Draftkings MMA Knockout Punch: UFC Brooklyn

Welcome to Draftkings MMA Knockout Punch for Saturday night January 19th: UFC Brooklyn! In this piece I will break down some of the top fights and give you some predictions and who I recommend using for your Draftkings lineup builds for this coming Saturday night  fights in the Octagon! 

Draftkings MMA Knockout Punch: UFC Brooklyn

For those who haven’t played DraftKings MMA before  you are given $50K to build a 6 fighter lineup to earn points for such statistics as significant strikes,advances, takedowns,reversals/sweeps and knockdowns. You also earn bonus points for wins based on the round the fight is finished in. There are multiple different strategies to utilize depending on the style of games ( Cash or GPP) I will highlight 2 of them.

First, if you are playing cash games one way to play is stacking the main event (or any other 5 round contests). In cash games you aren’t necessarily chasing wins, not that you don’t need fighters who win, but it’s more about racking up points with your fighters and the more rounds a fight goes the more secondary points they can get. Stacking main events is sometimes a smart cash game move because of the 5 round potential and that ability for both fighters to rack up points.  In GPP’s you are looking for winners who win by KO or submission, you really don’t want contests that go to a decision because generally the point totals there will be less than say a 1st or 2nd round KO.

Draftkings MMA Knockout Punch: Main Event

(C) Henry Cejudo (13-2-0) v. (Bantamweight C) T.J. Dillashaw (16-3-0)

DraftKings Salaries: Cejudo ($7,300), Dillashaw ($8,900)

Vegas Odds: Cejudo (+175), Dillashaw (-210)

Cejudo’s first, and possibly only, defense of the Flyweight championship won’t be an easy one. Cejudp, a former Olympic gold medalist, fought the fight of his life in taking the belt from long-time division stalwart Demetrious Johnson via a split decision in August. Cejudo’s wrestling skills are world-class, and his striking game has improved by leaps and bounds, but one thing he is still missing is finishing power. While he has shown an ability to keep opponents honest on the feet and that is all he needs to create openings for scoring takedowns, it will be far from easy to do that with Dillashaw in octagon with him.

Dillashaw is in a win/win situation in this fight, no matter what happens in this fight he gets to keep his bantamweight belt, and then gets opportunity for a second UFC title. TJ is coming off his second-straight TKO win over Cody Garbrandt in August, which was on the same card ironically as the Johnson/Cejudo fight. TJ is legitimately one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world and has an immense amount of power for a guy his size and he also is amazing at putting together combinations.

Dillashaw has more than two inches on Cejudo and has a three-inch reach advantage. Most important, his career takedown defense is an exceptional 86 percent.  Dillashaw has proven he will not put on his back easily and he should have a massive advantage on the feet. If Cejudo is to get the victory, it would almost certainly have to come via decision, I just don’t see anyway Cejudo knocks Dillashaw out. Cejudo is a good fighter, but you can just look at his price tag and it’ll tell you all you need to know about how good of a fighter Dillashaw is

My Pick: Dillashaw via KO/Sub

Draftkings MMA : Rest of the Card

Paige VanZant vs Rachael Ostovich

DK Salaries: VanZant ($8,400), Ostovich ($7,800)
Vegas Odds: VanZant (-155), Ostovich (+135)

Paige VanZant makes her return to action after a broken arm to face former Ultimate Fighter competitor Rachael Ostovich. Both ladies in this fight are coming in off loses and both definitely need a win here. While I think there is a chance this fight gets a finish, I am leaning toward a decision.

After the constant weight cut battles at strawweight, VanZant decided to just go back to flyweight. She will look to prove that she’s adjusted to her new weight class on Saturday night while facing a true flyweight in Ostovich, who comes into the fight with a 1-1 record in the UFC, with a submission victory in her UFC debut against Karine Gevorgyan.

My Pick: Ostovich via decision 

Greg Hardy (3-0-0) v. Allen Crowder (9-3-0)

DK Salaries: Hardy ($9,500), Crowder ($6,700)
Vegas Odds: Hardy (-510), Crowder (+405)

If you are a fan of the NFL you might recognize the name Greg Hardy as former NFL player turned MMA fighter. This will be Hardy’s debut in the UFC after just 3 previous fights, all of which ended in 1st knockouts.

