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The Ultimate Fighting Championship head to The Land Down Under for UFC 284: Makhachev vs. Volkanovski. However, underselling this card will be a mistake because the main draw features a champion versus champion showdown.
While February is regarded as a month where we celebrate love, there will be no love lost among the competitors in the entire card, that's for sure.
In this article, I will provide my fantasy MMA lineup picks for UFC 284: Makhachev vs. Volkanovski on 2/12/23. I am not going to pick every fight, but give you a few of my highest confidence picks instead for you to use to anchor your DFS lineups on DraftKings. Good luck!
DraftKings MMA Lightweight - UFC DFS Lineup Picks
Islam Makhachev, $8900 - vs. Alexander Volkanovski
UFC Featherweight Champion Alexander Volkanovski will enjoy a home-turf advantage against UFC Lightweight Champion Islam Makhachev when they battle in UFC 284. It will be the first time in nearly five years that Volkanovski will compete in Australia, and the crowd’s support will motivate him to deliver a high-octane performance.
It’s difficult to see “The Great” deviate from his patented striking, enabling him to maintain a 22-fight winning streak since 2013. His punching power has been his ticket to dominating his division, defeating Brian Ortega, Jung Chan-sung, and Max Holloway thrice. Fightmetric points out that Volkanovski is landing 6.79 significant strikes per minute, way above UFC’s 3.41 average.
Having disposed of his opponents at featherweight, he will go up to lightweight and swing for the fences by challenging Makhachev, who won the title against Charles Oliveira in UFC 280. But while Volkanovski’s strikes can crush his foes, he may have met a tough match in the competitor from Dagestan. Makhachev landed 51 strikes against Oliveira in the opening round alone, 12 of which were significant.
The Russian was also on target with his blows against “Do Bronx,” with an 84 percent accuracy on total strikes. Therefore, Volkanovski cannot underestimate Makhachev’s stand-up attack. However, the sambo specialist will establish the ground game, given his five-kilogram weight and ten-centimeter height advantage.
Expect Makhachev to attempt takedowns early and often to neutralize Volkanovski’s striking advantage. The Australian hasn’t been tested in the ground game, and the champion in this match will try to bully him into grappling. That said, the Wollongong resident will find it challenging to escape Makhachev’s spell after a takedown.
It doesn’t help Volkanovski’s cause that four of Makhachev’s last five victories were by submission. Likewise, adding weight can diminish Volkanovski’s primary weapon. Therefore, Makhachev will tighten his grip on the UFC Lightweight Championship by completing his first successful title defense in the second round.
DraftKings MMA Featherweight - UFC DFS Lineup Picks
Josh Emmett, $7700 - vs. Yair Rodriguez
Josh Emmett and Yair Rodriguez will have much motivation in this fight for the interim UFC Featherweight Championship. It will be another battle of contrasts as the former The Ultimate Fighter: Latin America winner Rodriguez boasts a taekwondo background. His last fight ended in a TKO victory when Brian Ortega suffered a shoulder injury.
That fight could have dragged on without the unfortunate ending for “T-City,” and Rodriguez might have suffered his second straight defeat after losing a decision to Max Holloway on November 2021. “El Pantera” also played the long-range game by landing 21 of 44 attempts from a distance and 21 percent of his strikes to the leg.
However, Emmett will continue to hound Rodriguez and complete his takedowns, especially after failing to bring Calvin Kattar to the ground in their fight last June. But while Emmett is a Jiu-Jitsu specialist, he does have the striking ability to knock down opponents, as proven by his finish of Mirsad Bektic in 2019. “The Fighting Falmer” is also in high spirits since he is on a five-fight winning streak.
Both fighters have proven their capability to maintain their resolve even when the fight goes the distance. But a longer match favors Emmett, especially if he can soften Rodriguez’s legs with low kicks. Weakening his opponent’s base makes it easier for Emmett to shoot for takedowns and bring the contest to his favored style.
Rodriguez will go for an early ending by throwing a barrage of strikes. However, Emmett can withstand those blows as he patiently waits to bring his competitor to the canvas. Therefore, Emmett will win by unanimous decision to claim the interim title.
