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DraftKings MMA, UFC DFS lineup picks for UFC Kansas City: Machado Garry vs. Prates on 04/26/25. MMA DFS analysis to build winning daily fantasy UFC lineups.
This Saturday, the UFC is set to return to Kansas City for the first time in a little over two years with UFC Kansas City: Machado Garry vs. Prates at the T-Mobile Center. The event will mark the promotion's third visit to Kansas City and first since UFC Kansas City: Holloway vs. Allen in April 2023. The main event was initially supposed to be a bout between former light heavyweight champion Jamahal Hill and former title challenger Khalil Rountree Jr., but the fight was scrapped as Hill pulled out due to a lingering leg injury but the UFC did manage to find two fighters willing to put on a show on just a few weeks’ notice, as Ian Machado Garry and Carlos Prates stepped up for striker’s delight main event.
The co-main event features a knockout artist, Zhang Mingyang, taking on former light heavyweight title challenger Anthony Smith, who is stepping into the cage for the last time. The main card features a featherweight bout between crafty kickboxer Giga Chikadze and surging David Onama, Michel Pereira facing off against Abus Magomedov, and Randy Brown taking on Nicolas Dalby. Ikram Aliskerov and Andre Muniz are scheduled to open up UFC Kansas City main card.
In this article, I will be providing you with my fantasy MMA lineup picks for UFC Kansas City: Machado Garry vs. Prates on 4/26/25. Give me a follow on X @sumpor5. Good luck!
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DraftKings MMA Light Heavyweight - UFC DFS Lineup Picks
Zhang Mingyang, $9.6K - vs. Anthony Smith
On Saturday, in the co-main event of UFC Kansas City, former title challenger Smith and Mingyang are scheduled for a light heavyweight clash. Smith will look to end his pro career victorious while Mingyang looks for his third UFC win.
Zhang Minyang is a MONSTER 🤯
He's back in the Octagon Saturday night at #UFCKansasCity! pic.twitter.com/9b9IDTMFYT
— UFC (@ufc) April 25, 2025
"Lionheart" enters this fight as the underdog with a UFC record of 13-11. This will be Smith's 59th professional fight. Smith almost retired in December at UFC 310 after he suffered a second-round TKO loss to former title challenger Dominick Reyes. That was Smith's fifth loss in his past seven fights. Two victories in that seven-fight span were a split decision win over Ryan Spann and a first-round submission win over Vitor Petrino. Before his bout with Reyes, Smith suffered a unanimous decision loss to Roman Dolidze.
Mingyang has been on a tear, riding an 11-fight win streak that dates back to 2020. After going 5-5 in his first 10 professional bouts, Mingyang turned his career around, going 13-1 in his last 14 bouts. Since signing with the promotion, Mingyang has gone 2-0. He was last seen in action at UFC Macau, where he knocked out Ozzy Diaz in the first round. Before that, back in February 2024, at UFC 298, Mingyang knocked Brendson Ribeiro out in the first round.
Smith enters this fight with an MMA record of 38-21. He is averaging 3.20 significant strikes per minute and has a striking accuracy of 49 percent. Smith is absorbing 4.88 strikes per minute and has a striking defense of 45 percent. Regarding his wrestling, Smith is averaging 0.44 takedowns every 15 minutes. He has a takedown accuracy of 23 percent and a takedown defense of 50 percent.
Mingyang enters this fight with an MMA record of 18-6. He averages 8.57 significant strikes per minute and has a striking accuracy of 55 percent. Mingyang absorbs 5.59 strikes per minute and has a striking defense of 53 percent. In his two UFC fights, nobody has tried to take him down, nor has Mingyang attempted to take Ribeiro or Diaz down.
Smith hasn't looked good in quite some time, and Mingyang has looked incredible, going on an 11-fight win streak, finishing all 11 fights in spectacular fashion with nine knockout/TKO wins and two submission wins. Mingyang is known as a finisher, and Smith's durability is not what it used to be. My prediction is that Mingyang will TKO Smith in the second or third round.
DraftKings MMA Featherweight - UFC DFS Lineup Picks
Giga Chikadze, $7.4K - vs. David Onama
Chikadze is scheduled to take on Onama on the main card of UFC Kansas City on Saturday. Chikadze will look to get back in the win column, while Onama looks to extend his win streak to four.
