Despite chaos raging all around, the UFC continues unabated. This week is UFC 250, emanating from the UFC APEX in Las Vegas. It’s basically a top bantamweight contender tournament, with four top 135-pound fighters battling on the main card. The main event will see Amanda Nunes defending her UFC Women’s Featherweight Championship against Felicia Spencer.
Let’s draft ourselves a winning DraftKings team.
READ ALSO – UFC 250: Odds, Preview, Picks for Every Fight – I’m 17-4 over the past two UFC events for you gamblers.
Chase Hooper – $8,500
Young Chase Hooper is the top average fantasy point earner heading into this event, so he’s a good pickup at $8,500. He looked fantastic in his UFC debut, earning a first round TKO of Daniel Teymur, in a fight where he didn’t just earn points via the knock out – he also got a takedown. His opponent on Saturday, Alex Caceres, is a wily veteran but has only had a middling UFC career – Hooper should be able to best him tomorrow night and rack up more points.
Herbert Burns – $8,900
Going with another fighter making their sophomore octagon appearance with our second pick – Herbert ‘The Blaze’ Burns. He earned 108.5 DK points for his owners in his lone UFC fight against Nate Landwehr, where he took him down once and won via a knee KO. He’s an extremely talented grappler and Saturday he will be going up against another fighter who relies on grappling, Evan Dunham. Burns should be too big, too good, and too young for Dunham to handle in this encounter.
Gerald Meerschaert – $7,800
I have to make some discount buys here, so I’m liking Gerald Meerschaert at $7,800 against Ian Heinisch. Heinisch actually was briefly pulled from the card earlier this week when one of his coaches tested positive for COVID-19, but on re-testing it was revealed it was a false positive. Whether that has messed with his head heading into the fight is probably besides the fact – Meerschaert is a submission ace and Heinisch tends to be taken down in all of his fights, so if GM3 gets him to the ground he could secure the victory.
Raphael Assuncao – $7,600
Another cheap, quality pickup is Raphael Assuncao. He’s fighting former bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt on Saturday night. Garbrandt has been knocked out in three straight fights and hasn’t won since 2016, so he’s ripe for the picking here. And with his reckless fighting style and glass chin, Assuncao might be able to get you some knock out points in this battle.
Alonzo Menifield – $9,000
My “big ticket” item for this card may come as a surprise – I’m buying Alonzo Menifield at $9,000. But I think, obviously, that the undefeated light heavyweight will be worth the money. He knocked out his first two opponents in the UFC and has averaged 105.3 fantasy points. On Saturday he’ll be going against Devin Clark, who isn’t on the same striking level as Menifield but, rather, relies on takedowns to win fights. However, Menifield has yet to be taken down in the UFC.
Cory Sandhagen – $8,000
For a guy like Sandhagen that averages 105.5 points per fight, $8,000 is a very fair price tag. His matchup against Aljamain Sterling on Saturday could produce the next bantamweight title challenger, so lots at stake in this battle. I’m leaning towards Sandhagen due to his youth, size and knockout power, but it should be a good fight (hopefully bringing in lots of fantasy points).
READ ALSO – UFC 250: Odds, Preview, Picks for Every Fight – I’m 17-4 over the past two UFC events for you gamblers.
