DraftKings MMA DFS Picks for UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs. Volkov
Welcome to the Quick Picks version of UFC Las Vegas!
That’s right, the UFC is in Las Vegas once more for UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs. Volkov, and it’s only a matter of weeks until the promotion ships out to Abu Dhabi for its Fight Island events, which includes the stacked UFC 251.
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DraftKings MMA DFS Picks for UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs. Volkov
Curtis Blaydes, 9.4k
The Main Event on Saturday is headlined by Curtis Blaydes vs. Alexander Volkov, and Blaydes is arguably the top overall play on DraftKings at 9.4k.
He’s also the heaviest favorite on the slate at -400 and carries a heavy -200 line to win inside the distance. If you’re looking for DraftKings MMA picks with potential to score 100 points, Blaydes is an obvious candidate.
Blaydes has landed 6.63 takedowns per 15 minutes, which score five points a piece on DraftKings, and he has shown devastating ground-and-pound in the past. In his last nine UFC victories, Blaydes has scored 100 points or more in six different fights, and the odds suggest he is more than capable of repeating that score Saturday.
Plus, even if Blaydes wins by decision, he’ll have 25 minutes to work with which raises both his floor and ceiling. Give Blaydes a heavy look if you’re playing DraftKings MMA this weekend.
Frank Camacho, 8k
Originally scheduled to be Frank Camacho vs. Matt Frevola, one of Frevola’s cornermen unfortunately tested positive for CoronaVirus, and Frevola was forced out of the bout.
DraftKings had already released its MMA pricing though, and Camacho was set to be a small underdog in that fight, settling in with an 8k tag. Once the UFC released Camacho’s new opponent, Justin Jaynes, DraftKings is unable to chance the pricing, regardless of what the new betting line is.
Jaynes will be making his UFC debut on just a couple days notice, and he’s a heavy underdog, sitting at +265 with Camacho as a large favorite at -325.
That makes Camacho the second heaviest favorite on the entire slate, and he also has the second best odds to finish at -180. At 8k, Camacho is an obvious value target and has elite upside for this price.
Camacho is very likely to be one of the most popular DraftKings MMA picks on Saturday, but he’s a fantastic target and has tournament winning upside.
Josh Emmett, 7.5k
Another strong value play, Josh Emmett is currently the underdog to Shane Burgos, and is priced down on DraftKings at 7.5k.
Emmett is only a very small favorite though, he’s +115 to win the fight and +210 to win inside the distance, which are strong metrics for his price tag. Although Emmett hasn’t landed strikes at a high rate, he’s knocked down all five of his opponents in the Featherweight division, which does indicate he has knockout potential.
Plus, his opponent Shane Burgos has been dropped on multiple occasions, including a knockout loss to Calvin Kattar. Burgos will be taller and longer than Emmett and is expected to have the minute-to-minute edge, but Emmett will be live for a knockout for all 15 minutes.
He’s not necessarily a safe option, but Emmett absolutely has tournament-winning potential and is one of the better DraftKings MMA picks below the mid-range, if you need to save some salary.
Raquel Pennington, 8.8k
Considering the number of high-upside options on this slate, we have to find a way to narrow down the player pool on Saturday, we simply cannot force all 24 fighters into our pool with a limited number of lineups.
Raquel Pennington is priced up at 8.8k as a -152 favorite, but she is only +450 to win inside the distance, which is very poor. Without a finish, Pennington is going to need to score 90 or more points based on striking and wrestling volume alone.
Unfortunately, Pennington only lands 3.32 significant strikes per minute and 1.13 takedowns per 15 minutes, and hasn’t traditionally scored well on DraftKings. In fact, Pennington hasn’t scored 70 points or more in any of her last four wins.
At 8.8k, Pennington does not make for a strong investment and doesn’t have much upside at the price, and if you need to exclude one MMA pick from your DraftKings lineups, Pennington is an obvious choice.
More MMA DFS Picks for UFC Fight Night
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