The UFC is back in Shanghai, China, for a stacked UFC Fight Night headlined by No. 13 Johnny Walker vs. No. 14 Zhang Mingyang on August 23. The co-main event features a fantastic five-round featherweight bout between No. 5 Brian Ortega vs. No. 7 Aljamain Sterling.
The Prelims begin at 3:00 a.m. ET with the Main Card starting at 6:00 a.m. ET on ESPN+. Check out my favorite fighters to add to your daily fantasy lineup for Saturday’s UFC Fight Night.
Set your DraftKings fantasy MMA lineups here: UFC $300K Throwdown [$100K to 1st]
Studs
Rongzhu ($9,100)
Rongzhu is coming off a win against an undefeated prospect, Kody Steele, at UFC 312. Also, Rongzhu has won four of his previous five fights. He is now facing Austin Hubbard, who is 4-7 in the UFC. Although Hubbard is experienced, Rongzhu is the more talented fighter on the feet.
Rongzhu averages over two more significant strikes per minute (5.90 vs. 3.87) at a 51 percent rate. Even though Hubbard lands slightly more takedowns per 15 minutes, that shouldn’t be an issue for Rongzhu since he has an excellent 84 percent takedown defense.
In his previous bout, Rongzhu recorded 96 fantasy points. He also totaled 146 points in his first UFC victory in September 2021. Rongzhu’s goal must be to make this strictly a striking matchup, and if he does so, a second significant victory and fantasy performance should be attainable.
Aljamain Sterling ($9,000)
Sterling is 1-1 in the Featherweight division since moving up from Bantamweight. After losing to Movsar Evloev, Sterling will now face former title challenger Brian Ortega. This is a matchup with significant stakes attached, as the winner will put themselves in a strong position for a future title opportunity.
In this matchup, both fighters are 5’7″, but the former champion has a two-inch reach advantage (71″ vs. 69″). Even though Sterling is not known as a striker, he is still better on the feet than Ortega. Sterling averages more significant strikes (4.41 vs. 4.08) at a higher rate (52% vs. 37%) than Ortega does.
Even though Sterling has lost two of his previous three contests, he has totaled 115-plus fantasy points in his last three victories. He finished with 63 points against Movsar Evloev in his previous bout. Since his upcoming fight against Ortega is a five-round contest, it should make it much easier for the former champion to make an elite impact on your fantasy lineup.
Value Play
Waldo Cortes-Acosta ($7,300)
Waldo Cortes-Acosta has won five straight fights but remains the seventh-cheapest fighter on this week’s card. Although Cortes-Acosta is facing a dangerous opponent in Sergei Pavlovich, getting him at $7,300 is still a great value play.
Cortes-Acosta is 14-1 in his MMA career and has won seven of his eight fights in the UFC. In February, Pavlovich snapped his two-fight losing streak when he beat Jairzinho Rozenstruik via unanimous decision. Although Pavlovich got back on track, his recent performance lacked the enthusiasm that his six-fight win streak from 2019 to 2023 had.
In this matchup, Pavlovich has a significant six-inch reach advantage while Cortes-Acosta is taller by one inch. Pavlovich does have more power on the feet, but Cortes-Acosta is actually the better striker statistically. Cortes-Acosta averages 5.98 significant strikes at a five percent better rate than Pavlovich.
In this fight, Cortes-Acosta needs to prevent Pavlovich from gaining momentum on the feet. In three of his last five fights, Cortes-Acosta has recorded at least 99 points, making him an elite addition to your lineup at this low of a price.
Set your DraftKings fantasy MMA lineups here: UFC $300K Throwdown [$100K to 1st]
