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DraftKings MMA, UFC DFS Lineup Picks - UFC Shanghai: Walker vs. Zhang on 8/23/25. Alen's MMA DFS analysis to build winning daily fantasy UFC lineups.
Another week, another UFC event, only this time, the leading promotion heads out to Shanghai for UFC Shanghai. The event will mark the promotion's second visit to Shanghai and first since November 17, when former middleweight champion Michael Bisping and Kelvin Gastelum faced off. The main event features a five-round light heavyweight bout between knockout artists Johnny Walker and Zhang Mingyang, and the co-main event features former featherweight title challenger Brian Ortega facing off against former bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling. The co-main event was originally slated as a five-round featherweight bout, but was changed to a catchweight after Ortega had complications with the weight cut. While the main event may have the most appeal to the hometown crowd, the fight with the biggest star power and the highest stakes fight may actually be the co-main event.
To open up the UFC Shanghai main card, we have Taiyilake Nueraji and Kiefer Crosbie facing off in the welterweight division, followed by a flyweight clash between Su Sumudaerji and Kevin Borjas. Also on the main card, we have a heavyweight bout between former interim heavyweight title challenger Sergei Pavlovich and Waldo Cortes-Acosta.
In this article, I will be providing you with my fantasy MMA lineup picks for UFC Shanghai: Walker vs. Zhang on 8/23/25. Give me a follow on X @sumpor5. Good luck!
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DraftKings MMA Light Heavyweight - UFC DFS Lineup Picks
Zhang Mingyang, $9.4K - vs. Johnny Walker
This Saturday, light heavyweights Johnny Walker and Zhang Mingyang are scheduled for a five-round clash in the main event of UFC Shanghai. Walker will look to return to the win column while Mingyang looks to remain unbeaten in the UFC.
We CAN'T WAIT for this one 😮💨@JohnnyWalker vs Zhang Mingyang
[ #UFCShanghai | SATURDAY 6amET | LIVE on @ESPNPlus ] pic.twitter.com/GghHVZ2u3e
— UFC (@ufc) August 22, 2025
"Mountain Tiger" earned his spot on the UFC roster back in 2022 after he defeated Tuco Tokkos via first-round knockout on "Road to UFC" Season 1. Mingyang is undefeated in his first three UFC fights, having beaten Brendson Ribeiro via first-round knockout, Ozzy Diaz via first-round TKO, and, more recently, former light heavyweight title challenger Anthony Smith.
Known as a knockout artist, Mingyang has 13 career knockouts/TKOs to his credit. Every single time that Mingyang wins, he wins in the first round via knockout, TKO, or a submission.
It could be said that Walker is in dire need of a victory. First, he fought with the current light heavyweight champion, Magomed Ankalaev, but the fight ended in an NC as Ankalaev landed an illegal knee to Walker's head. His next fight was a rematch with Ankalaev, but the fight went much worse for Walker this time as he suffered a second-round knockout loss.
He was last seen in action at UFC Saudi Arabia, where he suffered a first-round knockout to former title challenger Volkan Oezdemir. Once looked at as the next guy to dethrone Jon Jones, Walker needs to win this fight if he wants to stay relevant in the light heavyweight division.
Mingyang enters this fight with an MMA record of 19-6. He averages 10.91 significant strikes per minute and has a striking accuracy of 64%. Mingyang absorbs 4.55 strikes per minute and has a striking defense of 53%. He hasn't shown any grappling ability, but his takedown defense is 50%.
Walker enters this fight with an MMA record of 21-9 with one NC and 7-6 with one NC in the UFC. He is averaging 3.87 significant strikes per minute and has a striking accuracy of 53%. Walker absorbs 3.12 strikes per minute and has a striking defense of 44%. His grappling has not been strong, averaging 0.45 takedowns every 15 minutes. Walker has a takedown accuracy of 100% and a takedown defense of 57%.
I feel like this is a tailor-made matchup for Mingyang. Walker is known for his unorthodox style and his knockout power, but his durability is not the best, and he has a suspect chin as he was finished via knockout/TKO four times while in the UFC.
While Walker was inconsistent, Mingyang looked like a force of nature since signing with the UFC, finishing all three of his opponents. I just don't see how Walker can win this fight. My prediction is that Mingyang will find Walker's chin and knock him out either in the first or the second round.
DraftKings MMA Catchweight - UFC DFS Lineup Picks
Aljamain Sterling, $9.0K - vs. Brian Ortega
In Saturday's UFC Shanghai co-main event, former bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling is scheduled to take on former featherweight title challenger Brian Ortega. Both Sterling and Ortega are looking to get back in the win column. The fighters, originally scheduled for a featherweight matchup, will meet at the lightweight limit after both weighed in at 153 pounds on Friday.
This bout will go down at a catchweight 🚨@BrianTCity vs @FunkMasterMMA
[ #UFCShanghai| SATURDAY 6amET | LIVE on @ESPNPlus ] pic.twitter.com/LE4KQVUc5D
— UFC (@ufc) August 22, 2025
Former bantamweight champion Sterling has recently made the move up from bantamweight, looking to make an impact at featherweight. "The Funkmaster" has faced the best of the best at bantamweight, like former double champion Henry Cejudo and former bantamweight champions T.J. Dillashaw, Petr Yan, and Sean O'Malley.
