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After last week's UFC 312 event, UFC is headed back to the UFC Apex facility on Saturday for UFC Vegas 102. In the main event, former title challenger Jared Cannonier is scheduled for a five-round middleweight bout against Gregory Rodrigues. Cannonier looks to bounce back from a two-fight losing skid while Rodrigues looks to win his fourth fight in a row. Meanwhile, UFC Vegas 102’s co-main event features surging featherweight Youssef Zalal taking on UFC veteran Calvin Kattar.
Also on the main card, Edmen Shahbazyan squares off with Dylan Budka at middleweight after an intriguing lightweight contest sees Ismael Bonfim take on fellow "Dana White's Contender Series" signee Nazim Sadykhov. Rodolfo Vieira squares off against Andre Petroski at middleweight. Plus, Connor Matthews is set to take on Jose Delgado at featherweight. The preliminary card will close with a women's strawweight clash as Angela Hill faces Ketlen Souza after Jared Gordon and Mashrabjon Ruziboev meet in a lightweight bout.
In this article, I will be providing you with my fantasy MMA lineup picks for UFC Vegas 102: Cannonier vs. Rodrigues on 2/15/25. Give me a follow on X @sumpor5. Good luck!
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DraftKings MMA Middleweight - UFC DFS Lineup Picks
Jared Cannonier, $7,600 - vs. Gregory Rodrigues
Former middleweight title challenger Jared Cannonier is set to take on rising Gregory Rodrigues in the main event of UFC Vegas 102 on Saturday. Cannonier looks to avoid the first three-fight losing skid of his MMA career while Rodrigues will look to extend his winning streak to four and enter the top 15.
He can do it ALL! 😮💨
Jared Cannonier has a finish in each of the 3 BIGGEST weight classes! Catch him in the #UFCVegas102 main event this weekend!
[ LIVE on ESPN+ | 7pmET ] pic.twitter.com/49P9GBLBaj
— UFC (@ufc) February 13, 2025
Cannonier joined the UFC more than a decade ago as a heavyweight. He then moved down to light heavyweight before moving to middleweight for good in 2018. He then went 6-1 before challenging Israel Adesanya for the title, losing only to former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker.
After losing his title shot against Adesanya in 2022, Cannonier earned two more clear decision wins against Sean Strickland and Marvin Vettori. Cannonier was last seen in action at UFC Vegas 96, where he wound up on the wrong side of a unanimous decision against Caio Borralho. Before that, Cannonier was stopped by Nassourdine Imavov via a controversial fourth-round TKO.
In contrast to Cannonier, Rodrigues has won three in a row and five of six. Rodrigues was last seen in action at UFC 304 where he outpointed Christian Leroy Duncan to earn a unanimous decision across three rounds. Before that, Rodrigues defeated Brad Tavares at UFC Vegas 86 via third-round TKO. Boasting a 7-2 record at the UFC level with five highlight knockouts, the rising Brazilian has a chance to earn a number beside his name if he can extend his winning streak to four.
Cannonier enters this fight with an MMA record of 17-8 and is 10-8 in the UFC. He is averaging 4.49 significant strikes per minute and has a striking accuracy of 50 percent. Cannonier is absorbing 4.39 strikes per minute and he has a striking defense of 56 percent. In regards to his grappling, Cannonier is averaging just 0.42 takedowns every 15 minutes. He has a takedown accuracy of 46 percent and a takedown defense of 62 percent.
Rodrigues enters this fight with an MMA record of 16-5 and 7-2 in the UFC. He is averaging 5.52 significant strikes per minute and has a striking accuracy of 56 percent. Rodrigues is absorbing 4.69 strikes per minute and has a striking defense of 51 percent. When it comes to his grappling, Rodrigues is averaging 2.74 takedowns every 15 minutes. He has a takedown accuracy of 41 percent and a takedown defense of 100 percent.
Rodrigues is eight years younger and on a three-fight win streak, but he's also looked bad against Brunno Ferreira and Armen Petrosyan, who aren't as good as Cannonier. Also, he has never faced the level of competition Cannonier faced. In contrast, Cannonier has been in the Octagon with some of the best in the middleweight division and has gone the full five rounds in four of his last five fights.
There’s always a chance that this is the fight where Cannonier starts to show his age, but I think he's extra motivated considering he's lost his last two fights and he's probably still good enough to beat guys outside the top 10. My prediction is that Cannonier will pick up a unanimous decision win over Rodrigues.
DraftKings MMA Featherweight - UFC DFS Lineup Picks
Youssef Zalal, $9,400 - vs. Calvin Kattar
Youssef Zalal is scheduled to take on Calvin Kattar in the co-main event of UFC Vegas 102 on Saturday. Zalal will put his six-fight winning streak on the line while Kattar looks to get back in the win column after losing his last three.
