5 months agoMario Bautista scored a clear-cut decision win over Ricky Simon at UFC Vegas 84 on Saturday. Bautista entered the fight as the underdog, as he was unranked and getting a shot at a top-15 opponent in Simon. Bautista was able to keep the fight standing, as Simon went 2-for-13 on takedowns, and on the feet, the unranked bantamweight landed the better shots. When the final bell rang, Bautista outstruck Simon 118-to-52 to win the clear-cut decision. With the win, Bautista will now enter the bantamweight rankings.
--Cole SheltonSource: UFC
5 months agoJim Miller improved to 37-17 and one no contest with a third-round submission win over Gabriel Benitez in the co-main event of UFC Vegas 84 on Saturday. Miller entered the fight as a small favorite and the bout was back-and-forth early on. Miller and Benitez both landed 32 significant strikes in the first round, but Miller took over in the second round, as he got his first takedown and had nearly three minutes of control. Finally, in the third round, Miller got Benitez down again and got the rear naked choke win.
--Cole SheltonSource: UFC
5 months agoA title shot could be at stake on Saturday in the main event of UFC Vegas 84 when Johnny Walker takes on Magomed Ankalaev. The No Contest in his last fight against Ankalaev, at UFC 294 interrupted a three-fight winning streak for Johnny Walker, which included victories over Anthony Smith, Paul Craig, and Ion Cutelaba. DraftKings sees Walker as the underdog with a salary of $6,800. He averages 68.5 fantasy points per contest throughout 11 UFC bouts. Walker's professional record is 21-7 and he's won 19 by stoppage.
--Alen Kurbasic - RotoBallerSource: UFC
5 months agoMagomed Ankalaev is set to face Johnny Walker in a main event of UFC Vegas 84 on Saturday. This light heavyweight bout is a rematch of the clash that took place at UFC 294 in October. It was that event's only disappointing fight, as it was stopped due to an accidental but illegal knee strike from Ankalaev which rendered Walker unable to continue, leading to a declaration of No Contest. Ankalaev is unbeaten over his past 11 octagon appearances, including wins over Anthony Smith, Volkan Oezdemir, and Thiago Santos. He fought to a split draw with Jan Blachowicz in a shot at the vacant UFC light heavyweight title. DraftKings sees Ankalaev as the favorite with a salary of $9,400. He averages 83.1 fantasy points per contest throughout 11 UFC bouts.
--Alen Kurbasic - RotoBallerSource: UFC
5 months agoMatheus Nicolau and Manel Kape will rematch at UFC Vegas 84 in Las Vegas after their controversial split-decision bout in March 2021. Nicolau comes into this fight on the back of a defeat at the hands of Brandon Royval, which ended his four-match winning streak in the UFC. Nicolau's recent loss to Royval will likely prevent a title shot, particularly given the upcoming Brandon Moreno and Amir Albazi match-up. But a victory against Kape, who is one of the biggest names in the division, would put him on the right path to being one of the candidates to receive a title shot. DraftKings sees Nicolau as the underdog with a salary of $7,200. He averages 67.7 fantasy points per contest throughout nine UFC bouts.
--Alen Kurbasic - RotoBallerSource: UFC
5 months agoThis weekend, UFC flyweights Manel Kape (19-6) and Matheus Nicolau will rematch at UFC Vegas 84 inside UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada. Kape will look to avenge a split decision loss dating back to 2021. He has amassed a four-fight winning streak since suffering the loss and has gained quite a lot of momentum in the division. This bout could decide the next flyweight title contender. DraftKings sees Kape as the favorite with a salary of $9,000 on Saturday. Throughout his UFC career of six bouts, Kape averages 76.9 fantasy points per contest.
--Alen Kurbasic - RotoBallerSource: UFC
5 months agoGabriel Benitez (23-10) is set to face off against Jim Miller at UFC Vegas 84 on Saturday. Known as a dangerous finisher, 10 of his 23 wins have come by submission and nine by knockout/TKO. Benitez is looking to put together a second straight win for the third time in the UFC. He's yet to win three straight in the promotion. DraftKings sees Benitez as the underdog with a salary of $8,000. He averages 59.2 fantasy points per contest throughout 13 UFC bouts.