Since he moved to featherweight, Sterling has had two fights. First, he defeated Calvin Kattar via unanimous decision, and then he faced off against undefeated Movsar Evloev. It was an extremely close fight, but in the end, Evloev was victorious. Sterling knows that winning the next three or four fights could mean that he'll get a title shot in the near future.
Ever since he defeated fan favorite Chan Sung Jung via unanimous decision, Ortega hasn't looked the same. He had a back-and-forth title fight against Alexander Volkanovski, but it could be said that years of his life were taken from him in that fight, as his face was bloody and swollen by the end of the fight.
He lost his next fight to former interim featherweight champion Yair Rodriguez after he suffered a shoulder injury, so the fighters agreed to do a rematch. Ortega managed to win their second fight, but he didn't look good at all as he was losing the fight until he submitted Rodriguez. He was last seen in action at UFC 306, where he lost to Diego Lopes via unanimous decision.
Sterling enters this fight with an MMA record of 24-5 and 16-5 in the UFC. He is averaging 4.41 significant strikes per minute and has a striking accuracy of 52%. Sterling absorbs 2.21 strikes per minute and has a striking defense of 58%. His grappling is great, averaging 2.51 takedowns every 15 minutes. Sterling has a takedown accuracy of 29% and a takedown defense of 42%.
Ortega enters this fight with an MMA record of 16-4 with one NC and 8-4 with one NC in the UFC. He is averaging 4.08 significant strikes per minute and has a striking accuracy of 37%. Ortega absorbs 6.59 strikes per minute and has a striking defense of 49%. Regarding his wrestling, Ortega is averaging 1.07 takedowns every 15 minutes and 1.1 submission attempts during the same period. He has a takedown accuracy of 26% and a takedown defense of 55%.
Ortega again had some health complications, and that was the reason this bout was now moved to a catchweight. Considering his rapidly declining health, I don't see Ortega climbing back up and fighting for the title. He's extremely dangerous, and he can land a submission out of nowhere, but I'm not sure that even prime Ortega would be able to do that to Sterling.
I don't think Sterling will finish Ortega, but I can definitely see him wrestling Ortega and dominating him for five rounds. My prediction is that Sterling will win via unanimous decision and get back in the win column.
DraftKings MMA Heavyweight - UFC DFS Lineup Picks
Sergei Pavlovich, $8.9K - vs. Waldo Cortes-Acosta
Heavyweights Sergei Pavlovich and Waldo Cortes-Acosta are scheduled for a three-round bout on the main card of UFC Shanghai on Saturday. Pavlovich will look to win back-to-back fights while Cortes-Acosta looks to extend his win streak.
Battle of the big boys 💪@SPavlovich13 vs @WaldoCortesUFC
[ #UFCShanghai| SATURDAY 6amET | LIVE on @ESPNPlus ] pic.twitter.com/cCuR6cS8Cw
— UFC (@ufc) August 22, 2025
Following a tough two-fight skid, including a knockout loss in an interim heavyweight title fight against current heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall and a unanimous decision loss to Alexander Volkov, Pavlovich got back on track in his last fight with a unanimous decision win over Jairzinho Rozenstruik.
Before his loss to Aspinall, Pavlovich was on a six-fight winning streak, winning all six fights via knockout, including victories over former interim heavyweight title challenger Curtis Blaydes and former heavyweight title challenger and knockout king Derrick Lewis.
Cortes-Acosta joined the promotion back in 2022 after he finished Danilo Suzart via first-round TKO on "Dana White's Contender Series." He defeated Jared Vanderaa in his UFC debut, and then he defeated Chase Sherman, also by a unanimous decision.
He dropped a decision in his next fight with Marcos Rogerio de Lima, and since then, he's looked great, beating his next five opponents. He was last seen in action in June at UFC 316, where he defeated Serghei Spivac via unanimous decision. He's also defeated the likes of Ryan Spann, Robelis Despaigne, and former heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski.
Pavlovich enters this fight with an MMA record of 19-3 and 7-3 in the UFC. He is averaging 4.54 significant strikes per minute and has a striking accuracy of 43%. Pavlovich is absorbing 3.81 strikes per minute and has a striking defense of 54%. His grappling ability is decent, averaging 0.63 takedowns every 15 minutes. Pavlovich has a takedown accuracy of 40% and a takedown defense of 75%.
Cortes-Acosta enters this fight with an MMA record of 14-1 and 7-1 in the UFC. He averages 5.98 significant strikes per minute and has a striking accuracy of 48%. Cortes-Acosta absorbs 3.43 strikes per minute and has a striking defense of 55%. His grappling is decent at best, averaging 0.42 takedowns every 15 minutes. He has a takedown accuracy of 50% and a takedown defense of 66%.
Pavlovich was looked at as the boogeyman of the division just a few years ago, until he lost back-to-back fights. That being said, he fought Aspinall, who is the heavyweight champion, and Volkov, who's one of the best heavyweights. Cortes-Acosta hasn’t been finished, but he was hurt by Spivac, who doesn't punch nearly as hard as Pavlovich does.
I don't think Cortes-Acosta will be able to wrestle with Pavlovich, and if this fight stays on the feet, Pavlovich will find an opening and finish Cortes-Acosta. I think this will be a striking battle, as long as it lasts. That being said, my prediction is that Pavlovich will finish Cortes-Acosta in the second round.
