2 years agoOn a main card packed with finishes, Alonzo Menifield started off Saturday night with a first-round knockout over a very dangerous newcomer in Askar Mozharov. 4:40 into the first round is all it took for Menifield to find the finish. In that time frame, Menifield tallied 19 significant strikes (55 total strikes) and landed two of his three takedown tries. He avoids back-to-back losses with the victory and has now won three of his last four showings. Menifield may have finally hit that groove we have been looking for since his debut.--Matt Bricker - RotoBallerSource: ESPN

2 years agoAfter bursting onto the scene with four straight knockout wins in the UFC, Jairzinho Rozenstruik (12-3) has gone 2-2 since then against tougher competition, with both of those victories coming as knockouts. With 12 wins in his MMA career, 11 of those have come via knockout/TKO. With an extensive kickboxing background, Rozenstruik is always a threat to wrap up a victory with a single strike. DraftKings sees him as the big underdog on Saturday with a salary of $7,600. Throughout his UFC career, Rozenstruik averages 74.9 fantasy points per contest. He's always got a puncher's chance if you are looking for that in fantasy.--Matt Bricker - RotoBallerSource: UFC

2 years agoThe seventh-ranked heavyweight, Alexander Volkov (34-10), will enter Saturday's main event for his 45th professional contest when he faces Jairzinho Rozenstruik. With a 74% finishing rate based on 34 victories -- 25 of those have come via the finish and 22 via knockout/TKO. Since 2020, Volkov has gone 3-3, with two of those three wins coming by second-round TKOs. DraftKings sees the striker as the favorite with a salary of $8,600. Throughout his UFC career, Volkov averages 69.4 fantasy points per contest. The MMA experience is on Volkov's side, though Rozenstruik has a very extensive kickboxing background.--Matt Bricker - RotoBallerSource: UFC

2 years agoThe 13th-ranked featherweight, Movsar Evloev (15-0), can make a huge jump in the rankings when he battles 10th-ranked Dan Ige in Saturday's co-main event of action. Undefeated as a professional with 15 wins -- eight of those have come by decision -- showing his ability to control the pace of the contest. He is also 5-0 in the UFC, with all five wins coming by decision. DraftKings sees Evloev as the big favorite with a salary of $9,400. Throughout his five UFC bouts, Evloev averages 98.1 fantasy points per contest. Though he does not get those finishing points, he dominates enough to earn a near-100-point performance every time out.--Matt Bricker - RotoBallerSource: UFC

2 years agoSaturday's co-main event of action will see Dan Ige (15-5) hope to prevent a three-fight losing streak when he battles Movsar Evloev. Since his 2017 Contender Series victory, Ige has tallied a 7-4 record, with all four of his losses coming by decision -- four of his wins have come via decision. DraftKings sees 50k as the big underdog with a salary of $6,800. Throughout his UFC career, Ige averages 73.8 fantasy points per contest. Evloev, the former M-1 bantamweight champion, is undefeated at 5-0 in the UFC. This might be a matchup where the UFC is setting the stage for Evloev.--Matt Bricker - RotoBallerSource: UFC

2 years agoWith every single one of his professional victories coming with a finish, Lucas Almeida (13-1) is set for his UFC debut in Saturday's main card of action. His lone loss was in a Contender Series showing in September of last year, where he took a decision loss. With all 13 wins coming via the finish, eight of those have come by knockout/TKO. He showed his versatility by earning a first-round submission win in his last outing. DraftKings sees Almeida as the big underdog with a salary of $7,100. Look for Almeida to come out impressive in his debut against TUF alum Mike Trizano.--Matt Bricker - RotoBallerSource: UFC

2 years agoTUF 27 alumni Mike Trizano (9-2) is hoping to rebound from a February decision loss when he faces Lucas Almeida on Saturday's main card of action. 1-2 in his last three bouts, Trizano has faced stiff competition, with his losses to Grant Dawson and Hakeem Dawodu. None of Trizano's victories have come via the finish, with five of his nine career wins coming by decision. It's alarming if you are looking for big points from Trizano. DraftKings sees him as the big favorite with a salary of $9,100. Throughout his UFC career, Trizano is only averaging 47.8 fantasy points per contest. This could be a dangerous matchup for Trizano with Almeida finishing all of his victories and ready for his big debut moment.--Matt Bricker - RotoBallerSource: UFC