--Alen Kurbasic - RotoBallerSource: UFC
5 months agoBrunno Ferreira (10-1) is set to face Phil Hawes on Saturday at UFC Vegas 84 in the main card opener. Ferreira is coming off his first career loss as he suffered a first-round knockout loss to Nursulton Ruziboev after he scored an upset KO win over Gregory Rodrigues in his UFC debut. Ferreira enters the fight as a small favorite as DraftKings has him at a salary of $8,300 while in his two UFC fights, he's averaging 55.12 fantasy points. In his MMA career, Ferreira has yet to see the scorecards.
--Cole SheltonSource: UFC
5 months agoPhil Hawes (12-5) is set to face Brunno Ferreira at UFC Vegas 84 on Saturday. Hawes is coming off a knockout loss to Ikram Aliskerov back in May, which was his second straight knockout loss to drop him to 4-3 in the UFC. Hawes is once again an underdog as DraftKings has him at a salary of $7,900 while in his seven UFC fights, he's averaging 70.26 fantasy points per fight. Hawes has lost all three of his UFC fights by knockout while he has two of his four wins have come by stoppage.
--Cole SheltonSource: UFC
5 months agoMario Bautista (13-2) will be fighting a ranked opponent for the first time at UFC Vegas 84. Bautista is coming off a decision win over Da'Mon Blackshear in August to extend his win streak to five and will now face Ricky Simon on Saturday. Bautista enters the fight as the underdog as DraftKings has him at a salary of $7,600, while in his UFC tenure, he's averaging 80.63 fantasy points per fight. Bautista is 7-2 in the UFC and has won four by stoppage.
--Cole SheltonSource: UFC
5 months agoRicky Simon (20-4) had his five-fight winning streak snapped last time out as he suffered a fifth-round TKO loss to Song Yadong in his first UFC main event. Following the loss, Simon will return to the octagon against unranked Mario Bautista at UFC Vegas 84. Simon enters the fight as the favorite as DraftKings has him at a salary of $8,600 as he's averaging 82.07 fantasy points per fight. The 13th-ranked bantamweight is 8-3 in the UFC and has finished four of his wins.
--Cole SheltonSource: UFC
5 months agoJim Miller (36-17 and one no contest) is set to return to the Octagon on Saturday at UFC Vegas 84 against Gabriel Benitez. The two were supposed to fight last February, but an injury to Benitez forced him out of the scrap. Since then, Miller lost a decision to Alexander Hernandez, and last time out, he scored a first-round knockout over Jesse Butler. Miller enters his fight as the slight betting favorite, as DraftKings has him at a salary of $8,200. In his UFC career, Miller is averaging 63.54 fantasy points per fight and has won 17 of his 25 fights in the Octagon by stoppage.
--Cole SheltonSource: UFC
6 months agoAlexandre Pantoja held on to the UFC flyweight championship with a unanimous decision win over Brandon Royval in the co-main event of UFC 296 from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. For his first defense after dethroning former champion Brandon Moreno, Pantoja faced another familiar foe in Royval, whom he already defeated via second-round submission two years ago. Pantoja's relentless grappling attack is what secured him a second victory over Royval, as he converted eight of 14 takedown attempts throughout five rounds. In 25 minutes, Pantoja landed 95 significant strikes. Pantoja is now riding a five-fight winning streak.
--Alen Kurbasic - RotoBallerSource: UFC
6 months agoBrandon Royval suffered a unanimous decision loss to Alexandre Pantoja at UFC 296 on Saturday. Royval was last seen in action at April's UFC on ESPN 44 event, where he scored a first-round TKO victory over Matheus Nicolau. This was a rematch, as Pantoja secured a second-round submission finish over Royval back in 2021. Pantoja dragged Royval down to the ground where he constantly threatened Royval with submissions. Royval managed to survive but he just couldn't mount much offense and he spent the majority of the fight stuck on his back. In 25 minutes of action, Royval landed 111 significant strikes.
--Alen Kurbasic - RotoBallerSource: UFC
6 months agoContinuing his truly spectacular run to the welterweight championship, unbeaten Kazakh contender, Shavkat Rakhmonov, achieved a historic feat at UFC 296 by becoming the first fighter to submit Stephen "Wonderboy" Thompson. After engaging in a clinch for most of the first round, Rakhmonov took over the fight in the second round with his grappling and managed to secure a rear naked choke with just four seconds left in the second round. In 9:56 of action, Rakhmonov landed a takedown and 28 significant strikes. Rakhmonov is one of the brightest prospects in the sport right now, and is most likely one fight away from a shot at undisputed gold.
--Alen Kurbasic - RotoBallerSource: UFC
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