The UFC hits the road this weekend for a Fight Night card in Oklahoma City, headlined by a middleweight clash between Dricus Du Plessis and Kamaru Usman.
Du Plessis is a -218 favorite on DraftKings Sportsbook. Usman is a +180 underdog, with the total set at O/U 3.5 Rounds.
Along with traditional sports betting and daily fantasy, you can now have more action than ever for UFC Fight Night: Du Plessis vs. Usman. Check out DraftKings UFC Pick6 for my favorite picks for Saturday’s UFC event.
Dricus Du Plessis More Than 87.5 Fantasy Points
Dricus Du Plessis (23–3, 9–1 UFC) is really fun to watch, a brawler who churns cartoonish chaos into highlight-reel finishes — boasting an 87 percent career finish rate. As it turns out, his Looney Tunes-style has become a hotbed for fantasy points. Before dropping the middleweight title to Khamzat Chimaev, “Stillknocks” cleared 87.5 fantasy points in four straight bouts against ex-titleholders Robert Whittaker and Israel Adesanya, and current champ Sean Strickland (twice).
Du Plessis is huge for a middleweight and certainly looks it facing off with former welterweight champ Kamaru Usman (21–4, 16–3 UFC). While the “Nigerian Nightmare” had an impressive showing against the eventual 185-pound champ, Chimaev, that was nearly three years ago. He enters Saturday at 39 and with perhaps the most compromised knees on the active roster.
Whether by raw power, plot armor, or dropping an anvil, Du Plessis should dominate Saturday’s main event and pile up fantasy points in the process.
Christian Leroy Duncan More Than 0.5 Knockouts
Christian Leroy Duncan (14–2, 7–2 UFC) is one of the most intriguing rising contenders at 185 pounds, a highly creative striker with 10 career wins by knockout or TKO. And he’s a heavy favorite against grizzled veteran Jared Cannonier (18–9, 14–6 UFC).
“CLD” enters Saturday night on a four-fight surge — featuring a pair of highlight-reel stoppages — and with clear advantages in age, speed, size, activity, and recent form. Although Cannonier has remained durable throughout his career, Duncan wields the explosive toolkit to finish his 42-year-old opponent.
Chase Hooper Less Than 30.5 Significant Strikes
At 26, lightweight prospect Chase Hooper (16–5–1, 8–5 UFC) has a wealth of Octagon experience and a seemingly long future ahead of him. He doesn’t land a lot of punches, though.
Hooper has finished with fewer than 30.5 significant strikes in six of his last eight bouts, including four straight. His low strike totals are largely a product of his grapple-heavy approach and a tendency to get finished quickly; he’s coming off back-to-back first-round TKO losses. He now faces struggling prospect Mitch Ramirez (8–3, 0–2 UFC), who has been stopped in three appearances across the UFC and Dana White’s Contender Series. Still, he has finishing upside, with five career wins by knockout or TKO.
Whether Hooper mauls Ramirez on the ground or gets caught early, it seems unlikely that he will surpass 30.5 on Saturday night.
Fatima Kline More Than 14:55 Fight Time
There’s a reason that strawweight Fatima Kline (9–1, 3–1 UFC) is an overwhelming favorite for Saturday’s bout against Tabatha Ricci (12–4, 7–4 UFC). The “Archangel” won three straight bouts on the back of her elite kickboxing and black-belt jiu-jitsu and is now coming off a dominant decision win over Angela Hill.
Kline is faster, taller, younger, and more technically polished than Ricci, who has dropped two of her last three bouts. But while she’ll likely leave Oklahoma City with a win, she may have trouble taking care of business inside the distance. Ricci has only been stopped once in her career — not since her UFC debut in June 2021.
Seokhyeon Ko More Than 32.5 Significant Strikes
Rarely are fighters coming off wins over the same opponent. However, in their last bouts against Phil Rowe, Jean-Paul Lebosnoyani (10–2, 1–0 UFC) squeaked past the veteran via split decision — Seokhyeon Ko (13–2, 2–0 UFC) mauled him.
Despite leaning on his suffocating grappling, “The Korean Tyson” has landed more than 32.5 significant strikes in each of his first two trips to the Octagon — both yielding one-sided decision victories. The rising welterweight should follow suit against Lebosnoyani, who ate 54 significant strikes in his UFC debut against Rowe.
Alden Coria More Than 102.5 Fantasy Points
Surging flyweight Alden Coria (12–3, 2–0 UFC) could resemble a fantasy-point gold mine on Saturday night. He’ll make his third trip to the Octagon against beleaguered grappler Stewart Nicoll (8–3, 0–3 UFC), who is still trying to adjust to UFC-level competition.
Two of Nicoll’s three UFC losses have come by stoppage, most recently a second-round TKO defeat against Alessandro Costa. Coria, meanwhile, beat Costa into the ground in his UFC debut. He enters Saturday with clear advantages in virtually every aspect of the sport, a considerable size advantage, and serious finishing upside. For Coria, fantasy points should be there for the taking.
What is DraftKings Pick6?
Pick6 is a peer-to-peer fantasy variant where you build a lineup (your “Pick Set”) of 2+ players and select whether or not you believe each will outperform their listed stat projection. Enter your Pick Set in Pick6 contests to compete against other users. Get enough picks correct and win a share of cash prizes.
How to Play DraftKings Pick6
Create a Pick Set
Create a Pick Set by choosing 2+ players from the same sport and Pick Group (a set of picks available from a group of set competitions). For each player, simply select if you think they’ll have more or less than their listed stat projection. In each Pick Set, you can not pick the same player twice, and you must pick players from at least two different teams.
Enter an Amount
Once you finalize your Pick Set, choose your entry fee amount. Your entries will be automatically distributed into available contests, subject to your confirmation.
Sweat Your Picks
When the games go live, use the My Picks tab to follow your picks in real time to track how your players are performing against their projections and how they stack up against other users.
Compete for Prizes
Make enough correct picks and win a share of the contests’ guaranteed prizes. Any prizes won will be credited to your DraftKings account after contests are finalized.
Play at DraftKings Pick6 or by downloading the DraftKings Pick6 app on Apple or Google!
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