H3budda's MMA DFS New Scoring Guide

UFC New Scoring and General Strategy Guide

New year, new DraftKings scoring! In this article I will break down my initial thoughts on the new scoring. We will have to adjust some things with this new scoring and it is important to adjust your play to it. Let’s get to work.

DraftKings New Scoring:

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General Thoughts:

Eliminating the subjectivity was important for the growth of MMA DFS. The changes help there be constant scoring within a fight. There would be lulls where scoring wasn’t happening in the past. Scoring every strike seems very smart (and predictable) and adding control time.

Getting a finish is still prioritized. Winning a fight is still the best path to points. A quick finish bonus is going to be difficult to truly predict. It is a low percentage outcome in most cases and it should be rewarded if you do get a finish. We want a finish to get those base points.

Avoiding “boring” fights even more important now. We will have to continue to identify the fights that will have low output on the feet or takedowns (either with control or advancing). You will be penalized even more now in a win with a slow-paced fight or fights that are in the clinch without strikes. If a fight has cagework written all over it we may not want to completely look away.

Fighters who implement guard passing and advancing on the ground are going to take a hit in scoring (in general). It stinks that these types of fighters get less scoring, but we have to remember they still get the control time. Let’s also remember fighters in a dominant control time typically means more strikes on the ground as well.

How to Attack:

The new scoring is going to help even the playing field between men’s and women’s fights. In the past, we simply crossed out women’s bouts because of the lack of finishes. Women will have the opportunity to keep up with men’s scoring in decisions now.

Heavyweights present us with a higher percentage of finishing with the new 60-second knockout. But typically the longer the fights go the pace is not as great. Heavyweights continue to be important for GPPs and will be even slightly more punt worthy now.

Women’s fights seem to be more viable now because the significant strikes in volume will add up. Historically we have said we do not have a ton of interest in women’s fights, but now all strikes matter and that means there’s added value.

Punting with underdogs who have high inside the distance lines will be a solid strategy long term. The points for finishes are going to trump any normal scoring decisions. We want to maximize our upside and target those dogs with high upside.

About the Author

H3Budda
Mike Brown (H3Budda)

Mike Brown (aka H3Budda) is a 20-time Live Final qualifier across NFL, MMA, Soccer, and Tennis as well as a 2-time King of the Beach qualifier. He also qualified for the first ever MMA Live Final at UFC 205 in New York City. Follow Mike on Twitter – @h3budda