Once again we are back trying to identify the fights that you will need to target to find success in your daily fantasy lineups on FanDuel. Last week we were very successful in identifying those fights, but unfortunately were on the wrong side of both of them. The ship needs to be righted and this is just as good of a week to do that as any.

The slate for this week at UFC Vegas 71 took a massive hit this week when the Ricky Simon and Song Yadong fight was moved to the main event of a later event. Thankfully, several fights that are very exciting still remain. The task at hand is just identifying the most exciting of those fights.

Below you will see my recommended fights to target on the FanDuel slate for UFC Vegas 71. 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 (-1200 FDNGTD)

CURTIS BLAYDES ($22) vs. SERGEI PAVLOVICH ($14)

The first fight to identify is actually one of the easiest to identify so far this year. Sitting at -1200 to end inside the distance the main event heavyweight fight is virtually mandatory. On one side we have the proven commodity in the division, Curtis Blaydes, who has been in there with the very best that the division has to offer. On the other side is Sergei Pavlovich who has been walking through all of his opponents in the UFC, except his debut, within the first round in impressive fashion.

Blaydes is a dominant wrestler who may have slowed down on the wrestling. In order to win this fight I believe that Blaydes will need the wrestling to return. That isn’t to say that I think Blaydes isn’t a capable striker, but just that he won’t be the most dangerous striker in the cage. To mitigate that danger a takedown early in round one could set a beautiful tone for the fight and take the wind out of Pavlovich’s sail very quickly.

Sergei Pavlovich is a fast starter that blitzes his opponents with his power while having little regard for anything coming back his way. How this approach is responded to will dictate the outcome of this fight. If Blaydes can drop levels and be a wrestler again, then Sergei could be in trouble. If Blaydes tries to strike back I think he might be lacking the aggression that Pavlovich brings to the table and that could cause problems for Blaydes.

I don’t have a true preference here as both options are very solid in my opinion, but if I had to pick one it would be Blaydes just based on strength of schedule and the fact that I think he is one of the most criminally underrated heavyweights in the UFC. The concern is just whether or not he is going to be able to mitigate or match the intensity of Pavlovich.

FIGHT #2 TO TARGET (-360 FDNGTD)

JUNIOR TAFA ($16) vs. MOHAMMED USMAN ($13)

There is nothing more guaranteed in this life than low-level heavyweights receiving insane betting lines on their fights going the distance or not. That is exactly what we have here. On one side we get the UFC debut of Junior Tafa and on the other side, we get to see yet another appearance of Mohammed Usman. Both of these fighters are the younger brothers of existing UFC fighters Kamaru Usman and Justin Tafa. 

Junior Tafa has somehow managed to be the favorite here, and for the life of me, I cannot understand why. Tafa has four MMA fights, and while his previous experience before that in Glory Kickboxing was impressive, he hasn’t really fought anyone of note under the MMA rule set. In fact, he has fought such a low level of competition that Mohammed Usman is actually a massive step up in competition. I was only able to find two of the four fights for Tafa, but both seemed to display a deficiency in the wrestling and grappling department for a bit prior to him finding the knockout.

Mohammed Usman comes into this fight as the much larger man, and his wrestling could make this a very slow three-round fight that doesn’t live up to the hype – or he could find some vicious ground and pound to get the finish as the line suggests. Just saying – I would sprinkle that this fight goes the distance if I was a sports bettor. Usman has a blockhead that had no problem taking abuse in the TUF house and I think it takes that abuse again here until he finds the takedowns he needs. Once he gets on top I think that particular round is probably over.

I am very much under the impression that Usman wins this fight, and does so in a dominant fashion that makes people think he should have been -500. Tafa is fun, and has power, but isn’t really technical. I also think he doesn’t have the skills to win the fight anywhere but standing. Whoever wins this fight could score big though, and that makes it worthwhile to target it. 

FIGHT #3 TO TARGET (-190 FDNGTD)

MONTEL JACKSON ($23) vs. RANI YAHYA ($9)

This particular fight might just be one-way traffic, but I suppose there is a possibility that Jackson slips up and Yahya can snatch up a prayer submission. This isn’t going to be a long breakdown just because of how one sided this fight appears to be.

Either Jackson wins this fight by domination, most likely in the striking with maybe a bit of wrestling mixed in, or Yahya finds a prayer submission if Jackson goes too wrestle-heavy and shocks everyone breaking the slate. Choose wisely.

GOOD LUCK THIS WEEKEND

Good look to all heading into this event. If you are watching it at home make sure to follow along with @WeWantPicks on YouTube for live bets. 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.