years agoIt wasn't the performance he hoped for, but Jared Cannonier went all five rounds with middleweight champion Israel Adesanya on Saturday and suffered a unanimous-decision loss to the champ in the main event of UFC 276. In 25 minutes of action, Cannonier tallied 90 significant strikes (141 total strikes) and collected 4:14 of control time. His best round came in the third, where two judges actually awarded him a 10 in that round. Cannonier is still a dangerous middleweight with plenty of knockout power.--Matt Bricker - RotoBallerSource: ESPN

2 years agoContinuing his run of dominance in the UFC's middleweight division, champion Israel Adesanya defeated his newest opponent in Jared Cannonier in the main event of International Fight Week at UFC 276 on Saturday. In 25 minutes of action, Adesanya tallied 116 significant strikes (163 total strikes) while stuffing all four of Cannonier's takedown tries. It will be interesting to see if the UFC matches Adesanya up with Alex Pereira, who was victorious on the same card with a vicious first-round knockout. Pereira has two kickboxing victories over Adesanya, adding to the storyline.--Matt Bricker - RotoBallerSource: ESPN

2 years agoNow 0-3 against Alexander Volkanovski, Max Holloway was unable to recapture his featherweight crown from on Saturday in the co-main event of UFC 276 at International Fight Week. All three judges gave Volk the dominant victory -- 50-45 across the board. In 25 minutes of action, Holloway was out-struck his opponent by landing 127 significant strikes compared to Volk's 199 significant strikes. Holloway still has gas in the tank to be a productive fantasy commodity, but Volk just seems to have his number.--Matt Bricker - RotoBallerSource: ESPN

2 years agoNow a perfect 3-for-3 in his head-to-head matchups with Max Holloway, Alexander Volkanovski earned a dominant unanimous-decision victory over Holloway in the co-main event of UFC 276 on Saturday. All three judges awarded Volk the victory with a score of 50-45. In 25 minutes of action, Volk tallied 199 significant strikes (204 total strikes) while stuffing all three of Holloway's takedown tries on the night. With the way Volkanovski has run through the division, it's likely we see him take that next step up to lightweight for a new challenge. If so, let's see how he's matched up. If his next contest is a title defense, we can probably roster Volk with a good chance of a knockout win or dominant decision win.--Matt Bricker - RotoBallerSource: ESPN

2 years agoThe game plan on Saturday was not the best for Sean Strickland, who decided to try and stand and strike with the dangerous Alex Pereira. Strickland's night ended with a devastating first-round knockout after a left hook sent him reeling to the mat. In 2:36 of total action, Strickland tallied 15 significant strikes but never really made any dominant strides in the fight. Let's see how Strickland is matched up next. It looks like the UFC really likes him, so he might end up with a favorable rebound matchup where he can earn a victory.--Matt Bricker - RotoBallerSource: ESPN