2 years agoWinless in the UFC thus far (0-2), Alan Baudot (8-3) faces Josh Parisian in Saturday's lone main-card heavyweight matchup. Though he's winless in the UFC thus far, Baudot has proven to be a dangerous striker, with seven of his eight professional wins coming by knockout/TKO. DraftKings does see the Black Samurai as the favorite with a salary of $8,400. Throughout his UFC career, though, he's only averaging 17.8 fantasy points per contest. These numbers are a bit alarming when you look at his price tag for this matchup. He's set for a breakout fight at any moment, but this admittingly is a scary salary to roster him at.--Matt Bricker - RotoBallerSource: UFC

2 years agoFlip-flopping wins for losses since joining the UFC, Josh Parisian (14-5) would like to get to .500 in the Octagon when he battles Alan Baudot on Saturday. With two wins on the Contender Series, Parisian typically finishes his victories, with 10 of his 14 career wins coming by knockout/TKO and both of his Contender Series wins coming via first-round knockout. DraftKings sees Parisian as the underdog with a salary of $7,800. Throughout his UFC career, Parisian averages 44.8 fantasy points per contest. Though Baudot has lost back-to-back bouts, it's likely we see him rebound against Parisian.--Matt Bricker - RotoBallerSource: UFC

2 years agoLooking to rebound from a first-round knockout loss in September of last year, Christos Giagos (19-9) steps into the Octagon against Thiago Moises on Saturday and is looking to send his opponent on a three-fight losing streak. A veteran of the UFC since 2018, Giagos has scored 11 finishes in 19 of his career wins, with seven of those via knockout/TKO. With two wins in his last three bouts, DraftKings actually sees Giagos as the underdog with a salary of $7,200. Throughout his UFC career, Giagos averages only 57.9 fantasy points per contest. Prior to Moises' back-to-back losses, he was on a three-fight winning streak.--Matt Bricker - RotoBallerSource: UFC

2 years agoHoping to avoid three straight losses in the UFC, Thiago Moises (15-6) enters the Octagon on Saturday against Christos Giagos. Previously on a three-fight winning streak, Moises has lost bouts to Islam Makhachev and Joel Alvarez. A dangerous finisher, six of his 15 career wins have come by submission, with an additional three coming via knockout/TKO. DraftKings sees Moises as the big favorite with a salary of $9,000. Throughout his UFC career, Moises averages 40.6 fantasy points per contest. Giagos has a couple of losses in the UFC against a much lower level of talent than Moises.--Matt Bricker - RotoBallerSource: UFC

2 years agoAlthough Nate Maness (14-1) enters Saturday's contest 3-0 in the UFC with over half of his wins ending in a finish, he's a massive underdog to the dominant Umar Nurmagomedov. Maness can win via submission, decision or with a knockout/TKO win. Most recently, he earned a second-round KO/TKO win over Tony Gravely in September of last year. DraftKings sees Mayhem as the night's biggest underdog with a salary of $6,700. Through his three UFC bouts, Maness averages 92.7 fantasy points per contest.--Matt Bricker - RotoBallerSource: UFC

2 years agoImpressive thus far in his UFC run, Umar Nurmagomedov (14-0) will look to remain undefeated when he takes to the Octagon on Saturday to battle Nate Maness. A dangerous fighter on the mat, seven of his 14 career wins have come by decision. He is an aggressive style of wrestler who often dictates the pace of his fights. DraftKings sees Nurmagomedov as the night's biggest favorite with a salary of $9,500. Throughout his UFC career, he averages 108.6 fantasy points per contest. You'll get what you pay for with Nurmagomedov. The matchup should showcase his skills yet again, with him set up for a big finish.--Matt Bricker - RotoBallerSource: UFC

2 years agoJiu-Jitsu ace Rodolfo Vieira (8-1) returns to the Octagon on Saturday and is looking to secure back-to-back wins after his submission win in July of last year. One of the most dangerous fighters on the mat, seven of his eight professional MMA wins have come by submission. The multi-time world champion is an underdog at DraftKings with a salary of $7,600. Throughout his UFC career, Vieira averages 82.1 fantasy points per contest. At this price point, it might be worth a gamble on the underdog. It only takes one submission attempt for Vieira to end the night of Chris Curtis on Saturday.--Matt Bricker - RotoBallerSource: UFC

