In case you didn’t get a chance to read last week’s article, we picked correctly in all three featured fights but unfortunately only Muhammad Naimov managed to make optimal. We saw unimpressive scores from Santos and Caceres. This week we look to get better scores but continue on the accuracy of going three for three with personal leans.

This week we have UFC 289 which is being headlined by a women’s bantamweight championship fight between Amanda Nunes and Irene Aldana. The rest of the slate is filled with Canadian fighters being given the opportunity to fight in front of their home crowd. There are some really interesting fights, and a few not-so-interesting ones as well. Let’s see if we can target the right fights for FanDuel.

Below you will see my recommended fights to target on the FanDuel slate for UFC 289. If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to tweet @WeWantPicks on Twitter and they will definitely get back to you ASAP. 

FIGHT #1 TO TARGET (-400 FDNGTD)

MIKE MALOTT ($19) vs. ADAM FUGITT ($12)

This has been one of the more polarizing fights on the slate this week. There has been loads of support for Fugitt pulling the upside, and plenty of thoughts that Malott might just be overrated. Of course if you are Canadian you might have thought what I just wrote was absurd and Malott is the next best thing to show up in the UFC. The UFC knows this, which is why these cards get loaded with fighters from the country to drive sales.

Mike Malott is actually a really solid fighter in all aspects of MMA in my opinion. The narrative against him has been that we don’t know what he will look like if the fight extends beyond the first round and that he could fade as the fight goes on. I always find these narratives interesting because they aren’t even rooted in any type of fact or observation, just pure speculation. Malott has power, technique, grappling, and even a bit of wrestling himself though, and his complete skill set should serve him well in any MMA fight he finds himself in.

Adam Fugitt is probably the better overall wrestler in this contest, but as far as translating that to an MMA fight, we just haven’t seen it really. He did get four takedowns against a relatively unknown UFC debutant in his last fight, but that fighter is not Mike Malott, or even on the level of the fighters that Malott has fought. 

If I was a betting man, and not just a DFS man, I would probably take a second mortgage out on my house for Mike Mallot in this one and I would be very shocked if he doesn’t go out there and handle business against a fighter that I personally believe is lower level than his last two opponents.

FIGHT #2 TO TARGET (-330 FDNGTD)

BENEIL DARIUSH ($17) vs. CHARLES OLIVEIRA ($14)

This fight is without question the fight that I am most looking forward to on the entire card. In the interest of full disclosure, I cannot stand Charles Oliveira. I find him to be one of the most criminally overrated fighters in the history of the UFC. Yes I completely understand that I am saying that about a guy that won a belt and defended his belt numerous times. I will get into that shortly. 

Beneil Dariush has been disrespected and passed over again and again by the UFC, and the fans. Yet he continues to go out and prove everyone wrong, and every single time he mentions his higher power and exudes nothing but pure class. Dariush is an accomplished grappler himself, and in fact is likely the better grappler in this matchup. On the feet he could be the slower striker, but his boxing has been very impressive in my opinion and I believe he has the better wrestling. 

Charles Oliveira is a slick striker with an insane amount of submission finishes in the UFC. Those submissions often come in scrambles though, and not in pure grappling scenarios. The glaring concern I have for Charles Oliveira, and the reason that I believe he has been overrated is that he gets dropped a ton. In fact he was dropped in every single one of his last three fights. When that happens, Charles will lay there and invite you to the ground with him. Dustin Poirer and Justin Gaethje both declined which allowed Oliveira to recover from being stunned. Islam followed him to the ground and Charles went to sleep. I don’t believe Dariush will be afraid to follow him there either.

Again, for me this is a clear Dariush play. I can however understand playing Oliveira as well though because when he wins he scores very well. Oliveira is a finisher and that makes a stab at him worth while for those that believe he will win the fight and those covering both sides.

FIGHT #3 TO TARGET (-225 FDNGTD)

AMANDA NUNES ($23) vs. IRENE ALDANA ($13)

The main event was supposed to be Nunes vs. Pena 3, but thankfully we were spared that agony and instead get Nunes vs. Aldana. While it is a more interesting fight in my opinion, I truly believe the outcome will be the same.

I could see stacking this fight in cash because of the way that the slate is priced, but I personally will only be playing Nunes. I just have a hard time believing that anyone that was losing to Macy Chiasson will be able to hold their own against Amanda Nunes. The Pena loss in the first fight was a wake up call for an Amanda Nunes that got complacent and I don’t think we see that again until Amanda is maybe closer to retirement.

GOOD LUCK THIS WEEKEND

Good look to all heading into this event. If you are watching it at home, follow along with @WeWantPicks on YouTube for live bets on the fight companion. Also, make sure to tweet your winning lineups at us and we will do our best to recognize your greatness. 

Enjoy the event, and make sure to keep it locked on We Want Picks for tons of great MMA content.