DraftKings UFC Picks – UFC Fight Night: Vettori vs. Holland
The fight for the European crown will have to wait as England’s Darren Till was forced to pull out of this bout against Italian Marvin Vettori due to an injured collarbone. Kevin “Trailblazer” Holland let UFC boss Dana White know he was willing and able to face Vettori on short notice despite losing in dominant fashion to Derek Brunson just three weeks ago. Holland increased his fighter stock in 2020 by constantly asking for new opponents and expressing interest in fighting sooner rather than later. Not surprisingly it was Holland who raised his hand and accepted this fight against Vettori, who many believe is a stronger and faster version of Derek Brunson with a better striking skillset.
The Picks:
Yorgan De Castro – $9,400
“The Mad Titan” fighting out of Cape Verde hopes to return to the win column this weekend when he competes against German Jurjis Danho. De Castro is currently riding a two-fight losing streak and has not won a UFC fight since knocking out Justin Tafa in October of 2019. Despite recent struggles against Carlos Felipe and Greg Hardy, De Castro should have no problem delivering a high-powered finish this weekend against Danho. Felipe and Hardy are two of the top heavyweight prospects in the UFC. Although I prefer to avoid predictions regarding fairly unknown fighters, in Danho’s case his last fight was in 2016, however at 37 years old and no UFC wins I highly doubt his first comes against De Castro. I might be getting ahead of myself, but I see a knockout for the Cape Verde fighter in the first round with ease.
Daniel Rodriguez – $8,800
I think this bout will be the Fight of the Night. Stylistically this matchup is perfect, featuring two fighters who love to clang and bang significant strikes and not afraid to put their toughness on the line. Perry’s 14-7 record is somewhat misleading because he has faced many of the UFC’s top welterweights in his career. However, Rodriguez in my opinion is more well-rounded with proven wrestling and submission attacks. With those extra tools at his disposal, I believe Rodriguez finds his way to get a finish and if not, will have landed plenty of significant strikes and control time to accumulate DraftKings points.
Jack Shore – $8,700
Jack “Tank” Shore returns to the Octagon for the most prolific fight of his career against Hunter Azure fighting out of MMA Lab in Arizona. UFC matchmakers did another fantastic job putting this fight together. Expect technical grappling mixed with sharp striking as both fighters love to utilize their wrestling to open up striking opportunities. This pick is a pure bet on Shore being one of the top young bantamweights in the UFC. I think he is slightly better than Azure in both the wrestling department and striking, with an ability to attack submissions when available. Shore will be able to rack up control time throughout the fight and potentially find an opportunity for a submission finish.
William Knight – $7,800
Light heavyweight William “Knightmare” Knight hopes to continue his UFC success after winning his debut fight against Aleksa Camur in September 2020. Originally scheduled to fight Alonzo Menifield two weeks ago, Knight was forced to cancel the match due to COVID protocols. That weekend we successfully picked Menifield to defeat Knight’s replacement Fabio Cherant, however the original plan was to back Knight to defeat Menifield. Despite all these changes, I am a firm believer in Knight’s ability as a persistent wrestler in the lightweight heavyweight division. His Dana White Contender Series performance and UFC debut victory showcased Knight’s unique talents as a bigger wrestler. I predict Knight has no issues taking Da Un Jung to the ground and keeping him there for the entire fight.
Arnold Allen – $7,700
Expert UFC matchmaking makes another appearance on this card. Arnold “Almighty” Allen has yet to lose in his UFC career, sitting at an impressive 7-0. His opponent, Nigerian “Super” Sodiq Yusuff, is also undefeated in the UFC with four straight wins. Both at age 27, the winner of this fight sets themselves up for a top-five featherweight opponent next. I am going with Allen to walk away with the victory this weekend. He has a stronger UFC resume with a proven wrestling background. I believe he will use this wrestling to avoid Yusuff’s striking power and get the job done on Saturday.
Jordan Griffin – $7,600
The “Native Psycho” Jordan Griffin looks to bounce back from his most recent defeat to Youseff Zalal. With Griffin entering this bout against Luis Saldana as the underdog, this fight has Dana White Contender Series overhype written all over it. Season Four of DWCS in the fall of 2020 produced great fights and Dana White offered contracts to many of the impressive winners with Saldana being one of them. I think there is so much value betting against recent DWCS alums making UFC debuts as favorites to win the fight. Louis Cosce, JP Buys, Carlos Ulberg, and Cheyanne Buys are examples of recent DWCS alums making their debuts as favorites who all disappointed and lost. Griffin has the experience to make Saldana uncomfortable and I believe he gets his hand raised on Saturday. I love this pick.
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