6 days agoAJ Dobson (7-2) is set to take on Edmen Shahbazyan on the main card of UFC Vegas 89 on Saturday. Dobson was supposed to fight at UFC 298, but a last-second injury to his opponent bumped him to UFC Vegas 89 against Shahbazyan on Saturday night. He returned to the win column back in August 2023 with a decision win over Tafon Nchukwi. The win prevented a 0-3 UFC run for Dobson, whom Jacob Malkoun and Armen Petrosyan bested to begin his promotional tenure. DraftKings currently has Dobson as the underdog at a salary of $7,100, while in his UFC career, he's averaging 49.0 fantasy points per fight. Source: UFC
6 days agoUFC Vegas 89 is set to kick off the main card with a fight in the featherweight division between Fernando Padilla and Luis Pajuelo. Padilla is 1-1 since signing with the UFC and is looking to get himself back on track after suffering his first defeat inside the Octagon. DraftKings sees Padilla as the favorite with a salary of $8,700. He averages 67.6 fantasy points per contest throughout two UFC bouts.Source: UFC
6 days agoLuis Pajuelo (8-1) is set to make his UFC debut in the main card opener of UFC Vegas 89 against Fernando Padilla. Pajuelo secured his place in the UFC after a first-round TKO victory over Robbie Ring on the third week of the Dana White Contender Series in 2023. DraftKings sees the newcomer as the underdog with a salary of $7,500. Pajuelo is known as a finisher, as he has knocked out seven of his eight opponents. Source: UFC
7 days agoYoussef Zalal (13-5-1) has signed back with the UFC as he's stepped up on short notice to face Billy Quarantillo at UFC Vegas 89. Zalal was in the UFC from 2022 until 2022 and began his UFC career on a three-fight winning streak. He then lost three fights in a row and after fighting Da'Mon Blackshear to a draw after the losing skid, he was released from the promotion. Since his release, Zalal has gone 3-0 in MMA and is a slight underdog here as DraftKings has him at a salary of $7,600. He's gone the distance in all seven of his UFC fights.Source: UFC
7 days agoBilly Quarantillo (18-5) is set to face Youssef Zalal on the main card of UFC Vegas 89 on Saturday. Quarantillo was supposed to fight Gabriel Miranda but his opponent had to withdraw and was replaced by Zalal. Quarantillo is coming off a decision win over Damon Jackson and is 6-3 in the UFC. He enters this fight as a slight favorite as DraftKings has him at a salary of $8,600. Quarantillo has won four of his six UFC wins by stoppage while he's only been finished twice in his career.Source: UFC
7 days agoCameron Saaiman (9-1) is set to take on Payton Talbott on the main card of UFC Vegas 89 on Saturday. Saaiman is coming off his first career loss as he suffered a decision loss to Christian Rodriguez in October. The South African is 3-1 in the UFC as he also beat Terrence Mitchell, Mana Martinez, and Steven Koslow. The 23-year-old enters the fight as the underdog as DraftKings has him at a salary of $7,900. Saaiman has won seven of his nine fights by stoppage.Source: UFC
7 days agoPayton Talbott (7-0) is set to take on Cameron Saaiman in his second UFC fight on the main card of UFC Vegas 89. Talbott is coming off a third-round submission win over Nick Aguirre in his debut. Talbott, who's 25, is the favorite in this matchup as DraftKings has him at a salary of $8,300. In his career, Talbott has won six of his seven wins by stoppage. A win over Saaiman could put the undefeated prospect right near the bantamweight ranks.Source: UFC
7 days agoJustin Tafa (7-3) is set to face Karl Williams in the co-main event of UFC Vegas 89 on Saturday. Tafa was supposed to face Marcos Rogerio de Lima in February, but on fight week he suffered a knee injury and was replaced by his brother Junior Tafa. With Junior fighting then, Justin has since replaced his brother to face Williams. Tafa is coming off a first-round knockout win over Austen Lane and enters this fight as the underdog as DraftKings has him at salary of $6,900. In his UFC career, he's 4-3 and one No Contest and has won all three of his wins by first-round knockout.Source: UFC
