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In one of the few light heavyweight matches on main card for UFC 259, Thiago Santos will fight Aleksandar Rakic Saturday live from Las Vegas and ESPN+. Santos’ odds is +120, while Rakic’s is -157. However, the public is backing Santos, who is receiving 63% of the handle and 59% of the bets.
“Marreta” Santos has a professional fighting record of 21-8 and is ranked second in the light heavyweight rankings. The veteran mixed marital artist last fought in November at UFC on ESPN 17, where he lost to Glover Teixeira by submission in Round 3.
As for Rakic, he walks into the bout with a professional fighting record of 13-2 and is ranked a couple of spots below Santos in the light heavyweight division (4th). The 32-year-old is receiving 37% of the handle and 41% of the bets. Rakic last fought in August at UFC Fight Night 175, where he defeated Anthony Smith by unanimous decision.
Here are the odds and betting splits at DraftKings Sportsbook for Thiago Santos vs. Aleksandar Rakic at UFC 259 on March 6th.
Odds and Betting splits
Thiago Santos: +120 (63% of action, 59% of bets)
Aleksandar Rakic: -157 (37% of action, 41% of bets)
DraftKings DFS Values
Thiago Santos: $7,600
Aleksandar Rakic: $8,600
The last time we saw Santos inside the octagon, we got an exciting fight between him and Glover Teixeira. Santos lost the fight in Round 3 and did not perform well fantasy wise with only 37 fantasy points. It was his second-straight loss, where “Marreta” scored well below his season average of 73.1 FPPF.
Meanwhile, Rakic is averaging 97.8 FPPF in his UFC career. In his last four bouts, the 32-year-old has scored 99 fantasy points or more three times. He also had two KO/TKO first round wins, where Rakic scored 115 and 126 fantasy points. I’d lean towards Rakic as the best DFS play for Saturday night.
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