UFC Fight Night Saskatoon: Best DraftKings Picks for Holloway vs. Oliveira Card
The UFC Fight Night Saskatoon card on Sunday doesn't have a ton of overwhelming favorites. Because of that, you don't have to worry about drafting the surefire winner while still filling out the rest of your lineup with fighters you don't trust to emerge victorious.
However, you will have to make the right pick in several close, hard-to-call bouts between evenly matched fighters. Here's a little help:
| Max Holloway | Charles Oliveira | $10,600 |
| Neil Magny | Erick Silva | $9,000 |
| Marcos Rogerio de Lima. | Nikita Krylov | $9,900 |
| Misha Cirkunov | Daniel Jolly | $11,100 |
| Patrick Cote | John Burkman | $9,400 |
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Misha Cirkunov ($11,100)
The highest-priced fighter at UFC Fight Night Saskatoon is Misha Cirkunov. His original opponent, Sean O'Connell, was forced to bow out due to injury, per Tristen Crutchfield of Sherdog.com. His replacement is going to get smashed.
Daniel Jolly is undefeated, but he's only had five fights. Cirkunov is a Latvian wrecking ball who will be eager to impress in his UFC debut. Cirkunov has finished opponents in seven of his nine wins. That includes four straight, and all of those were by finish. Cirkunov's kryptonite might be opponents with strong wrestling, submission and takedowns, but Jolly doesn't fit the profile.
Cirkunov will run that streak to five with a finish over a late replacement.
Neil Magny ($9,000)
After being completely dominated a little over three weeks ago, Neil Magny is in a hurry to jump back into the Octagon to redeem himself. To put it plainly, Demian Maia's Brazilian jiu-jitsu prowess overwhelmed Magny at UFC 190.
On Sunday, Magny will face another Brazilian in Erick Silva, but the latter isn't quite as skilled on the ground as Maia. Silva likes to strike and brawl, but Magny's abnormally long arms won't allow him to experience much success on the feet.
Despite the way he was misused by Maia, Magny's ground game is actually solid. It's going to be difficult for him to get a finish against Silva. The Brazilian is tough as nails and Magny's not a huge striker. But a unanimous-decision victory for the American and a decent fantasy performance are likely.
Marcos Rogerio de Lima ($9,900)
If Nikita Krylov fought more smartly, he'd be one of the best young light heavyweights in the UFC. He has an advanced submission game, but he too often allows himself to be dragged into brawls.
That's not a good tendency heading into a battle with Marcos Rogerio de Lima. The man they call Pezao has 10 wins by KO. He's a destructive striker who has only been stopped by strikes once in his career.
If Krylov stands with him—as I suspect he will—the Russian will be stopped.
Patrick Cote ($9,400)
On almost every UFC card, you're going to have to fill one of the spots in your DraftKings lineup with a guy or girl you either expect to lose, or an underdog that you believe has an outside shot to win. Patrick Cote often fits both of those profiles.
The grizzled veteran will take on John Burkman in a battle that has Fight of the Night potential.
Burkman has a slightly higher salary, but I'm not sure that's founded. He's gone five fights in the UFC without a win, and while Cote has a low athletic ceiling, he's at least proven he knows how to have his hand raised.
The Canadian has won three of his last four, and he should be energized performing in front of fans in his home country. He's the best pick in this fight.
Max Holloway ($10,600)
The time has finally come for Max Holloway to become a serious contender in the UFC featherweight division. He took some tough losses taking on top-level competition too early in his career. Though he's still just 23 years old, Holloway is ready to take a major step.
The 25-year-old Charles Oliveira may have the same thing on his mind. He's proven to be a dangerous grappler and striker. Oliveira would do well to take this fight to the ground, where he might have a slight advantage.
While he's recorded six wins by stoppage, his submission skills are outstanding. Holloway has to know the score in this matchup.
In his career, he has stopped 78 percent of the takedowns attempted against him. He'll keep the fight standing and use his elite-level boxing to win rounds early.
In the latter rounds of what figures to be a great fight, Holloway will score a TKO as he wears down the Brazilian with cumulative punishment.
Mark it down.
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