DFS MMA DraftKings: UFC 234 2/9/19 (UFC)

DFS MMA DraftKings: UFC 234 2/9/19 (UFC)

UFC 234 is just right around the corner and with that come more draft kings advice on who to play on Saturday night. While the main event is Robert Whittaker vs Kelvin Gastelum, the fight I’m most interested in is Israel Adesanya vs Anderson Silva. While this fight card doesn’t have a lot of, exciting names, there will be plenty of good fights come Saturday night.

Main Card

Jimmy Crute ($8,300) vs Sam Alvey ($7,900)

Crute is making his 2nd fight as a member of the UFC and as of now has a 9-0 record as a professional MMA fighter. Of his 9 wins, he has 3 KO, 3 Submissions, and 3 wins by decision. He is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu fighter which explains the versatility of how he wins fights. He will go up against Sam Alvey, a long time UFC fighter who comes in with a 33-11 fight record. Alvey wins most of his fights by either KO or decision so expect hit to try to keep this fight vertical. Alvey is nearing the end of his career and has lost 3 of his last 6 fights including his most recent against Antonio Nogueira.

Winner: Jimmy Crute

Montana De La Rosa ($8,800) vs Nadia Kassem ($7,400)

In the next fight, we have De La Rosa, a submission specialist who has won 7 of her 9 victories via submission. De La Rosa beat Rachael Ostovich via rear naked choke in the finals of The Ultimate Fighter and will now be making her UFC debut. She will be fighting Nadia Kassem. Kassem is 5-0 and will be fighting her second UFC fight this Saturday. In her career, she has 4 wins by KO making her an interesting sleeper in terms of fantasy play come Saturday night. While these 2 have clashing fight backgrounds, this fight will come down to who can control the flow of the fight and push their opponent out of their comfort zone. Neither of these fighters has a great history in terms of fantasy points and I will avoid this fight for DK perspectives.

Winner: Montana De La Rosa

Rani Yahya ($8,000) vs Ricky Simon ($8,200)

This fight is about as close to it gets in terms of DK value, but both fighters average under 70 points a fight. Yahya is 26-9 as a fighter and has won 20 of his fights via submission. He is also coming into this fight on a 3 fight win streak averaging 92.67 points over those 3 fights. If he can come out and perform like that again against Simon, he can definitely be a good contributor Saturday night. Simon is also coming into this fight on a 7 fight win streak, however, only 2 of these wins were at UFC events. For the case of this fight, I am going to ride with the more experienced fighter, Rani Yahya.

Winner: Rani Yahya

Israel Adesanya ($9,600) vs Anderson Silva ($6,600)

While we all know who and what Anderson Silva is, people are still learning about Adesanya. Adesanya grew up idolizing Silva and much of his style mimics that of “The Spider”. Let’s face it Silva is a shell of his former self and this fight is a lose-lose for Adesanya in the fighting world. If Adesanya wins no one bats an eye as it is the expected if he loses then this knocks him clear down the rankings because he lost to a fighter whose career is on its last leg. That being said I expect “The Last Style Bender” to win this fight, but I’m not sure he lives up to the price tag.

Winner: Israel Adesanya

Robert Whittaker ($8,900) vs Kelvin Gastelum ($7,300)

Whittaker is currently the champ and for good reason. He hasn’t lost a fight since February of 2014. Gastelum is on a 2 fight streak and has earned himself a chance to fight for the belt. This fight is huge for fantasy purposes because it comes with the perk of being a 5 round fight. Anytime a fight has the chance to go five rounds means there is a great chance for some extra points. From what I have seen, both of these fighters possess the same potential upside. That being said Whittaker is the first ever champion from Australia and he gets to defend his belt at his home country. I’m picking him to win this fight.

Winner: Robert Whittaker

Best of the Rest

**Projected winners are in bold

Devonte Smith ($8,600) vs Dong Hyun Ma ($7,600)

Shane Young ($9,100) vs Austin Arnett ($7,100)

Kai Kara-France ($9,000) vs Raulian Paiva ($7,200)

Teruto Ishihara ($6,800) vs Kyung Ho Kang ($9,400)

Lando Vannata ($9,300) vs Marcos Mariano ($6,900) (Low-value fight Mariano is making his debut and Vannata has been on a rough streak as of late.)

Callan Potter ($7,500) vs Jalin Turner ($8,700) (Debut fight. High risk, High reward)

Wuliji Buren ($7,700) vs Johnathan Martinez ($8,500)

My lineup

1. Kai Kara-France ($9,000)
2. Jimmy Crute ($8,300)
3. Callan Potter ($7,500)
4. Rani Yahya ($8,000)
5. Jonathan Martinez ($8,500)
6. Devonte Smith ($8,600)

Tournament Lineup (High Risk/Reward)

1. Israel Adesanya ($9,600)
2. Marcos Mariano (6,900)
3. Callan Potter (7,500)
4. Kelvin Gastelum ($7,300)
5. Kai Kara-France ($9,000)
6. Shane Young ($9,100)

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