This Saturday, on April 18th, the UFC will be hosting an event at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. This event will be televised on FOX and the UFC always stacks their FOX cards, in terms of talented fighters. The main event features two top UFC middleweight contenders and their fight possesses major title implications. A great way to get even more involved with these fights Saturday is to head over to DraftKings and create a daily fantasy MMA lineup. Here are the contest details:
Details (MMA)
-$25,000 prize pool.
– First place wins $2,000
– Only $3 to enter (FREE with first deposit)
– Top 1,920 finishing positions are paid.
– Starts Saturday, April 18th at 4:15 PM EST
– Salary Cap Style Drafting. $50,000 to select 5 fighters
Click here to create a lineup on DraftKings
Fighters to avoid: Camozzi, Villante, Mizugaki
Aside from Camozzi already losing to “Jacare” Souza previously in 2013, there are a few other reasons you should avoid selecting Camozzi for your lineup. Camozzi is a decent kickboxer who works best given space to utilize his striking. However, his grappling skills are very limited, aside from his defensive grappling. His opponent, Souza, is simply years ahead of Camozzi in grappling. Souza is a multiple time Brazilian Jiu Jitsu world champion and will not give Camozzi the space he needs to strike. He submitted Camozzi in the first round in their first fight and quite honestly I do not see this fight going any differently the second time around, considering Camozzi is taking this fight on a two weeks notice.
One of Villante’s greatest assets is his wrestling. Unfortunately for Villante, his opponent’s greatest weapon is also wrestling and his opponent’s wrestling is on a totally different level. Anderson’s wrestling is ruthless and relentless. With these facts, in addition to Villante’s habit to gas, Anderson should be able to grind out a grueling decision or get the finish in the later rounds.
Mizugaki is, if nothing else, consistent. He’s a good fighter but just fails to capitalize when he receives a step-up in competition. That’s not to say that his opponent, Sterling, is a huge step-up in competition, however, Mizugaki can sometimes engage himself in wild brawls. I think Sterling is just a bit more calculated, will choose his strikes carefully, and not get baited into an all-out brawl. So long as Sterling does this, Sterling should have no problems with winning this fight.
Fighters with good values: Machida, Miller, Saint Preux, Holloway
Machida has a lot of miles on his body and is closing in towards the end of his illustrious MMA career. It is definitely understandable why he is the underdog coming into this fight. However, one of Rockhold’s biggest advantages in his past fights has been his southpaw stance. Machida fights in both stances but primarily in a southpaw stance as well. With this in mind, Rockhold’s left body and head kick are less efficient compared when fighting someone in the orthodox stance. Also, we’ve seen in the past that Machida does in fact has a little chink in his armor. While Machida is a frustrating opponent for wrestlers, wrestling has had its success against Machida. Rockhold does have decent wrestling, but it’s just not up to the par of Machida’s past opponents, such as Weidman and Davis. So, while Machida is definitely the underdog, $9,500 is just too good of a deal to pass up.
Miller is a scrappy veteran who has been through many wars in the UFC. His only losses has come to legit competitors in the UFC lightweight division. My only concern is his mentality coming into this fight, which takes place in his homestate of New Jersey. Miller is 0-2 (1 No contest) in his last three fights in New Jersey. However, you can never count Miller out of a fight. He has good boxing, good clinch work, and excellent submissions. Miller’s opponent, Dariush, is a good fighter and promising prospect, but I just don’t believe he will be able to find success against an experienced fighter such as Miller. With that said, Miller is an absolute steal at a staggering $8,700.
Saint Preux is a highly explosive athlete with powerful and devastating strikes. The only flaw we have seen from Saint Preux is his wrestling, an area which his opponent, Cummins, excels in. Although Cummins is an excellent wrestler and can easily smother and grind out a decision win, he has a tendency to gas in the later rounds and I believe that is where Saint Preux will find success and possibly get the finish. Also, Cummins doesn’t have the best chin at 205, and as we know the chin does not recover.
Holloway has matured greatly since we first saw him in the Octagon. He possesses excellent striking skills and his clinch work is fantastic. The only chink in his armor that we have witnessed is his ground game. Luckily for Holloway, his opponent isn’t looking to take the fight to the ground. Swanson is a good striker with exellent hand speed and movement. However, I believe that Holloway’s reach and clinch work will be the deciding factor in this fight. All he has to do is approach the clinch with caution, avoid strikes coming on the inside, and watch out for Swanson’s judo throws. It’s justifiable that Holloway is an underdog coming into this fight, however, priced at $9,100, Holloway is an absolute live-dog and a steal.
Well, there you have it. That’s all the advice I have. Be sure to tune into FOX this Saturday night to enjoy the fights.
Follow me on Twitter: @BigWillyHamp
