The UFC makes their return to Abu Dhabi (otherwise known as UFC Fight Island) this weekend for a stacked UFC 267 pay-per-view. We say “pay-per-view”, but it’s actually FREE, streaming on ESPN+ like a normal UFC Fight Night card does. The only catch is it starts at 10:30 am Eastern. So make sure you take my UFC 267 DraftKings advice and get your team registered in time on Saturday morning.
RELATED
UFC 267 Betting Guide
UFC 267 DraftKings Roster
Khamzat Chimaev – $9,500
Not only does the UFC return to Abu Dhabi, but Khamzat Chimaev also makes his return to the cage after over a year on the sidelines dealing with a bad case of COVID-19. Assuming Chimaev is fully over his illness, he should be worth his lofty pricetag this weekend, as his 124.2 fantasy points per fight average is the best on Saturday’s card. While Li Jingliang is Chimaev’s most formidable opponent yet, he has all the skills to get the job done for us.
Petr Yan – $8,800
We’ll grab another big fantasy point earner with our next purchase and take former UFC Bantamweight Champion Petr Yan. He’s only “former” because he got himself disqualified in his last match due to an illegal knee. He’s the complete package and will best this weekend’s opponent Cory Sandhagen no matter where the fight takes them. Here’s hoping for another 154 point showing like he posted two fights ago against Jose Aldo.
Andre Petroski – $8,600
Next, we’ll add recent The Ultimate Fighter castmate Andre Petroski to our UFC 267 DraftKings lineup. Petroski takes this fight on short notice – the second time he’s done that lately for the UFC. It worked out well in his debut for himself and his owners, as he got the W and scored 106.1 points. The week’s opponent is the very inexperienced Hu Yaozong, who is only 3-2 as a pro and has been out of action for three years. Petroski will grapple his way to a victory.
Amanda Ribas – $8,200
Time to add some sweetness to our UFC 267 DraftKings roster and pick up Amanda Ribas. While she is fun and sweet and bubbly outside the cage, that all changes once that cage door locks. She’ll test her high-level grappling against perhaps an even better grappler in Abu Dhabi, Virna Jandiroba. However, Ribas’s grappling is strong enough to counter Jandiroba, and she is far superior in the striking realm. Look for her to get back into the triple digits as she did in three of her first four UFC fights.
Michal Oleksiejczuk – $7,800
I’ll go with a couple of my underdog picks to round out the roster, starting with light heavyweight Michal Oleksiejczuk. He’s capable of huge outings, as his 148 point effort a couple of years ago attests to. And I think his striking matches up well against Shamil Gamzatov this week. As long as he doesn’t post two points as he did a couple of fights ago, we should be good.
Makwan Amirkhani – $6,900
Now for my big underdog pick – ‘Mr. Finland’ Makwan Amirkhani. First off, he averages a very strong 71.6 fantasy points over his 10 UFC fights, even putting up decent numbers in his defeats. Secondly, he has a very clear path to victory over Lerone Murphy on Saturday – wrestling. It’s what Amirkhani excels in and defending and stopping it is where Murphy struggles. This could turn out to be the value purchase of the card.
Listen to this:
UFC 267 Betting Guide (Blanket Statements) | MMA Gambling Podcast (Ep.85)
Make sure to visit our odds page for up-to-the-minute lines from various books!
