RADIO
We might be staying in the state of Nevada, but we're definitely not visiting the UFC Apex this weekend to witness the latest of numbered UFC events: UFC 276. Dana scheduled 276 in the T-Mobile Arena of Paradise, NV, and this one is hella packed with fireworks and legit headliners while including a couple of title fights on the main card. After just a two-week wait, we'll be back watching the best fighters in the MMA world doing it. Can't complain.
We got to watch the Light Heavyweight and the Women's Bantamweight stripes put on the line in UFC 275. It's time for reigning champs Israel Adesanya (Middleweight) and Alexander Volkanovski (Featherweight) to try and defend their belts this weekend against Jared Cannonier and Max Holloway. No joke. And even better, before we reach that climax we'll get to enjoy talents such as Sean O'Malley and Sean Strickland going for meaningful victories themselves. Bring it on!
In this article, I will be providing you with my fantasy MMA lineup picks for UFC 276: Adesanya vs. Cannonier on 07/02/22. Give me a follow on Twitter @chapulana. Good luck!
DraftKings MMA Middleweight - UFC DFS Lineup Picks
Israel Adesanya (C), $9400 - vs. Jared Cannonier
So... I guess we can now confirm that Adesanya's ascension and success in the UFC is more than a flash in the pan, can we? Sure, the Nigerian is not undefeated anymore after losing to Jan Blachowicz a little over a year ago, although that fight took place in the Light Heavyweight realm and not the usual Middleweight. Other than that, Adesanya's resume is hella clean. His record is 10-0 and still going. He's won every fight in his division for four straight years. He's successfully defended his chip six times and counting. In the past calendar year, he's dominated Marvin Vettori and Robert Whittaker for the second time each winning via decision. Adesanya has never landed a takedown, yet he still--somehow--has averaged 92 DKFP per fight in those 10 victories. Jesus.
Cannonier is the latest of contenders to have a shot at Adesanya's belt. All of those who tried to snatch it from him failed at it. Just saying. Cannonier lost to Robert Whittaker back on Oct. 2020 via decision, but other than that he's 5-0 since November of 2018--including four KO victories in that span. Same as Adesanya, he's not in for the grappling but boasts a bunch of powerful strikes inside of him that have seen him rock opponents with gusto. Derek Brunson was the last victim, lasting fewer than two full rounds last February before kissing the mat KO'd. Cannonier poses a real threat for Adesanya given his mighty KO prowess, but Israel has been in such control of everything since he entered the UFC circuit that it's hard to see him dropping the belt this weekend--or anytime soon, for that matter.
DraftKings MMA Featherweight - UFC DFS Lineup Picks
Alexander Volkanovski (C), $9000 - vs. Max Holloway
If you think Adesanya has been great, then don't even look Volkanovski's way. Uh, oh, the Australian Beast he is. Volk is a perfect 11-0 in the UFC and a 24-1 MMA pro-fighter. That's absolutely insane. He started his UFC tenure with a second-round KO in late 2016, went on to defeat his six next opponents capping that run with a decision victory over Jose Aldo in May 2019, then proceeded to defeat Max Holloway for the belt, defended it successfully in a rematch seven months later, and won a fight in each 2021 and 2022 to stay in possession of the gold. That last victory, by the way, came by the way of knockout as Volkanovsky dropped Chang Sung Jung as recently as last April in one of his most dominating fights ever--a 139-DKFP outing in which he landed 138-of-213 SS and 4-of-8 TDs.
