3 years agoThe struggle continues for the 35-year-old welterweight, as Santiago Ponzinibbio dropped his third bout in four fights, suffering a split-decision loss to Michel Pereira in Saturday night's co-main event. In 15 minutes of action, Ponz tallied 105 significant strikes but only landed one of his four takedown tries on the night. Depending on Ponz's next matchup, his fantasy scoring days might be behind him. Should he start facing non top-15-tier talent, he might still retain some value for fantasy managers on fight night.--Matt Bricker - RotoBallerSource: ESPN

3 years agoContinuing his hot run in the welterweight division, Michel Pereira earned a huge split-decision win to earn his fifth straight victory in the Octagon on Saturday. In his toughest contest inside the UFC, Pereira defeated top-tier fighter Santiago Ponzinibbio in the night's co-main-event bout. In 15 minutes of action, Pereira tallied up 110 significant strikes and stuffed three of Ponz's four takedown tries on the night. Pereira is quite big for the division, cutting a lot of weight to make the 170-pound limit. So far, it's worked out and has given him a power advantage over most of his foes.--Matt Bricker - RotoBallerSource: ESPN

3 years agoIt was a tough Saturday night in the Octagon for Dusko Todorovic, who fell victim to the main card's only finish, a first-round knockout. Near the end of the first round, Todorovic took a hard right elbow from Chidi Njokuani. In 4:48 of action, Todorovic tallied five significant strikes. Now 2-3 since appearing on the Contender Series, both of his wins have come by knockout/TKO. Todorovic can still be a sneaky start for fantasy managers, especially if the matchup is right.--Matt Bricker - RotoBallerSource: ESPN

3 years agoA perfect 4-for-4 now in the UFC, Chidi Njokuani scored the only finish on the main card on Saturday by knocking out Dusko Todorovic in the first round of action. In 4:48 of action, Njokuani landed 14 significant strikes (19 total strikes), including a big right elbow that connected and ended the contest. Njokuani has proven to be a dangerous finisher in the UFC, so let's continue to keep an eye on his progress against tougher competition. For now, Njokuani should be started with his proven finishing rate.--Matt Bricker - RotoBallerSource: ESPN

3 years agoOn a hot run entering Saturday's contest with back-to-back first-round submission victories, Polyana Viana was unable to get that third straight win, dropping a unanimous decision to Tabatha Ricci. In 15 minutes of action, Viana actually out-struck Ricci by landing 36 significant strikes (126 total strikes). Viana lost the fight in the takedown game, only stuffing five of Ricci's 10 takedown tries. She also spent over nine minutes of the contest in the control of Ricci. With all three of her UFC wins coming by first-round submission, Viana is absolutely worth keeping an eye on to score big points.--Matt Bricker - RotoBallerSource: ESPN

3 years agoOn a main card full of decisions, Tabatha Ricci earned the only unanimous-decision win, defeating Polyana Viana. Through 15 minutes of action, Ricci collected only 33 significant strikes (72 total strikes), which were both lower totals than her opponent. Her ground game made up the difference statistically, as she landed five takedowns with over nine minutes of control time compared to Viana's zero takedowns and nine seconds of control time. After coming off of a debut loss to one of the UFC's hottest rising stars, Ricci has now won back-to-back fights by decision.--Matt Bricker - RotoBallerSource: ESPN

3 years agoBetting on himself did not help out Eryk Anders, who suffered a split-decision loss in Saturday night's opening bout on the main card. Anders took the loss (28-29, 29-28, 28-29) against Jun Yong Park. In 15 minutes of action, Anders only tallied 65 significant strikes compared to Park's 105 significant strikes. His takedown game was also not working, as he only landed three of his 24 takedown tries on the night for a takedown percentage of 12%. Over his last five contests, Anders has lost three fights.--Matt Bricker - RotoBallerSource: ESPN

3 years agoIt was a Saturday night of close bouts, with three of the five main-card bouts ending with a split decision. The night started with Jun Yong Park taking a split decision from Eryk Anders. In 15 minutes of action, Park out-struck Anders by landing 105 significant strikes and stuffing 21 of Anders' 24 takedown tries. With the win, Park moves to 4-2 in the UFC, with all four of those victories coming by decision.--Matt Bricker - RotoBallerSource: ESPN

