Using our projections for UFC 235, I have put together a MMA DFS cheatsheet for tonight’s event. These guys will be the core of my lineups on DraftKings.
I certainly have no issue paying up for Jon Jones. Anthony Smith has a knack for taking a beating in his fights, which should help Jones accumulate points before the inevitable finish. Make no mistake, a Smith victory would be one of the biggest upsets in the history of the UFC.
I’m planning on having a lot of both Tyron Woodley and Kamaru Usman. It’s not out of the realm of possibility that this fight turns into a stinker, but we could also see it go the full 5, with accumulated significant strikes on both sides. In Usman’s last fight against Rafael dos Anjos, he put up 176 DK points, landing 130 significant strikes. I don’t expect the same sort of output here versus Woodley, but Usman’s path to victory should look similar. I’d expect a similar scenario for a Woodley victory, with his pedigree and skill-set giving him the increased chance at grabbing a finish. I think Woodley wins this fight, but the fan in me wants him to drop this one so that Ben Askren can get a shot at strap (assuming he beats Robbie Lawler, of course.)
Even though Alejandro Perez is on a bit of a streak (6-0-1), I’m not sure he’ll be able to do enough to stop Cody Stamann. Stamann dropped his last fight by submission to Aljamain Sterling, but he’s set up nicely to rebound from that result. I don’t expect a finish, but at -200, he should be able to accumulate enough over three rounds to be viable.
Zabit is back! This is clearly his biggest challenge to date, but I’m not sure he has much to worry about outside of a flash KO. I’d be very surprised if Zabit were to submit Stephens, but he should be able to soak up a ton of points from his grappling. More than anything, I’m anxious to see who Zabit gets next.
We’re going to find out a lot about Cody Garbrandt here. Pedro Munhoz is good. The line has been moving in his direction since the fight was announced. I’m not entirely sure he has enough power to finish Cody, but after two KOs from Dillashaw, it’s possible that Garbrandt’s chin will never recover. I’d rather take the cheaper guy in this spot, hoping that Munhoz can grapple his way to victory.
Misha Cirkunov was finished in the first round by Volkan Oezdemir and Glover Teixeira in back-to-back fights before rebounding against Patrick Cummins. There are two outcomes for this fight: Johnny Walker knocks him into next week or Cirkunov strangles him until he’s Johnny Walker Blue. My bet is on the former.