Of course, Max Holloway would have something to say about accolades and fully-packed resumes. Max didn't have the best start to his UFC career (2-3) but he strung 13 victories after that on his way to snatching the FW belt from Anthony Pettis (Dec. 2016) proceeding to successfully defending it multiple times after that. A four-fight skid in which he went 1-3, including losing two to Volkanovski, forced Max into taking a little two-year detour before finding himself on Saturday's card fighting for the stripe once more in the finale of his trilogy against Volkanovski. Max won his last two fights (both in 2021 and via decision) with one of the greatest performances ever against Calvin Kattar in Jan. 2021: he landed 445-of-744 shots averaging 17.8 SSL/min. That type of striking outcome was unheard of in the history of the UFC (from the first event on, mind you!) as the former highest SSL tally belonged to Hollyday already but was down to 290 landed SS against Brian Ortega in 2018. Out of context, Holloway is as good a bet as anyone to win any and every single fight. Against Volkanovski, though, he's down 0-2 and although he wasn't horrendous he was ways away from getting any W. Gotta side with the favorite here in Alex.
DraftKings MMA Middleweight - UFC DFS Lineup Picks
Sean Strickland, $7900 - vs. Alex Pereira
Pereira's MMA career is one of a kind. He debuted all the way back in 2015 and got defeated via submission, though he was determined to make a living out of this thing and he persevered. Since then, he's gone 5-0 (four of those five wins via KO) on his way to signing a UFC deal in Sep. 2021. His record in two UFC fights? 2-0 with a second-round TKO against Andreas Michailidis and a judges' decision victory against Bruno Silva last March. The fight log, of course, isn't the largest out there, but the results cannot look any better with Pereira landing 61% and 69% of his attempted strikes in his two fights and posting per-minute averages of 7.2 SSL and 11.9 SSA. All things considered, he got similar scores of 85.5 and 84.0 DKFP in his two UFC bouts to date.
Strickland, on the other hand, is a much more veteran--but younger--fighter than Pereira. Sean has been in the UFC since 2014 and is 12-3 overall in Dana's promo. After a two-year hiatus from Oct. 2018 to Oct. 2020, Strickland has yet to meet defeat. He's done it five times since coming back (twice in 2020 and 2021 each, once in 2022) and he's got away with the W in all five fights with one KO baked into those victories. This "new" Strickland has been unstoppable, has averaged 107 DKFP per fight since returning, and has never fallen below the 72-DKFP line. Monster outcomes, in other words. The striking volume is absolutely mindblowing with Sean, who is launching more than 16 SSA per minute while landing nearly 47% of them. He's not the most active of grapplers/takedown-chasers but he's gone 5-of-7 in his last five for a success rate above 71%. It looks a little bit like a stretch to see Pereira extending his streak this weekend, I'm afraid.
DraftKings MMA Bantamweight - UFC DFS Lineup Picks
Sean O'Malley, $9300 - vs. Pedro Munhoz
This fights rocks. It rocks so much. Dana has decided to pit Sean-O against Pedro Munhoz this weekend in what feels like a prove-it fight for both contestants. For Munhoz this looks like a make-or-break type of thing: he's 1-4 in his past five fights and 2-4 since the start of 2019. He's lost two in a row with two more prior to that only split by a W against Jimmie Rivera via decision in Feb. 2021. The numbers have not been entirely bad--Munhoz is launching a high-end 13.6 SSA/min landing 44% of them--but the results have just not been at his reach. Already past 35 years of age, Munhoz's best days are clearly over, though he's a grizzled and consummated veteran posing an interesting challenge for phenom O'Malley.
Sean O'Malley is fighting for the eighth time inside the Octagon this weekend while boasting a 6-1 record in the promo. He's only dropped one fight (to Marlon Vera, first-round KO) and has won three in a row now, all of them in the 2021 calendar year. Other than his debut W (decision), Sean-O has KO'd all other five foes he's defeated in the promo, including getting three first-round knockouts. The loss to Vera was as ugly as it gets (only 5.0 DKFP) but O'Malley's victories saw him score an average of 112.1 DKFP per fight as he's adept at rocking foes and getting impressive bonus points thanks to those early finishes. Munhoz has experience on his side but he's on a clear downward trajectory these days. It's O'Malley with another victory (and probably KO) next Saturday.