3 years agoFourteenth-ranked Santiago Ponzinibbio (28-5) enters Saturday's matchup looking to rebound from his recent 1-2 record in his last three contests. Most recently, Ponz suffered a split-decision loss to Geoff Neal in December of last year. A veteran of the UFC since 2013 and a cast member of TUF Brazil 2, Ponz has finished 19 of his 28 career victories via the finish. DraftKings sees Ponz as the slight underdog against Michel Pereira with a salary of $8,000. Throughout his UFC career, Ponz averages 69.0 fantasy points per contest. Pereira has won four fights in a row and will prove to be a difficult matchup for Ponz to get back to .500 over his last four fights.--Matt Bricker - RotoBallerSource: UFC

3 years ago2-2 since 2019, Ketlen Vieira (12-2) will enter Saturday's contest in the main-event spotlight as she battles former UFC strawweight champion Holly Holm. In her most recent outing, Vieira scored a victory over a former champion in Miesha Tate back in November of last year. Spanning her career, Vieira has finished half of her 12 wins by finish, with four of those coming by submission. DraftKings sees Fenomeno as the night's second-biggest underdog with a salary of $7,100. Throughout her UFC career, Vieira averages 67.1 fantasy points per contest.--Matt Bricker - RotoBallerSource: UFC

3 years agoThe second-biggest favorite on the night, former UFC strawweight champion Holly Holm (14-5) will enter Saturday's main event to battle Ketlen Vieira. Previously a boxing world champion before her MMA days, Holm has scored eight of her 14 career wins by knockout/TKO. Including her iconic knockout of then-champion Ronda Rousey to win the championship. DraftKings sees the Preacher's Daughter as a huge favorite with a salary of $9,100. Throughout her UFC career, Holm averages 60.2 fantasy points per contest.--Matt Bricker - RotoBallerSource: UFC

3 years agoOn a roll of late with four straight victories, Michel Pereira (27-11) enters the Octagon on Saturday to battle division staple Santiago Ponzinibbio in the night's co-main event. This will mark Pereira's 39th professional MMA appearance, with 16 of his 27 career wins coming via the finish -- 10 by knockout/TKO. Three of Pereira's victories on his current four-fight winning streak have come by a decision. DraftKings sees Pereira as the slight favorite with a salary of $8,200. Throughout his UFC career, Pereira averages 71.2 fantasy points per contest (2.2 points more than Ponz). With the salary gap between these two only $200, it makes it tough to pick a clear-cut rosterable fighter.--Matt Bricker - RotoBallerSource: UFC

3 years agoAfter back-to-back losses, Dusko Todorovic (11-2) earned a big first-round knockout of Maki Pitolo in December of last year. A dangerous striker in his own right, the Serbian has scored seven knockout/TKO victories among his 11 career wins. Facing a fellow striker in Chidi Njokuani, this bout has all the potential in the world of displaying fireworks. DraftKings sees Thunder as the underdog with a salary of $7,500. Throughout his UFC career, Todorovic (2-2) averages 66.9 fantasy points per contest.--Matt Bricker - RotoBallerSource: UFC

3 years agoVery few fighters have had an Octagon debut like Chidi Njokuani (21-7) had in February, when he earned a first-round knockout in 16 seconds. Prior to that, Njokuani earned his way to the UFC by collecting a second-round TKO on the Contender Series. Beyond proving his knockout ability can translate to the big stage, 13 of his 21 career wins alone have come via KO/TKO, with several of those coming in the first frame of action. DraftKings sees Bang Bang as the big favorite with a salary of $8,700. Throughout his brief UFC career, Njokuani averages 129.9 fantasy points per contest. His price tag isn't really as steep as it could be given the knockout strength that Njokuani possesses.--Matt Bricker - RotoBallerSource: ESPN

3 years ago1-1 in the UFC, Tabatha Ricci (6-1) will look to build on her UFC debut when she battles against Polyanna Viana on Saturday's main card. Her only career loss came in her UFC debut against rising star Manon Fiorot. Since then, Ricci has rebounded by winning a unanimous decision in October of last year. DraftKings sees Baby Shark as the favorite with a salary of $8,300. Throughout her career in the UFC, Ricci averages 53.4 fantasy points per contest. Facing a perfect finisher in Viana, if Ricci is going to pull out the victory, she will need to weather the storm, which could prove to be more difficult than it sounds.--Matt Bricker - RotoBallerSource: UFC