As a naturally gifted and talented athlete Hardy obviously has the ability and now has the tools to become a top heavyweight in the UFC, especially after enlisting the services of America Top Team of Florida to help train him for the top flight promotion. Allen Crowder is a much more experienced and talented fighter then the previous 3 men Hardy has knocked out and will pose a stiffer test for the former NFL defensive end.

My Pick: Hardy via KO

Glover Teixeira (27-7-0) v. Karl Roberson (7-1-0)

DraftKings Salaries: Teixeira ($8,300), Roberson ($7,900)
Vegas Odds: Teixeira (-130), Roberson (+110)

Over his last 6 fights Teixeira has alternated wins and losses and now at 39 years old, is clearly trending in the wrong direction on the back side of his career. While Glover does still have a tendency to show flashes of his power that won him many fights early on in his career, but those shot landing with regularity are few and far between at this point in his career.

Roberson is a last second replacement taking this fight on barely a weeks notice to replace the injured Ion Cutelaba. I most likely would have picked Cutelaba in this fight but with the short time to prepare and Roberson’s lack of wins over any fighters of note, it looks like Teixeira should get a win here.

My Pick: Teixeira via KO

DraftKings MMA – The Final Bouts:

Donald Cerrone (34-11-0) v. Alexander Hernandez (10-1-0)

DraftKings Salaries: Cerrone ($7,600), Hernandez ($8,600)
Vegas Odds: Cerrone (+165), Hernandez (-190)

This is an interesting matchup pinning the young and hungry up and coming star against the grizzled veteran. Cerrone is coming off a victory just 9 weeks ago and for a 35-year-old fighter this may be too soon of a turn around for him. Hernandez had his first UFC fight last March and subsequently out Beneil Dariush in just 42 seconds.

Hernandez then went out and took out Olivier Aubin-Mercier in a unanimous decision victory in July. The 26-year-old is clearly a rising star in the world of MMA and with the power he’s displayed, his excellent cardio, and his great takedown ability, it’s easy to see why. I want to take the veteran to knock the young buck down a peg, but I don’t think he will be able too.

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My Pick: Hernandez via Decision. 

Yancy Medeiros (15-5-0, 1NC) v. Gregor Gillespie (12-0-0)

DraftKings Salaries: Medeiros ($6,800), Gillespie ($9,400)
Vegas Odds: Medeiros (+405), Gillespie (-510)

Yancy is a brawler, he is most comfortable in an all-out war and he’s willing to eat shots after shot in order to land them and that’s not really a way you’ll want to fight when you start going up against better competition, and he has definitely found that type of competition in Gregor Gillespie. Gillespie is undefeated (5-0) in UFC and will look to get himself to 6-0 on Satruday.

In his last 4 fights Gillespie has earned stoppage victories in all of them. Gregor is now training with Keith Trimble at Bellmore Kickboxing Academy on Long Island and that seems to have help him achieve a 7.01 takedowns per 15 minutes in the UFC which is insane! Even though Medeiros is excellent at takedown defense, if he is to slow down Gillespie, he will be the first guy to do so.

My Pick: Gillespie via KO/Sub

Here are a couple of other fights I am interested in

Belal Muhammad (14-2-0) v. Geoff Neal (10-2-0)
DK Salaries: Muhammad ($7,700), Neal ($8,500)
Vegas Odds: Muhammad (+155), Neal (-175)

My Pick: Muhammad via Decision 

Joseph Benavidez (26-5-0) v. Dustin Ortiz (19-7-0)
DK Salaries: Benavidez ($9,00), Ortiz ($7,200)
Vegas Odds: Benavidez (-235), Ortiz (+195)

My Pick: Ortiz via Decision

Thanks for reading MMA DraftKings: Knockout Punch! Good luck with your lineups on Saturday and make sure you check out FantasyCpr.com for all things fantasy sports!