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The time has come. No, I'm not talking about Anderson Silva's last fight and moments inside an Octagon coming this next Saturday. I'm talking about the UFC leaving Fight Island for good and coming back to its homeland of Las Vegas, U.S. The promo will hold an event inside the UFC Apex once more a month went by since the last time we visited the center all the way back in Sep. 19th. Not the flashiest of places to wave goodbye to the living legend Silva, but still a building in which the Brazilian will fight for (in theory at least) one last time.
You read that right, folks. We're saying bye-bye to Silva, who will face Uriah Hall in a match that should have happened as early as in May 2016! Before we reach that bout, which will lead the event, we'll get to watch Andre Fili face Bryce Mitchell, Kevin Holland go strike-by-strike against Charlie Ontiveros, and former NFL defensive end Greg Hardy taking it to Mo Greene among other things!
In this article, I will be providing you with my daily fantasy MMA, UFC lineup picks for DraftKings for UFC Vegas 12: Silva vs. Hall on 10/31/20. You can check out our FanDuel MMA DFS picks as well. These DFS lineup picks can vary from higher-priced players and elite options to lower-priced fighters and value picks on DraftKings. Give me a follow on Twitter @chapulana. Good luck!
DraftKings MMA Middleweight - UFC DFS Lineup Picks
Uriah Hall, $8600 - vs. Anderson Silva
While Hall is still far from reaching Silva's career length, he's been around since 2013 and fought 14 times already with a very average 8-6 record. But we're here to celebrate Silva, folks. The Brazilian, once considered the GOAT, is stepping one last time inside the Octagon to complete a 25-fight career fighting under the UFC banner, which started all the way back in 2006!
Silva has been demolished lately, with just one win (and a draw) in his last eight fights spanning back to June 2013. Silva had not lost prior to that, and Hall had yet to debut by then (LOL). The couple of losses Silva had in 2019 came against top-tier foes in Israel Adesanya and Jared Cannonier, so there is no shame there.
Hall, on the other hand, has won three of his last four going back to 2017. He's got a couple of KOs and a decision, though he was also knocked out by Paulo Costa in his lone loss. Hall is the clear favorite, and it makes all of the sense. It'd be great to watch Silva rebound and exit the MMA world sitting on a W, but I think that's asking too much at this point.
DraftKings MMA Featherweight - UFC DFS Lineup Picks
Andre Fili, $7700 - vs. Bryce Mitchell
Talk about contrasting fighters, these two. Fili has little to envy to both Silva and Uriah in terms of experience. He has put on 15 shows already, starting in 2013, and although he's an up-and-down rollercoaster fighter he gets into this bout having won his last. He's fought two times per year every year since 2014 and is 4-2 from 2018 on.
Mitchell, with a completely opposite profile, only has three UFC fights. He's won all of them, boasts a perfect 3-0 record, and is a do-it-all fighter. That is also the case with Fili, who throws 140+ SS per fight with ease and also uses grappling extensively, racking up good takedown/advance fantasy points.
This is going to be a 15-minute fight, you can count on that. And on that long-run basis, it comes down to Fili for a higher floor and Mitchell for a higher ceiling. You might have different ideas depending on your risk tolerance. If I have to go with one of these two, though, I'm picking Fili and his average 40+ point-baseline over Mitchell's lower one.
DraftKings MMA Middleweight - UFC DFS Lineup Picks
Makhmud Muradov, $8000 - vs. Kevin Holland
While Holland has shown tons of promise in his short-but-packed career (eight fights in just over 36 months), he has also dropped a few bouts that have affected his value. Holland is 2-1 in 2020 alone, but he lost his last fight this past September against Darren Stewart after winning the prior two with the second one coming in August.
Muradov has only two fights in the UFC, but he's won both contests and he did so with a KO in the last one (though it took him 14 minutes to get it). He has not had much fighting time, but so far he's shown both striking and grappling prowess (at least he's trying, with 4 TD attempts and one successful). Holland, though he started high on trying and taking foes down in his first four fights (6-of-12 TD), has lowered that volume considerably lately (1-of-4 TD in his last four).
I hate to say it and would hate even more to watch it, but I think Holland will drop another one here to make it to Ls in a row. Muradov has looked great in his two fights, landed more strikes than Holland has in a single fight since 2018, and he also landed the lone TD he attempted.
DraftKings MMA Heavyweight - UFC DFS Lineup Picks
Greg Hardy, $8800 - vs. Maurice Greene
Slowly but surely, Hardy keeps building his MMA resume in the UFC. Hardy left the NFL in 2015 after adding a Pro Bowl and an All-Pro selection to his accolade list. He still ways away from those levels as a fighter, but he's trying. Hardy fought five times in 2019 and once this year already, lowering his volume of fights reasonably. He has a draw, loss, and win in his last three, going back a year.
Mo Greene also debuted in the UFC in 2019, and although he started strong (two wins) he proceeded to lay a couple of eggs (two losses) before getting back to the W column last June against Gian Villante. While Hardy has two KO wins to his name, Greene has one but also a submission victory.
Hardy has not been knocked out or submitted yet, while Greene has suffered both types of defeat in his career. It sounds stupid, but Hardy's floor of 19.5 DKFP is almost on par with Greene's (24.3), and even in defeat Hardy has beaten the fantasy score of Greene in his losses too. I gotta go with the former Cowboys defensive end here.
DraftKings MMA Lightweight - UFC DFS Lineup Picks
Bobby Green, $9000 - vs. Thiago Moises
Baby Mo vs. Bobby G. Doesn't get to sound much better than those couple nicknames. And it is not that the fight is not going to be good, either. Bobby is fighting for the 15th time in the UFC next Saturday, and he's a lock to go the distance. He's won his last three (all in 2020) but was 1-2 prior to that (2018-19).
Baby Mo, just 25 years old, is 2-2 alternating wins and losses with a victory in his last outing back in May. He submitted Michael Johnson then and there, but he should also offer 15-minute fight-time prowess. Same as Green, Thiago can do it all inside the octagon. He's attempted more than 100 SS twice, and at least 2 TDs (average 3.5 per fight) landing four of them. Green is a volume thrower (average 160 SS per fight) and a grappling machine (14-of-26 TDs in his last seven fights).
Green has fought like a monster in this the year 2020 of our lord. Three in a row will turn four this weekend, folks. He's expensive as hell, but so is his upside on this one. Green is averaging 66.5 DKFP per fight without taking win-bonuses into consideration since 2018 compared to Moises' putrid 22.5 average. Easy pick.