Zalal was released by the UFC in 2022 after amassing a 3-3-1 record, including losses to Ilia Topuria, SeungWoo Choi, and Sean Woodson. The 28-year-old was brought back into the UFC last year and went 3-0, submitting Billy Quarantillo, Jarno Errens, and, most recently, Jack Shore, earning himself performance bonuses in his last two outings. He has finished each of his past six opponents inside two rounds. Now, he will get the opportunity to face his first ranked opponent when he takes on Kattar.
Kattar has gone 7-6 in the UFC since 2017 en route to becoming one of the best featherweights on the planet. Once a top contender in the UFC's featherweight division, Kattar is winless in his last three fights, which includes a split-decision defeat to Josh Emmett, the injury he suffered against Arnold Allen, and his one-sided defeat to former bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling at UFC 300. His last victory came by way of a unanimous decision over Giga Chikadze in January 2022.
Zalal enters this fight with an MMA record of 16-5-1 and 6-3-1 in the UFC. He is averaging 2.84 significant strikes per minute and has a striking accuracy of 49 percent. Zalal is absorbing 1.71 strikes per minute and has a striking defense of 65 percent. His grappling is solid, averaging 2.34 takedowns every 15 minutes and 1.5 submission attempts during the same period. His takedown accuracy is 35 percent and his takedown defense is 59 percent.
Kattar enters this fight with an MMA record of 23-8. He is averaging 4.76 significant strikes per minute and has a striking accuracy of 39 percent. Kattar is absorbing 6.75 strikes per minute and has a striking defense of 54 percent. In regards to his grappling, Kattar is averaging 0.39 takedowns every 15 minutes. He has a takedown accuracy of 29 percent and a takedown defense of 72 percent.
It’s hard to know where Kattar stands right now after injuring his knee and losing three straight. His most recent setback against Sterling was by far the most concerning performance to date as Kattar was dominated and taken down eight times by Sterling.
Kattar likes to keep the fight on the feet and he's the more technical striker, with an excellent jab and much better defense than his statistics indicate. In contrast, Zalal likes to mix his striking with wrestling but I think Zalal is going to use his wrestling a bit more in this fight, considering how dangerous Kattar is on the feet.
Kattar is extremely durable and I don't think Zalal will be able to finish him. My prediction is that Zalal will outwrestle Kattar en route to a unanimous decision win.
DraftKings MMA Featherweight - UFC DFS Lineup Picks
Jose Delgado, $9,000 - vs. Connor Matthews
Featherweights Jose Delgado and Connor Matthews are set to open up the UFC Vegas 102 main card on Saturday. Delgado is set to make his UFC debut while Matthews looks to get back in the win column and earn his first UFC win.
Delgado is a rising prospect who has yet to allow any of his wins to go the distance. He earned his UFC contract when he landed a perfectly timed knee on "Dana White's Contender Series," knocking out Ernie Juarez in the second round. Delgado is on a five-fight winning streak, having finished five straight opponents.
His opponent, Matthews, enters this bout with an MMA record of 7-2. Matthews was last seen in action at UFC on ESPN 54 where he lost his UFC debut to Dennis Buzukja via third-round TKO. A two-time "Dana White's Contender Series" alum, Matthews earned his UFC contract by defeating Jair Farias via unanimous decision. Despite being the underdog, Matthews' versatility makes him a dangerous opponent.
Delgado enters this fight with an MMA record of 8-1. He is averaging 6.23 significant strikes per minute and has a striking accuracy of 44 percent. Delgado is absorbing 4.21 strikes per minute and has a striking defense of 48 percent. In his lone "Contender Series" fight, Delgado averaged 7.01 takedowns every 15 minutes. He has a takedown accuracy of 75 percent and a takedown defense of 100 percent.
Matthews enters this fight with an MMA record of 7-2 and 0-1 in the UFC. He is averaging 5.30 significant strikes per minute and has a striking accuracy of 44 percent. Matthews is absorbing 6.19 strikes per minute and has a striking defense of 56 percent. In regards to his grappling, Matthews is averaging 2.97 takedowns every 15 minutes. He has a takedown accuracy of 53 percent and a takedown defense of 50 percent.
Compared to Matthews, who has struggled and gone 1-1 on "Dana White's Contender Series," Delgado dominated his "Contender Series" fight. He has a very high level of wrestling and Matthews was taken down six times by Marshall in his first "Contender Series" bout.
Delgado uses his wrestling to force his opponents to trade hands with him, and his ability to overwhelm opponents with his aggressive style will be too much for Matthews to handle. My prediction is that Delgado will win his UFC debut by second-round knockout.
