2 years agoIt is not often an unranked fighter gets a shot at the second-ranked fighter, but Joanna Jedrzejczyk (16-4) will get that opportunity when she rematches Weili Zhang on the main card of UFC 275 on Saturday night. It has been over two years since we have seen Jedrzejczyk in the Octagon. In their first matchup in March of 2020, Zhang won a split decision in a thrilling matchup. Always known for her dangerous striking, 11 of her Jedrzejczyk's 16 wins have come by decision. DraftKings sees her as the underdog with a salary of $7,400. Throughout her UFC career, she averages 82.8 fantasy points per contest. Considering the long layoff and while facing an opponent she has already been defeated by, it might be safe to steer clear of Jedrzejczyk in this contest.--Matt Bricker - RotoBallerSource: UFC

2 years agoWith losses in three of his last four Octagon appearances, Rogerio Bontorin (17-4) won't get any breaks as he is set to face the streaking Manel Kape on the main card of UFC 275 on Saturday. Though he is in a bit of a slump, Bontorin has the ground game to end a contest quickly, with 11 of his 17 career wins coming via submission. DraftKings sees Bontorin as the big underdog with a salary of $7,000. Throughout his UFC career, Bontorin averages 55.8 fantasy points per contest. Kape is currently on a hot streak with victories in his last two contests, both by way of first-round knockout.--Matt Bricker - RotoBallerSource: UFC

2 years agoIt looked like Manuel Kape (17-6) made a bad decision by leaving Rizin FF, as he dropped his first two UFC appearances by decision. Since then, Kape has turned it around big time with two first-round knockout victories, including in his most recent outing in December of last year. The former Rizin FF bantamweight champion is a big-time finisher in the division, with 16 of his 17 professional wins coming by the finish -- 11 of those by knockout/TKO. DraftKings sees Kape as the big favorite on Saturday with a salary of $9,200. Throughout his UFC career, he averages 74.5 fantasy points per contest. In his last two victories, though, he's averaging 119.6 points per contest. His opponent, Rogerio Bontorin, is struggling of late, losing three of his last four fights in the Octagon.--Matt Bricker - RotoBallerSource: UFC

2 years agoComing off of the Contender Series with a first-round knockout in January, Jack Della Maddalena (11-2) is set to open up the main card of UFC 275 against a tough opponent in former M-1 middleweight champion Ramazan Emeev on Saturday. A dangerous finisher, 10 of his 11 professional victories have come via the finish, with nine of those via knockout/TKO. His lone decision win came in his Contender Series performance. DraftKings sees Maddalena as the very slight favorite with a salary of $8,200. In his lone UFC appearance, Maddalena scored 117.2 fantasy points. If Maddalena gets the victory, he should score big for fantasy managers. This could be a dangerous trap matchup, though, against the disciplined Russian veteran.--Matt Bricker - RotoBallerSource: UFC

2 years agoOn a main-card set with two title fights, Russia's Ramazan Emeev (20-5) will kick of UFC 275's main card against Jack Della Maddalena on Saturday. The former M-1 middleweight champion will make his eighth UFC appearance and is looking to avenge a split-decision loss to Darren Stewart in October of last year. Able to mix it up to get a victory, 10 of his wins have come by decision, with the other 10 coming via the finish. DraftKings sees Emeev as the underdog with a salary of $8,000. Throughout his UFC career, Emeev averages 62.2 fantasy points per contest. Though Maddalena is coming into this contest hot with a first-round knockout in his debut, he has yet to fight anyone even close to the skill level and experience of Emeev.--Matt Bricker - RotoBallerSource: UFC

2 years agoSaturday's main event did not go as planned for Jairzinho Rozenstruik, who suffered a first-round TKO loss to Alexander Volkov. After being dropped by a right hand, Volkov followed up with a handful of strikes before the bout was called to a stop at the 2:12 mark of the first round. In 2:12 of action, Rozenstruik was only able to collect six significant strikes. This marks Rozenstruik's fourth loss in six contests (2-4), which account for all of his professional losses. Should we see Rozenstruik face the bottom of the top 15, we are more than likely to see a rebound from the dangerous striker.--Matt Bricker - RotoBallerSource: ESPN