2 years agoLooking to win his eighth straight fight to move to 3-0 in the UFC, Chris Curtis (28-8) will open up Saturday's night of action against Rodolfo Vieira. Curtis has shown he can translate his knockout power to the UFC, with both of his Octagon wins coming via knockout/TKO. Fourteen of his 28 career wins have come by KO/TKO, with an additional three by submission. DraftKings sees the Action Man as the favorite with a salary of $8,600. Throughout his UFC career, Curtis averages 107.5 fantasy points per contest. Battling jiu-jitsu ace Vieira, Curtis needs to be careful to keep the contest off the mat.--Matt Bricker - RotoBallerSource: UFC

2 years agoUnable to win his fourth straight main-event appearance, Calvin Kattar dropped a very close split decision (47-48, 48-47, 47-48) to Josh Emmett on Saturday night. In 25 minutes of action, Kattar out-struck Emmett, landing 130 significant strikes (131 total strikes) while stuffing all four of Emmett's takedown tries. Ranked No. 4 coming into the matchup, Kattar should be able to earn victories against anyone below him in the top 10, so let's see how he's matched up his next time out. The chances are you are going to want to put him on your fantasy roster.--Matt Bricker - RotoBallerSource: ESPN

2 years agoIn a truly back-and-forth battle in Saturday night's main event, Josh Emmett edged Calvin Kattar in a split decision (47-48, 48-47, 47-48). In 25 minutes of action, Emmett connected on 107 significant strikes but was out-struck by Kattar, who landed 130 significant strikes. Emmett has now won five fights in a row, with the last three coming via decision. He has been on a pace of fighting about every six months, so it's likely we see Emmett back in action against a top-tier fighter for a title shot later in 2023. Ranked No. 7 heading into the contest, it will be interesting to see how Emmett would fair against one of the top-three fighters in the division.--Matt Bricker - RotoBallerSource: ESPN

2 years agoTim Means' 46th professional fight did not go as planned, as he suffered a D'Arce choke submission loss in the second round of his co-main-event matchup with Kevin Holland on Saturday. In 6:28 of action, Means tallied only 21 significant strikes (25 total strikes) compared to the 36 significant strikes (53 total strikes) of Holland. Means did have some success in the first frame, landing a couple of takedowns and connecting on a few big strikes. In the fantasy world, Means is unlikely to score big for you on DraftKings. He still does have some gas in the tank to pull out wins, though. It looks like the UFC sees Means as a bridge fighter they can use to feed to upcoming talent.--Matt Bricker - RotoBallerSource: ESPN

2 years agoAfter a literal last-second cancellation of Saturday night's co-main event featuring Donald Cerrone and Joe Lauzon, Kevin Holland and Tim Means found themselves in the night's spotlight. Holland took advantage of the position, earning a D'Arce choke at the 1:28 mark of the second round. In 6:28 of total action, Holland tallied 36 significant strikes (53 total strikes) compared to the 21 significant strikes of Means. The win gives Holland back-to-back wins after back-to-back losses. With both of his wins coming by finish, Holland might be ready to venture back into the top half of the top 15 again.--Matt Bricker - RotoBallerSource: ESPN

2 years agoAlbert Duraev's 10-fight winning streak came to an end on Saturday night at the hands of Joaquin Buckley via second-round TKO stoppage (doctor stoppage). In 10 minutes of action, the former ACB champion reeled off only 10 significant strikes (17 total strikes) compared to the 27 significant strikes (30 total strikes) landed by Buckley. Duraev does have finishing ability, but he's had issues with fighters that are much faster than him. Let's see what Duraev's next matchup looks like. Buckley may have been a bridge too far to cross after his organizational debut.--Matt Bricker - RotoBallerSource: ESPN

2 years agoNow a winner of three fights in a row and five of his last six, Joaquin Buckley did exactly what he's been known to do when he walked out with a big victory on Saturday. In 10 minutes of action leading up to a stoppage, Buckley tallied 27 significant strikes (30 total strikes) and stuffed seven of Albert Duraev's nine takedown tries on the night. Reeling off strike after strike that continued to find the mark, the doctor had no choice but to stop the matchup between Rounds 2 and 3. Let's keep an eye on Buckley's next matchup. If it's outside of the top 15, he'll be a great choice to fill out fantasy starting lineups.--Matt Bricker - RotoBallerSource: UFC

2 years agoIn a matchup where the statistics were almost identical, the judges ruled that Guram Kutateladze did not do quite enough to get a split-decision win over Damir Ismagulov on Saturday. In 15 minutes of action, Kutateladze tallied 78 significant strikes (80 total strikes) compared to Ismagulov's 79 significant strikes (83 total strikes). Kutateladze did have his moments in the contest, but he was unable to really implement his will. The Georgian Viking can certainly finish, so let's see what his next matchup looks like and fantasy managers can get him for a discount price on DraftKings.--Matt Bricker - RotoBallerSource: ESPN