This Saturday the UFC is celebrating Valentine’s day by giving fans a Fight Night event in Broomfield, Colorado. This event features many intriguing bouts, especially the main event as former UFC lightweight champion, Benson Henderson, looks to derail the hype train surrounding the outstanding striker, Brandon Thatch. To get even more involved in the MMA action, head over to DraftKings and set up a fantasy MMA lineup. Here are the contest details:
Details (MMA):
-$30,000 prize pool.
– First place wins $5,000
– $2 entry fee (FREE with first deposit)
– Top 4,000 finishing positions are paid.
– Starts Saturday, February 14 at 7:00 PM EST
– Salary Cap Style Drafting. $50,000 to select 5 fighters
– First time depositors at DraftKings receive a 100% bonus up to $600
Fighters to avoid: Makashvili, Lentz, Kelades, Kelly, Miller, Henderon
The Lentz/Makashvili fight has been pulled off the card due to Lentz being sick.
Ray Borg is a very tough and challenging opponent for Kelades. I was giving Kelades a good chance until he stepped up to the scale and missed weight. Now I believe that Borg all but has it in the bag. We’ve seen crazier things happen inside the Octagon, but still, Borg should easily be the better fighter in this fight.
Kelly really didn’t impress me much on The Ultimate Fighter. He is also entering the cage at 37 years old. MMA is a young man’s sport and with Kelly’s opponent being young, and having a solid grappling game, I don’t see Kelly walking away with a victory.
Miller is an exceptional submission artist. His ground game is spectacular and he has been able to submit many opponents before, however, Holloway is a much different opponent. Even though Holloway has been submitted before, his ground game has improved dramatically, and he has something that most of Miller’s opponents did not have: reach. Miller will not have a huge reach advantage in this fight and I believe it will be all the difference in this particular fight.
At first, I thought Henderson had a great chance of upsetting his opponent. However, after seeing the tremendous size difference between the two main event participants, I quickly changed my mind. If Henderson wins, he will have to make it a very ugly fight by repeatedly taking down Thatch and keeping him down. I just do not believe in Henderson’s wrestling abilities or that his striking comes even close to Thatch’s. All of that in addition to Henderson’s significant decline as of late is enough for me to pick Thatch.
Fighters with great values: Skelly, Kunimoto, Borg, Holloway, Thatch
Chase Skelly has fought more high level competition than his opponent. I believe that experience will be enough for Skelly to get the victory.
I’m not guaranteeing that Kunimoto will win Saturday night, but I do believe it is a bit absurd that he is priced at $8,000. With that said, his opponent, Magny, definitely deserves to be the favorite. He went 5-0 in the UFC in 2014, and he just keeps getting better. His only struggles have been against opponents with solid grappling abilities. Abilities which Kunimoto does possess. Again, I’m not 100 percent sold that Kunimoto can pull off the victory, but he can easily do so, and if he does the payoff will be huge.
Borg has looked good in his UFC appearances, and with his opponent struggling to make weight, he should be able to take a decisive victory.
Holloway is a pretty bad matchup for Miller. Holloway will clearly have the advantage on the feet, and he does have the ability to put Miller away quickly.
Brandon Thatch’s performances in the UFC have been nothing short of beautiful violence. His pinpoint and devastating striking abilities will be a problem for anyone in the welterweight division. With his opponent, Henderson, stepping in undersized, in a decline, and on short notice, this fight may not last very long.
With all that being said, a good lineup example is as follows:
Thatch     — $10,100
Holloway — $11,600
Kunimoto — $8,000
Skelly       — $10,900
Elliot        — $9,300
There you have it. Be sure to follow me on Twitter @BigWillyHamp and enjoy the fights Saturday night. Remember to sign up for DraftKings before the contest starts tonight.