7 days agoKarl Williams (9-1) is set to face Justin Tafa in the co-main event of UFC Vegas 89 on Saturday. Williams is coming off a decision win over Chase Sherman last May and will now face Justin after he was originally booked to face Junior Tafa. Williams enters the fight as a sizeable favorite as DraftKings has him at a salary of $9,300. The 34-year-old is a perfect 2-0 in the UFC with both wins coming by decision. A win over Tafa could get Williams a ranked opponent.Source: UFC
1 week agoA fight between Bryan Battle and Ange Loosa lasted only six minutes after Battle accidentally poked Loosa in the eye. Battle appeared to be getting the better of Loosa before an unintentional eye poke brought the contest to a halt in the second round. Battle surged forward, and he continued to lead the dance as the duo started wrestling. He took Loosa down but Loosa managed to get up, only to be tagged by straight shots. At the beginning of the second round, Battle's thumb went into Loosa's eye, which led to the referee calling the doctor. Shortly after, Loosa said that he could see out of his eye, so the referee decided to stop the fight. In 6:01 of action, Battle landed a takedown and 27 significant strikes.Source: UFC
1 week agoAnge Loosa's fight against Bryan Battle was called off after an accidental eye poke resulted in Loosa being unable to continue. It was a dominant start from Battle, but his thumb poked Loosa in the eye in the second round, which forced the referee to pause the action, and eventually, stop the fight. In 6:01 of action, Loosa landed 23 significant strikes. It's not uncommon practice for the UFC run-back fights that end in controversial fouls, though the promotion has not indicated that will be the case with Battle and Loosa.Source: UFC
1 week agoOvince Saint Preux bounced back from a loss in his last outing to earn a split-decision victory over Kennedy Nzechukwu in a slugfest at UFC Vegas 88. The veteran light heavyweight competitor, who was a five-to-one underdog, demonstrated resilience and tactical prowess against his favored opponent, ultimately getting his hand raised in the end. Saint Preux also scored the only knockdown in the fight. In 15 minutes of action, Saint Preux landed 143 significant strikes. It was a performance for the record books with Saint Preux, now the current record holder for most fights in the history of the UFC Light Heavyweight division.Source: UFC
1 week agoKennedy Nzechukwu suffered a split decision loss to Ovince Saint Preux on the main card of UFC Vegas 88 on Saturday. For the most of the fight, and especially in the third round Nzechukwu and Saint Preux stood in the pocket and went blow-for-blow. Nzechukwu pushed for a finish in the third round but Saint Preux's accumulated strikes clinched the win. In 15 minutes of action, Nzechukwu landed 106 significant strikes. Though Saint Preux is a long-time veteran of the division, Nzechukwu was widely expected to pick up a knockout win in what seemed to be a tune-up matchup on paper. The loss knocks Nzechukwu down to 6-5 in the UFC.Source: UFC
1 week agoGerald Meerschaert returned to winning ways when he faced Bryan Barberena at UFC Vegas 88. Meerschaert's victory over Bryan Barbarena not only secured his 28th career submission but also tied him with Anderson 'the Spider' Silva for the most finishes in UFC middleweight history. He claimed the win via rear-naked choke putting Barberena to sleep. In 9:23 of action, Meerschaert landed three takedowns and 11 significant strikes. With the victory, Gerald Meerschaert improved to 36-17 as a pro.Source: UFC
1 week agoBryan Barberena suffered a second-round submission loss to Gerald Meerschaert at UFC Vegas 88 on Saturday. This was a classic matchup between a striker and a grappler where Barbarena showcased resilience but ultimately succumbed to Meerschaert's grappling prowess and submission skills. In 9:23 of action, Barbarena landed 12 significant strikes. With this loss, Barberena dropped to 18-12. This is his fourth loss in a row.Source: UFC