2 years agoRiding a five-fight winning streak heading into her UFC debut, Karine Silva (14-4) is set for her debut on the main card of Saturday's action and will face off against Poliana Botelho. Dominant thus far in her career, all 14 of her professional wins have come via the finish, with eight of those coming by knockout/TKO. DraftKings sees Silva as the very slight favorite with a salary of $8,200, just $200 more than Botelho. Silva has proven to be a dangerous foe in her career. Look for her to continue that run in the UFC this weekend.--Matt Bricker - RotoBallerSource: UFC

2 years agoFighting under the UFC banner since 2017, Poliana Botelho (8-4) has had a rough patch, losing back-to-back bouts. She's hoping to avoid a third straight loss when she meets Karine Silva on Saturday's main card. When she does win, it's normally emphatic, with six of her eight wins coming by knockout/TKO. DraftKings sees Botelho as the very slight underdog with a salary of $8,000. Throughout her UFC career, Botelho averages 59.6 fantasy points per contest. Silva is making her UFC debut but has looked dominant so far in her professional career and is coming off a second-round submission victory on the Contender Series.--Matt Bricker - RotoBallerSource: UFC

2 years agoIt has been a struggle in the UFC for Zarrukh Adashev (4-3), who suffered back-to-back losses in his first two appearances. His first victory finally came in his last appearance in July of last year, when he earned a unanimous decision over Ryan Benoit. It's still early in his career, and two of his four wins have come by knockout/TKO. Adashev is facing a difficult task in Ode Osbourne, which is why he's a sizable underdog with a salary of $7,300 on Saturday. Throughout his UFC career, he is only averaging 25.1 fantasy points per contest.--Matt Bricker - RotoBallerSource: UFC

2 years agoOde Osbourne (10-4) is set for Saturday's main card of action and is looking for a victory against fellow flyweight Zarrukh Adashev. Set for his fifth Octagon appearance since a Contender Series victory in July of 2019, Osbourne has flip-flopped wins and losses. With 10 professional victories in his career, eight of those wins have come by the finish -- five via submission. DraftKings sees the Jamaican Sensation as the big favorite with a salary of $8,900. Throughout his UFC career, he averages 52.3 fantasy points per contest. Osbourne is facing a struggling Adashev and should have no problems securing this victory.--Matt Bricker - RotoBallerSource: UFC

2 years agoAskar Mozharov (19-12) is an absolute striking force from the Ukraine and is set to make his highly anticipated UFC debut on Saturday. A proven finisher, 17 of his 19 career wins have come via finish, with 11 of those coming via knockout/TKO. The majority of those knockout wins have came within the first round, with his last three coming in 33 seconds or less. In his last outing, he scored an eight-second knockout in April of last year. There is no doubt that Mozharov has the one-hit power needed to shock the world. DraftKings sees the Ukrainian as the underdog with a salary of $7,500. If you are looking for a main-card underdog with big scoring ability, look no further than Mozharov.--Matt Bricker - RotoBallerSource: UFC

2 years agoLooking for his third win in four outings, Alonzo Menifield (11-3) is set to open up Saturday's main card of action against Askar Mozharov. Coming onto the scene strong after his Contender Series victory, Menifield earned first-round knockout victories in his first two contests. His next two bouts were losses, followed by two UFC victories. It seems his outings are showing up in pairs, with his most recent outing being a decision loss in December of last year. A dangerous finisher when he gets the victory, 10 of his 11 career wins have come via the finish -- seven of those by knockout/TKO, including three of his four UFC wins. DraftKings sees Menifield as the favorite with a salary of $8,700. Throughout his UFC career, he's averaging 66.3 fantasy points per contest. If Menifield can weather the initial minute or so of battle, he should walk out victorious against a dangerous striker.--Matt Bricker - RotoBallerSource: UFC

3 years agoIn what many considered a controversial judging decision, Holly Holm walked out of the Octagon with a loss in Saturday's main event, suffering a split-decision loss to Ketlen Vieira. In 25 minutes of action, Holm out-struck her opponent by landing 96 significant strikes (188 total strikes) while missing all six of her takedown tries. With the loss, Holm was unable to continue her streak and win her third straight.--Matt Bricker - RotoBallerSource: ESPN

3 years agoSurprising many, Ketlen Vieira was awarded a split-decision victory over former featherweight champion Holly Holm in Saturday's main event of action (47-48, 48-47, 47-48). In 25 minutes of action, Vieira landed 85 significant strikes and 122 total strikes (66 fewer total strikes and 11 fewer significant strikes than Holm). She was also only able to land one of her seven takedown tries on the night. The win gives Vieira three wins in her last four bouts, including back-to-back wins over former featherweight champions.--Matt Bricker - RotoBallerSource: ESPN