6 months agoAnthony Smith (37-18) stepped up on short notice to face Khalil Rountree in the co-main event of UFC Vegas 83 on Saturday. Smith is coming off a split-decision win over Ryan Spann in their rematch to return to the win column after losing back-to-back fights. With Smith taking this fight on short notice, DraftKings has him as the underdog with a salary of $7,300. In his UFC tenure, Smith is averaging 60.38 fantasy points per fight. Smith is 12-8 in the UFC and has won 10 of those by stoppage.
--Cole SheltonSource: UFC
6 months agoBeneil Dariush had a tough night at the office on Saturday when he suffered a first-round knockout loss to Arman Tsarukyan. Dariush entered the bout coming off a loss to former lightweight champion Charles Oliveira. The bout began with a cautious exchange of strikes, with both fighters measuring each other's range and timing. The finishing blow came after Tsarukyan threw a knee up the middle that just missed but he followed that with a right hand that sent Dariush to the canvas. In 1:04 of action, Dariush landed only two significant strikes.
--Alen Kurbasic - RotoBallerSource: UFC
6 months agoArman Tsarukyan knocked out Beneil Dariush with a huge right hand a little after a minute in their headline lightweight clash at UFC Austin. Tsarukyan entered the fight riding a two-fight winning streak, beating Damir Ismagulov and Joaquim Silva in his previous two bouts. This was his tenth knockout victory on top of five submission wins over his career. In 1:04 of action, Tsarukyan landed eight significant strikes. The victory was a monumental statement for Tsarukyan, who had been on the verge of breaking into the lightweight elite.
--Alen Kurbasic - RotoBallerSource: UFC
6 months agoJalin Turner has snapped his two-fight losing streak by knocking out Bobby Green in the co-main event of UFC Austin. Turner put his opponent on wobbly legs with a right cross before dropping Green with a one-two. Green absorbed several unanswered punches as he covered up, but the referee didn't stop the fight. Turner kept viciously beating on Green, who looked to be completely unconscious until the referee finally stopped the fight. In 2:49 of action, Turner landed 33 significant strikes. Green certainly absorbed far more damage than necessary but Turner had no choice but to continue until the referee pulled him off.
--Alen Kurbasic - RotoBallerSource: UFC
6 months agoIn Saturday's co-main event, Bobby Green was on the wrong end of a devastating knockout from Jalin Turner, an outcome made far worse due to the referee letting the fight go longer than it should. After original opponent Dan Hooker withdrew due to injury, Green faced the New Zealander's most recent foe, Jalin Turner, on short notice. Turner floored Green in the first round but continued punching him for 12 seconds while he snapped in and out of consciousness until referee Kerry Hatley intervened. In 2:49 of action, Green landed 15 significant strikes.
--Alen Kurbasic - RotoBallerSource: UFC
6 months agoDustin Stoltzfus picked up a second-round submission over Punahele Soriano on the featured undercard attraction of UFC Austin. Stoltzfus was 1-4 in his last five fights, so he needed to win this fight to secure his position in the UFC. In the second round, Stoltzfus was able to take Soriano down for the fourth time and submit him with a rear-naked choke. With this win, Stoltzfus' UFC record is 2-4. In 9:10 of action, Stoltzfus landed four takedowns and 64 significant strikes.
--Alen Kurbasic - RotoBallerSource: UFC
6 months agoPunahele Soriano suffered a second-round submission loss to Dustin Stoltzfus at UFC Austin. Soriano was 1-3 in the last four fights while Stoltzfus was 1-4 in the last five. In the second round, Soriano was over-committing to the left hand and seemed to have slowed down quite a bit from the pace in the first. Stoltzfus was able to capitalize and take Soriano down, which led to him taking the back of Soriano and submitting him. In 9:10 of action, Soriano landed 31 significant strikes. The loss moves Soriano to 3-4 and puts him in danger of being cut from the UFC.
--Alen Kurbasic - RotoBallerSource: UFC
6 months agoClay Guida suffered a decision loss to Joaquim Silva at UFC Austin to drop to 18-18 inside the Octagon. Guida was out-struck 40 to 19 in the first round but showed off his incredible chin to keep coming forward. After a solid second round in which Guida had over three minutes of control, he struggled in Round 3. Silva was able to out-strike Guida and go 1-for-2 on his takedowns to get the decision. Despite being on a two-fight losing skid and soon to be 42 years of age, Guida says he has no plans of retiring.