Chikadze started his UFC run with seven straight wins. What put Chikadze on the map was his wins over Cub Swanson and Edson Barboza. Known as a striker, Chikadze suffered his first UFC loss when he was outstruck by Calvin Kattar in the main event of UFC Vegas 46. Chikadze was last seen in action back in July 2024 at UFC 304, where he lost via unanimous decision to Arnold Allen. Prior to that, Chikadze outpointed Alex Caceres over three rounds in August 2023.
Onama enters this bout with a UFC record of 5-2. He was last seen in action at UFC 309, where he took on a short-notice replacement, beating Roberto Romero by unanimous decision. Onama has won five of six since dropping a unanimous decision to Mason Jones in his UFC debut back in October 2021. Currently, he's on a three-fight winning streak. Onama is known as a well-rounded fighter who seems to be better every time he steps in the Octagon.
Chikadze enters this fight with an MMA record of 15-4 and 8-2 in the UFC. He is averaging 3.92 significant strikes per minute and has a striking accuracy of 42 percent. Chikadze is absorbing 3.50 strikes per minute and has a striking defense of 61 percent. Regarding his grappling, Chikadze is averaging 0.21 takedowns every 15 minutes. His takedown accuracy is 33 percent, and his takedown defense is 70 percent.
Onama enters this fight with an MMA record of 13-2 and 5-2 in the UFC. He is averaging 5.60 significant strikes per minute and has a striking accuracy of 50 percent. Onama is absorbing 5.07 strikes per minute and has a striking defense of 52 percent. Regarding his grappling, Onama is averaging 0.73 takedowns every 15 minutes. He has a takedown accuracy of 20 percent and a takedown defense of 52 percent.
If Onama takes Chikadze down, I don't think he'll be able to hold him there. Onama is a younger fighter riding a win streak, but he hasn't faced the level of competition Chikadze has. This fight is most likely going to be a striking battle, and Chikadze is going to have an advantage in that department because of his elite-level kickboxing. I don't think Chikadze will finish Onama, but I think that he'll outpoint Onama en route to a unanimous decision win.
DraftKings MMA Middleweight - UFC DFS Lineup Picks
Ikram Aliskerov, $9.7K - vs. Andre Muniz
Middleweights Aliskerov and Muniz are set to open up the UFC Kansas City main card on Saturday. The pair was originally scheduled to compete at UFC Vegas 93, but Muniz withdrew from the bout after he suffered a foot fracture. After that, the fight was scheduled for UFC Saudi Arabia, but Muniz couldn’t get his passport sorted out in time. Aliskerov will look to get back in the win column while Muniz looks to win back-to-back fights.
The last time Aliskerov was seen in action was at UFC Saudi Arabia, where he came in as a late replacement for Khamzat Chimaev and then was knocked out by former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker inside of two minutes. Before that, Aliskerov was on a seven-fight win streak. He's gone 2-1 since signing with the UFC, with two of those wins being first-round knockout wins over Phil Hawes and Warlley Alves.
Since signing with the UFC in 2019, Muniz has gone 6-2. he opened his UFC run with five-straight victories, three of those being first-round submission wins. After winning five straight and getting closer to the title shot, Muniz lost two consecutive fights. First, he was defeated by Brendan Allen via a third-round rear-naked choke and then by Paul Craig via second-round TKO. In his last bout, Muniz got back in the win column by defeating Jun Yong Park via split decision.
Aliskerov enters this fight as one of the biggest favorites on this card with an MMA record of 15-2 and 2-1 in the UFC. He averages 7.03 significant strikes per minute and has a striking accuracy of 60 percent. Aliskerov absorbs 7.27 strikes per minute and has a striking defense of 36 percent. His grappling has been solid, averaging 1.82 takedowns every 15 minutes and 1.8 submission attempts during the same period. He has a takedown accuracy of 33 percent and has not had to defend a takedown so far in the UFC.
Muniz enters this fight with an MMA record of 24-6 and 6-2 in the UFC. He averages 1.97 significant strikes per minute and has a striking accuracy of 50 percent. Muniz absorbs 1.99 strikes per minute and has a striking defense of 54 percent. Regarding his grappling, Muniz is averaging 4.23 takedowns every 15 minutes and 1.2 submission attempts during the same period. He has a takedown accuracy of 50 percent and a takedown defense of 35 percent.
Although Aliskerov suffered a knockout loss last time around, it was to former champion Whittaker. Not including that fight, Aliskerov has looked solid thus far. In contrast, Muniz hasn't looked great in his last three fights, including his split decision win over Park. Aliskerov is a much better striker than Muniz, and I don't think Muniz will be able to take Aliskerov down. My prediction is that Aliskerov is going to knock Muniz out in the second round.
