DraftKings fantasy MMA daily picks: UFN 96 quick picks
Here are some DraftKings quick picks for UFC Fight Night 96: Lineker vs. Dodson, which will help you pick up some of the best options for your lineup.
Former flyweight contenders John Lineker and John Dodson have recently made their way up to the UFC’s bantamweight division and are looking to fight their way up to title contention. In the main event, expect both fighters to go for broke here and get an impressive victory, which should set them up for an even bigger fight in the future.
In the co-main event, former Bellator lightweight champion Will Brooks will be looking to get his second straight UFC win against a tough fighter in Alex Oliveira. The action kicks off at 7:15 PM ET/ 4:15 PM PT with some prelim action exclusively on UFC Fight Pass.
Usually, we do a full breakdown of each and every single fight, but due to the many changes to the MMA games on DraftKings, including different sets of rules and an increased number of fighters to choose in your lineup (from five to six), we decided to keep it simple this week and focus on some of the best choices for UFC Fight Night 96 with some quick picks. We’ll return to the full breakdown format for the next event.
Some of those changes include how many points fighters will score depending on certain things they do, such as takedowns, reversals, and knockdowns. To get a better idea of some of the rules and how the statistics have changed, check out the Daily Fantasy MMA League Rules page.
Let’s begin with the quick picks!
Jul 13, 2016; Sioux Falls, SD, USA; Kyle Noke (red gloves) fights against Keita Nakamura (blue gloves) during UFC Fight Night at Denny Sanford Premier Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports
Keita Nakamura ($8,400)
This is a great style matchup for Nakamura. Facing Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos, who’s primarily a striker, Nakamura has a clear advantage on the mat. Looking very impressive in his last time out against Kyle Noke, both on the feet and on the ground, Nakamura was able to win every aspect of that fight and the same should happen here.
Dos Santos will have a clear advantage on the feet, but it’s hard to see how he’s able to stop Nakamura’s grappling. Nakamura also has an incredible chin, so he should be able to take all of dos Santos’ shots and once he gets this fight to the ground, he should be able to lock up the submission.
It’s worth noting that with the new DraftKings rules, fighters will score a lot more points based on grappling, so this heavily favors Nakamura.
Tamdan McCrory ($8,200)
This is an extremely favorable matchup against the decaying Nate Marquardt for McCrory. Marquardt showed signs of life after knocking out CB Dolloway last December, but he’s only won two of his last eight fights.
Surprisingly, McCrory was knocked out by Krzysztof Jotko this past June, but prior to that, he looked extremely impressive against Josh Samman in his return to the UFC. Once again, this fight is all McCrory and he should be able to dominate in every aspect of this fight, possibly scoring an early finish against the not-so-durable Marquardt.
Ion Cutelaba ($8,700)
Prior to making his UFC debut, Cutelaba was 11-1 in his MMA career and his lone loss was by DQ. Only two of his fights have gone past the first round. He lost his UFC debut to Misha Cirkunov, but he was able to knock him down early in the first round. Cutelaba has insane power and if he catches anyone, it can be a short night.
Jonathan Wilson is definitely no joke, who also has a few first round finishes to his credit. But, it’s hard to see how he gets past Cutelaba here. Both are primarily strikers, but Cutelaba is more durable and is definitely the more powerful striker. A first round finish for Cutelaba is more than likely.
Apr 16, 2016; Tampa, FL, USA; John Dodson (red gloves) reacts after defeating Manvel Gamburyana (blue gloves) in the third bout during UFC Fight Night at Amalie Arena. Dodson Won at47 seconds in the first round. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports
John Dodson ($8,100)
Facing John Lineker on Saturday night, expect this fight to be an absolute war. Lineker is an extremely powerful striker and usually, whoever he hits, he hurts and shortly after, he finishes. But, that won’t be the case in this matchup.
Both fighters are extremely similar in two aspects: they both have devastating power and they’re both extremely durable. Other than that, it’s all Dodson. If Dodson finds trouble in the standup, he’ll be able to use the rest of his game to find the win. His speed will be the biggest factor in this matchup and look for him to take full advantage of that.
He may not be able to knock Lineker out because Lineker has an amazing chin, but he should stay extremely active throughout the course of five rounds to score a great amount of points in a decision win.
Louis Smolka ($9,400)
Smolka was originally scheduled to face Sergio Pettis, but Pettis pulled out at last minute due to an injury. Brandon Moreno stepped in on short notice to face the top flyweight contender in Smolka.
Moreno is currently riding an eight fight win streak and is 11-3 in his MMA career. He’s definitely no joke. But, everything is stacked against him here. Smolka is, easily, the biggest test of his career and in a fight like this, stepping up on short notice without training for this caliber of a matchup is not very good for him.
Moreno is definitely solid on the ground with most of wins coming by submission, but expect Smolka to win this fight everywhere it goes. He can possibly make it out of the first, but he won’t survive the second round against Smolka.
Joachim Christensen ($7,000)
Facing Luis Henrique da Silva in his UFC debut on Saturday night, he’s definitely a tough opponent for da Silva. Da Silva is definitely a tough fighter, but his last two fights, he has faced quite a bit of adversity before pulling off the win.
In his matchup against Ildemar Alcantara, he was getting beat up early before stopping him in the second round and the same goes for his fight against Jonathan Wilson. But, that won’t happen against Christensen.
Christensen will be able to get going early and the big difference is his conditioning. He won’t gas out in this fight. He’s also very well-rounded, so expect him to use his whole skill-set to his advantage to pick up a late finish.
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