2 years agoLess than half a round is all it took for Alexander Volkov to pull off a stunning first-round knockout in Saturday's main event of action. In 2:12 of total action against Jairzinho Rozenstruik, Volkov tallied 21 significant strikes while only absorbing six strikes. After eating a couple of big strikes from Rozenstruik, Volkov recovered almost instantly, dropping Rozenstruik with a right hand. After some follow-up strikes along the cage, the bout was called to an end. The seventh-ranked Volkov has some big names in front of him should he choose to fight up in the rankings.--Matt Bricker - RotoBallerSource: ESPN

2 years agoIt was not the way 10th-ranked featherweight Dan Ige wanted Saturday to go, as he lost the night's co-main-event bout to Movsar Evloev. Ige has now lost three fights in a row and three of his last four contests. All three of those losses have come by decision. In Saturday's 15 minutes of action, Ige tallied 42 significant strikes (47 total strikes) but absorbed 144 total strikes and was taken down nine times. If we see Ige face talent outside of the top 15 his next time out, it's likely we could see a rebound as a potential steal for fantasy rosters.--Matt Bricker - RotoBallerSource: ESPN

2 years agoAfter starting his professional career 7-0, it's been a rough ride for Mike Trizano since joining the UFC and experiencing an uptick in competition. Trizano has lost three of his last four fights, including suffering a third-round TKO loss to the debuting Lucas Almeida on Saturday. In 10:55 of action, Trizano tallied 31 significant strikes (42 total strikes) and absorbed 94 total strikes. The loss puts the TUF 27 fighter in a rough spot with only one win since 2018.--Matt Bricker - RotoBallerSource: ESPN

2 years agoThe finishes continued to roll on the main card with Lucas Almeida making it a perfect 4-for-4 to that point on Saturday's card by earning a third-round knockout victory over Mike Trizano. Earning the stoppage at the 55-second mark in the third round, Almeida tallied 75 significant strikes (94 total strikes) in 10:55 of total action. Keeping it a standup battle, no takedowns were attempted on either side, which does not come as a surprise. Eight of Almeida's 13 career wins prior to Saturday have come via knockout/TKO. It was a nice debut for Almeida, and he has probably set the bar for what we can expect to see from him moving forward.--Matt Bricker - RotoBallerSource: ESPN

2 years agoThe struggle continues for Poliana Botelho, who has now lost three fights in a row and four of her last five bouts. On Saturday, she suffered a first-round submission loss to the debuting Karine Silva on the main card of action. In 4:55 of action, Botelho secured 19 significant strikes but was taken down and submitted on Silva's first attempts. Fighting under the UFC banner since 2017, the next time we see Botelho might be similar to this situation as far as being used as a potential stepping stone for a future young star.--Matt Bricker - RotoBallerSource: ESPN

2 years agoThe third main-card bout of Saturday night saw a third straight first-round finish, this time being led by Karine Silva. Earning the first submission on the main card, Silva earned the D'Arce choke at the 4:55 mark of Round 1 against Poliana Botelho. In 4:55 of total action, Silva collected 17 significant strikes (23 total strikes) and landed her lone takedown try. The win gives Silva an impressive six-fight winning streak on the heels of her UFC debut.--Matt Bricker - RotoBallerSource: ESPN

2 years agoThe road in the UFC may have come to a dead end for Zarrukh Adashev after he suffered a first-round knockout on Saturday's main card of action. The end came just 1:01 into the bout with Ode Osbourne ending the contest. In 61 seconds of action, Adashev only landed seven significant strikes. Adashev tried to work his way in close but ate a big shot that instantly floored him, leading to the eventual end of the contest. Look for this to probably be the last time we see Adashev in the Octagon for quite some time.--Matt Bricker - RotoBallerSource: ESPN

2 years agoKicking off the main card with back-to-back first-round knockouts, Ode Osbourne earned a quick victory on Saturday by knocking out Zarrukh Adashev in 1:01. In that time frame, Osbourne tallied seven significant strikes. The win gave Osbourne his second win in three bouts, with two of those wins coming via first-round knockout. Osbourne has fought stiff competition since joining the UFC in 2020.--Matt Bricker - RotoBallerSource: ESPN

2 years agoIt was not the debut he hoped for, but Askar Mozharov made his UFC debut in his 36th career professional fight on Saturday. 4:40 is all it took for Alonzo Menifield to secure a TKO over Mozharov, in which Mozharov only collected two significant strikes (11 total strikes) and was taken down twice. Mozharov has always been a live-by-the-sword, die-by-the-sword type of fighter. He will either win by the finish or lose by the finish. Do not be surprised if we see Mozharov come out in his next showing with a dynamite performance.--Matt Bricker - RotoBallerSource: ESPN