Not allowing myself to buy into the idea that Rose was completely washed proved to be the difference in my cash contests this past week. Thankfully we clung to one of the last spots above the cash line in all three of my cash contests due to that decision to play both Rose and Amanda. It was only that close because of my undying support of Billy Q which proved to be highly questionable. Tournaments were a different story, but all things considered it was a winning week and that's great. Now it is time to do it again!
We are back in front of a crowd this week in Atlantic City New Jersey to watch main event combatants Erin Blanchfield and Manon Fiorot matchup for a title shot eliminator fight. The rest of the card is slightly better than it has been with a handful of prospects and exciting veterans sprinkled throughout the card. We are still being held down by the power of UFC 300’s lineup, but are almost there. Let’s crush this slate to get some momentum heading into 300!
For anyone that hasn’t read this article before, The Chalk Board is a DraftKings Daily Fantasy Sports article where I attempt to navigate the $9000+ salary range by offering you insight into who I will be using, considering, or fading from my personal lineups. In turn, this can help navigate the lower salary range as well by design. If you choose to alter your lineups based on my statements in this article, please understand that I am not a professional gambler or DFS player, so that decision is yours. Live with the results YOU get from the decisions YOU make.
The article is written for cash games and single entry tournaments, however you may see a large field or MME reference from time to time. It is split into three very distinctive sections. The first is the “Lock Them In” section which features the fighters in the salary range that I think will make a perfect addition to cash and small-field single entry lineups. The second section of the article is “Roll The Dice” which provides information on fighters that could be great for your lineup but come with added risk that make them more comfortable for GPP lineups than cash lineups. The third and final section of the article is “Stay Away” and that is exactly what it sounds like, these fighters should be avoided at all cost for single entry tournaments and cash games. You may still want to use them for larger tournaments however, and potentially for mass multiple entry contests as well where complete fades are less frequent.
LOCK THEM IN
NURSULTON RUZIBOEV – $9200 (-250)
There are so many people clamoring for Ruziboev’s opponent this week, Sedriques Dumas, and to be totally honest…I just don’t get it. I also find it humorous how many of the cappers I have caught content from this week don’t seem to think that Ruziboev is a capable grappler. That is a polar opposite assessment from what I believe. I think that Ruziboev is a monster wrestler/grappler whose only hole there is that he is sometimes a little over ambitious and can lose positions. Meanwhile Dumas needs his coaches to talk him through not losing top half in his grappling exchanges. These two are not the same in the grappling realm.
I believe that even on feet that Ruziboev is going to be a problem for SD, using his size and athleticism to close the distance on SD’s reach and get to his hips to dump him. There is a world where SD catches him with something for a flash KO of course, as there is in basically every MMA fight, and then there is a world where Ruziboev gasses out and SD takes over in the later rounds. Aside from those two scenarios though, this is Nursulton’s fight to lose, and I personally believe he gets SD out of there early. I will be using Ruziboev in quite literally everything.
BILL ALGEO – $9100 (-235)
Bill Algeo is a fun fighter who is coming in to fight another typically fun fighter in Kyle Nelson. Algeo is a grappling beast who can finish fights if he can get to positions that he likes. This play is assisted by Kyle Nelson not exactly being the most dangerous guy in the world, so the floor on Algeo is likely pretty safe also. I think Algeo is more than viable in cash games. I would likely look elsewhere for the tournaments that I play, but for larger multiple entry stuff he should certainly be in the fighter pool.
ROLL THE DICE
CAOLAN LOUGHRAN – $9400 (-350)
I really wanted to put Caolan Loughran into the ‘Stay Away’ section, but I ended up listing him here because there is a world I suppose where this low level fight produces a big time score and not having the favorite side of that type of fight might prove to be a mistake. I won’t be playing Loughran myself, but in larger tournaments I could certainly understand rostering him.
BRUNO SILVA – $9300 (-260)
We are all in agreement that Bruno Silva’s opponent, Chris Weidman, is done with fighting right? If he isn’t he really should be. The guy is a beast on the weigh in show, and not so much of a beast in the cage anymore. Of his seven most recent losses, six of them have been by KO (one was his leg breaking). I believe that Silva has adequate enough takedown defense to keep this standing long enough to catch Weidman and should win by knockout. There is a possibility that Silva gets taken down though, and that has me only considering him for tournament entries.
JACOB MALKOUN – $9000 (-233)
When Jacob Malkoun wins his fights he often breaks the slate with a monstrous wrestling/grappling performance. For that reason alone he is worth rolling the dice on in tournaments. When it comes to cash contests though I think I like the Petroski side much better. Petroski puts up big numbers in his wins also, but he does so in a much more dangerous way than Malkoun does. I like the Petroski floor for cash/small fields, but the ceiling from Malkoun for tournaments/large fields.
STAY AWAY
JULIO ARCE – $9500 (-400)
Julio Arce will almost surely win this fight unless he gets caught in a submission in the first round. His opponent, Herbert Burns, has displayed some cardio issues and his quit button in the past. Neither leads me to believe that he is going to overcome Julio Arce. The problem is that Arce doesn’t really stop people in the first round, and that first round is where Burns will be his most dangerous. Those two facts and the lack of grappling upside from Arce make it really hard to get to him here at $9500.
FINAL THOUGHT
This slate is one that I seem to be on an island believing that this slate is mostly favorite heavy while others think most fights on this slate are a coin flip, so keep that in mind before taking anything I said to heart. Either way I am excited for an event with a crowd, it really does improve the experience, even when watching on TV.
Hopefully, this Chalk Board article has helped you at least reduce the number of options in the upper salary range, and in turn isolate a few dogs you feel good about. I would like to take this time to again remind you to make YOUR OWN decisions. Don’t buy into anything I say unless it makes sense to you as well.
Good luck this week! If you need any help with your DraftKings entries you can join the free Discord server which has loads of very capable DFS players and I am sure you will find an opinion that will give you the confirmation bias that most people seek. If you need additional help then reach out to @WeWantPicks on Twitter. Thanks for reading, see you guys next week.
