Welcome back and buckle up for a long stretch of MMA events: 8 in 7 weeks to be exact. It was a bit of an off week for me last time around but I'm ready to dish out some picks for this week's Belfort vs. Henderson so let's get started.

As usual, I’ve broken down my DraftKings MMA picks into thee sections: Cash game targets, GPP targets and fighters to avoid. I’ll explain what each category signifies below:

• Cash Game: These fighters are great targets in 50/50 or H2H contests, where 50 percent of the field wins money.
• GPP: These fighters are great targets in GPPs (Guaranteed Prize Pools) or tournaments, which require riskier selection in order to win first place.
• Avoid: These are fighters who I will be staying away from.

MMA DFS for DraftKings – Cash Game Targets

1. Vitor Belfort (10.8k)

Finally, we get another main event that's actually five rounds, and it should be a good one as Vitor Belfort takes on Dan Henderson for the third time. Belfort won with a quick KO in their last meeting and I'm not too sure this fight ends much differently.

Regardless, Belfort is a heavy favorite and he's priced at a point where you should be able to fit him easily into your cash games. With a win, he should have a floor of 80 points which is huge for cash games. I don't hate stacking this fight in case Henderson pulls out another performance from his golden days.

But Henderson isn't the same athlete he used to be, he chooses not to wrestle and loves to stand and bang with his overhand right, and I don't think that's a great gameplan to fight Belfort with. Belfort has his issues coming off TRT, but he's still an excellent athlete and a very talented striker and he should have a diverse game that leads him to victory. I think he's a great play to anchor in your cash lineups and I wouldn't be surprised to see a first round KO from him again.

2. Thomas Almeida (10.9k)

I could have chosen a variety of names here but I really like the "studs" this week and I think it's important to roster at least two in your cash games. And Thomas Almeida is exactly that, he's a stud.

At 20-0, Almeida is an elite prospect in the 135 division and he's finished almost every one of his opponents. He does have some weaknesses, most notably his defense and tendency to start slow, but once he finds his game he's nearly impossible to slow down.

I like him because he should keep the fight on the feet and give you a nice floor, even in a miracle loss, but I don't expect him to lose here. His opponent Anthony Birchak is coming off a win against Joe Soto, but Birchak cannot compete with Almeida on the feet. I expect him to try to get Almeida down to the mat, but I don't think he can hold him there.

Sooner or later Almeida should land a shot that Birchak can't come back from and I'm expecting another TKO performance.

MMA DFS for DraftKings – GPP Targets

1. Abel Trujillo (9.6k)

Abel Trujillo is going to be very limited in this fight. He's a superior power striker to his opponent Gleison Tibau, but that's it. Tibau is very well-rounded and tends to grind his opponents down, and he rarely loses to fighters ranked outside the top 10.

I'm not in love with Trujillo as a prospect, but I think he makes for a nice GPP play. Tibau has shown a shaky chin as of late and I expect Trujillo to test that. If Trujillo wins, it will probably come by way of an early KO, which is the upside we seek in tournaments. It's not a pick I'm confident in, but I'm willing to throw a few shots at him this weekend.

2. Pedro Munhoz (10.4k)

I actually like both Pedro Munhoz and his opponent Jimmie Rivera, and I think both are very talented fighters and are worth targeting this weekend. But I like Munhoz more for GPPs and here's why:

Munhoz is an elite submission grappler and his advantages on the floor are huge. I actually think he's at a disadvantage on the feet, and he might lose if the keeps the fight there, but he's not dead to rights. Unfortunately for Rivera, he is pretty much dead to rights if the fight gets to the floor. And that's why I'm labeling this a GPP play as opposed to cash, because I'm not sold on where the fight ends up.

If Munhoz can get Rivera down early, he has all the opportunity in the world to earn a quick submission and he has one of the highest upsides on the night for that reason. For a price of only 10.4k, I will be all over him in tournaments.

MMA DFS for DrafKings – Fighters to Avoid

1. Corey Anderson (11.1k)

It's always hard to write up a fade on the heaviest favorite and highest price fighter but that's what I'm doing. And it's not because I think he's in danger of losing.

First of all, his opponent Fabio Maldonado is one of the ugliest fighters to watch, I really can't stand his game. He has no ability to fight on the ground and his striking is poor, but he's tough enough to take damage and make it look like the fights are close. The problem is that I don't know if Anderson will want to strike or take this fight to the ground, because I think he can win either way.

He also only carries a finish prop of +248, which isn't high enough for me, when Glover Teixeira has a prop of -169, Almeida has a prop of -145 and Belfort has a prop of -262.

I expect a win from Anderson, but I expect him to fall short of several guys priced beneath him.

Hope you enjoy! Follow me on Twitter @BrettAppley and @DailyFanMMA

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