--Cole SheltonSource: UFC
6 months agoJoaquim Silva picked up a hard-fought decision win over Clay Guida at UFC Austin on Saturday. The Brazilian put on an incredible pace as he outstruck Guida 40-to-19 in the first round. Guida had a solid second round as he had over three minutes of control and outstruck Silva 29-to-26. In the third round, Silva landed the better shots and was more active to edge out a decision win. With the victory, Silva improved to 6-4 in the UFC.
--Cole SheltonSource: UFC
6 months agoKelvin Gastelum was submitted in the third round by Sean Brady at UFC Austin in his return to the welterweight division. Gastelum was fighting at welterweight for the first time since 2016. Against Brady, Gastelum was out-grappled as he failed to defend one takedown and was controlled for over nine minutes before tapping to a kimura in the third round. With the loss, Gastelum dropped to 12-9 and one No Contest in the UFC and is 2-6 in his last eight.
--Cole SheltonSource: UFC
6 months agoSean Brady scored a third-round submission win over Kelvin Gastelum at UFC Austin on Saturday to return to the win column. Brady was coming off a TKO loss to Belal Muhammad in October of 2022, and after a year-long layoff, he dominated Gastelum. The American went 5-for-5 on takedowns and had over nine minutes of control before eventually locking in a kimura to get a stoppage win. With the win over Gastelum, Brady will likely get a top-10 opponent next time out.
--Cole SheltonSource: UFC
6 months agoRob Font suffered a clear-cut decision loss to Deiveson Figueiredo at UFC Austin to drop to 20-8 as a pro and 10-7 in the UFC, while being 1-4 in his last five fights. Font was outstruck 22-to-10 while also being taken down twice in the first round. He had a better second round outstriking the former flyweight champ 17-to-15 but was controlled for more than a minute. Font was then dominated on the feet to lose a clear-cut decision. With the loss to Figueiredo, Font will likely have to fight someone ranked below him or someone unranked next time out.
--Cole SheltonSource: UFC
6 months agoDeiveson Figueiredo returned to the win column with a decision victory over Rob Font at UFC Austin on Saturday. Figueiredo made the move up to bantamweight after losing his flyweight title back in January. Figueiredo had a solid first round as he outstruck Font 22-to-10 and also went 2-for-3 on his takedowns. The second and third rounds were similar as Figueiredo cruised to a clear-cut decision win to improve to 22-3-1. With the win over Font, Figueiredo will likely get a top-five bantamweight next time out.
--Cole SheltonSource: UFC
6 months agoArman Tsarukyan, a 27-year-old lightweight prospect, will face Beneil Dariush in the main event at UFC Austin. Since taking current champion Islam Makhachev the distance across three competitive rounds in his UFC debut close to five years ago, Tsarukyan has been widely predicted to reach the top on MMA's biggest stage. After losing a closely contested unanimous decision to Mateusz Gamrot, Tsarukyan won back-to-back fights against Damir Ismagulov and Joaquim Silva. DraftKings sees Tsarukyan as the favorite with a salary of $9,200 while in his eight UFC fights, he's averaging 92.1 fantasy points per outing. The outcome of this fight will determine if Tsarukyan can overcome the challenges posed by Dariush's skillset and make a case for a title shot in the future.
--Alen Kurbasic - RotoBallerSource: UFC
6 months agoLightweight contenders Beneil Dariush and Arman Tsarukyan will meet in a five-round main event at Moody Center, with the winner eager to move into the championship picture. Dariush is coming off a knockout loss to former champion Charles Oliveira in a title eliminator earlier this year that marked the end of an eight-fight winning streak. DraftKings sees Dariush as the underdog with a salary of $7,000. Throughout his UFC career of 22 bouts, Dariush averages 72.5 fantasy points per contest. His professional MMA record is 22-5-1, while his UFC record is 16-5-1.
--Alen Kurbasic - RotoBallerSource: UFC
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