DFS MMA DraftKings: UFC 235 3/2/19 (UFC)

DFS MMA DraftKings: UFC 235 3/2/19 (UFC)

UFC 235 is Saturday night, and it is looking like potentially the best fight card of the year. Headlining the event is Jon Jones and Anthony Smith. Everyone knows of Jones’ troubled past, yet he is still one of the most exciting fighters to watch. He has 1 loss in his career and that was because he was forced a loss after failing a drug test. If he passes that then he is 24-0 and probably considered the best fighter in the world. The stage is set, weights are in, and we are less than 48 hours away from a great night in Las Vegas, NV.

Main Card

Cody Garbradnt ($8,500) vs Pedro Munhoz ($7,700)

Cody Garbrandt first earned my respect and entered towards the top of my favorite fighters list when he dominated Dominick Cruz at UFC 207. Since then, his 2 fights have been against TJ Dillashaw and he fought with too much emotion, getting knocked out in both bouts. Garbrandt is a great striker with the power to end a fight at any time he chooses. The most important thing is that he comes out and fights smart instead of for vengeance. Pedro Munhoz most recent fight came in The Ultimate Fighter Championship fight of which he won via TKO. His most recent high profile fight outside of TUF was against John Dodson in which he was defeated via submission. I expect Garbrandt to handle this fight and return to his winning ways.

Winner: Cody Garbrandt

 Tecia Torres ($7,900) vs Weili Zhang ($8,300)

Tecia Torres has 10 wins in her career as a fighter, 9 of which have come via decision making her ceiling low for DraftKings purposes. Along with this, she is also coming off a 2 fight losing streak to two of the best– women’s fighters in the UFC in Andrade and Jedrzejczyk. Her opponent Zhang is 18-1 in her fight career and has not lost since her very first professional fight back in 2013. Only 3 of her fights have gone to decision already making her the better play as long as she can come away with a win. Zhang has only had 2 fights at the UFC level, but both were wins and she averages 100 points per fight. Add on her price that is right at the average cost per fighter for a lineup and I think she is someone who can easily be plugged into most lineups for Saturday night

Winner: Weili Zhang

Robbie Lawler ($7,200) vs Ben Askren ($9,000)

Robbie Lawler has been around the fight game for quite some time and was even the champion for about a year and a half before losing it to current title holder Tyron Woodley. In Lawler’s last three fight he is 1-2 and has averaged under 40 points per fight during that time frame. On the other side of the octagon, we have a long time Bellator fighter and the first of two ex-Mizzou wrestlers that fight Saturday night. Ben Askren is definitely known for being a great wrestler, but when looking deeper he has won 6 fights via K.O., 5 by submission, and the other 7 by decision. His last 3 fights he has finished before the start of the 3rd round showing that he has the ability to stop a fight early. I think Askren will dominate the flow of the fight in his UFC fight and end the fight in the 2nd round.

Winner: Ben Askren

Tyron Woodley ($8,700) vs Kamaru Usman ($7,500)

Tyron Woodley is one of my favorite fighters in the UFC for a number of reasons. Number one being that he came out of the University of Missouri wrestling program and number two is that he is just a great all-around fighter. Woodley has been the title holder of the welterweight division since defeating Lawler back in July of 2016. His opponent Saturday night is Kamaru Usman. Usman comes in with an impressive fight record at 14-1. Usman has not finished any of his last three fights but has managed to post an average of 122 points per fight. His last fight against dos Anjos Usman posted a score of 176 points which is the highest total I have seen. This tells you he comes with one of the highest ceilings of any fighter on this card, however, Usman has yet to fight an opponent on the same level as Tyron Woodley. Usman has won most of his fights recently via decision and I don’t believe he will be able to outlast “The Chosen One.”

Winner: Tyron Woodley

Jon Jones ($9,600) vs Anthony Smith ($6,600)

By this point in time, any UFC fan knows what Jon Jones brings to the octagon. He is one of the most dynamic fighters in all of MMA and has only “lost” one fight and it was because of a failed drug test. Jones has defeated Daniel Cormier twice and would be the undisputed champion if he just stayed out of trouble. In comes Anthony Smith. Smith is known for fighting with grit and just refusing to be defeated. Over Smith’s last 3 fights he has averaged just shy of 100 points and finished all 3 of these fights. While Smith may have the grit of a champion, I just don’t expect him to be able to hang with Jones. Jones will likely finish this fight within the first three rounds, but with the price tag associated with Anthony Smith, he will definitely be worth being inserted into some lineups.

Winner: Jon Jones

Best of the Rest

Projected Winners are in Bold

1. Diego Sanchez ($7,100) vs Mickey Gall ($9,100)
2. Cody Stamann ($8,600) vs Alejandro Perez ($7,600)
3. Johnny Walker ($8,400) vs Misha Cirkunov ($7,800)
4. Jeremy Stevens ($7,300) vs Zabit Magomedsharipov ($8,900)
5. Polyana Viana ($9,200) vs Hannah Cifers ($7,000)
6. Gina Mazany ($6,800) vs Macy Chiasson ($9,400)
7. Edmen Shahbazyan ($8,200) vs Charles Byrd ($8,000)

My Lineup

1. Ben Askren ($9,000)
2. Tyron Woodley ($8,700)
3. Cody Garbrandt (8,500)
4. Johnny Walker ($8,400)
5. Weili Zhang ($8,300)
6. Diego Sanchez ($7,100)

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