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A pair of UFC rookies will fight at light heavyweight on the preliminary card of UFC on ESPN 13 tonight when Modesta Bukauskas takes on Andreas Michailidis live from Fight Island in Abu Dhabi.
DraftKings DFS Salaries
Modesta Bukauskas: $9,000
Andreas Michailidis: $7,200
Bukauskas is favored on the money line at -186, with Michailidis at +150.
Bukauskas is 10-2 as an MMA professional, fighting most recently out of the Cage Warriors promotion where he was the champion at 205 lbs. He’s won six in a row, not going the distance as a winner or loser since his first career fight. The 26-year-old Lithuanian was originally scheduled to fight Vinicius Moreira, but a positive Covid-19 test forced the opponent change on July 5th.
Michailidis steps in as the short-notice replacement, moving up from middleweight to take the fight. The 31-year-old from Athens is 12-3 in his career, and has won five of his last six bouts by first round TKO in a hodgepodge of promotions including Global Legion FC, Titan FC, and Cage Survivor. Only one of his bouts has needed judges, a decision win over Ion Pascu in May of 2016, as in all of his three losses he’s been knocked out as well.
Bukauskas would seem to have several inherent advantages here, including a longer camp and being a natural at 205 as opposed to his opponent who is moving up from 185. Michailidis has won five of his last six however, and all five were first round stoppages. This looks like a great fight for in-game betting if it gets to a second round, but maybe not for DFS purposes. There just might be better value elsewhere on the card.