After a long stretch without pro sports in North America, tonight UFC 249 comes to Jacksonville, and most importantly to the TV’s of combat sports fans across the planet. And you can win up to $5000 by entering tonight’s free pool for UFC 249 at DraftKings Sportsbook!
There are eight questions about tonight’s bouts you’ll need to answer correctly, so let’s take a look at the choices and make some picks ahead of tonight’s contest.
Tony Ferguson vs. Justin Gaethje
Tony Ferguson
Draw
Justin Gaethje
Ferguson is a -186 favorite to walk out with the interim lightweight championship, and a match with Khabib on his radar. But the chaos surrounding this fight, and the lack of crowd in the stands, does even up things a bit for the underdog. We’ll fade the chalk here in the main event, and try to go against the grain in a spot where most people are 79% of the bets are on Ferguson.
Tony Ferguson vs. Justin Gaethje - Winning Method
Tony Ferguson by KO, TKO or DQ
Tony Ferguson by Submission
Tony Ferguson by Decision
Justin Gaethje by KO, TKO or DQ
Justin Gaethje by Submission
Justin Gaethje by Decision
Draw
If Gaethje is the winner, it’ll be on his feet: He’s won 86% of his career fights by KO or TKO.
Henry Cejudo vs. Dominick Cruz
Henry Cejudo
Draw
Dominick Cruz
3.5 years off for a 35-year-old?? One thing we know about the 22-2 career Cruz: he’s well-rested. And his victory and recapturing his previous title would be one of the great sports stories of this spring... where we’ve basically had no sports stories.
Henry Cejudo vs. Dominick Cruz - Winning Method
Henry Cejudo by KO, TKO or DQ
Henry Cejudo by Submission
Henry Cejudo by Decision
Dominick Cruz by KO, TKO or DQ
Dominick Cruz by Submission
Dominick Cruz by Decision
Draw
14 of Cruz’s 22 career wins have gone the distance, so he’ll likely need to survive 25 minutes to walk out with the belt.
Francis Ngannou vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik
Francis Ngannou
Draw
Jairzinho Rozenstruik
They can’t all be upsets. Ngannou just has too much power and talent for his still-game opponent, who showed his mettle by winning his last fight with just four seconds remaining while behind on all scorecards.
Francis Ngannou vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik - Winning Method
Francis Ngannou by KO, TKO or DQ
Francis Ngannou by Submission
Francis Ngannou by Decision
Jairzinho Rozenstruik by KO, TKO or DQ
Jairzinho Rozenstruik by Submission
Jairzinho Rozenstruik by Decision
Draw
Ngannou has never won by going the distance, and wins by knockout 71% of the time.
Jeremy Stephens vs. Calvin Kattar
Jeremy Stephens
Draw
Calvin Kattar
When in doubt, go with the guy that came in 5.5 pounds overweight. Stephens knows this isn’t going to be a long fight, as these two maniacs should end this rather quickly. We’ll take the, ahem, heavy underdog with a punchers chance when the fists fly.
Greg Hardy vs. Yorgan De Castro
Greg Hardy
Draw
Yorgan De Castro
We don’t feel good about rooting for this guy either, but as one sharp UFC insider told me “he’s literally being thrown tomato cans to build him up.” Hold your nose and make the pick.
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