This article is part of our UFC Picks series.
The Professional Fighters League (PFL) is set for its third event of 2021 as heavyweights and women lightweights compete. The card goes down on Thursday, May 6 from Atlantic City, New Jersey with former UFC champion, Fabricio Werdum headlining the show.
Below will be my four favorite plays for the PFL 2021 #3 where the main card can be seen on ESPN2 at 9 p.m. EST.
Mohammed Usman (7-1) vs. Brandon Sayles (5-1)
Weight Class: Heavyweight
The brother of UFC welterweight champion, Kamaru, Mohammed Usman is someone that should've been signed to a major promotion quite some time ago, but he now gets his shot in PFL.
Usman is riding a four-fight winning streak and has three KO/TKO, two submission wins and two decision victories in his career. Sayles, meanwhile, is set for his first MMA fight since 2018. He was also supposed to compete on the Contender Series against Greg Hardy in 2018 but was forced out of the bout.
In the fight, I expect Usman to be able to use his wrestling and striking to take the 40-year-old down and eventually find a finish. He's a solid parlay piece or you could look at a Usman by KO/TKO/DQ at -125 on DraftKings.
The Play: Mohammed Usman (-335)
Cindy Dandois (16-5) vs. Kaitlin Young (11-10-1)
Weight Class: Women's lightweight
If you want an underdog on this card, I think Cindy Dandois has a shot of beating Kaitlin Young.
Dandois will have a two-inch reach advantage, and although her last four opponents are not at the level of Young, she does have a path to victory. Young has struggled against grapplers and I think Dandois can take an advantage of that and use her wrestling to control the fight. To me, this is the likeliest dog to win.
The Play: Cindy Dandois (+115)
Genah Fabian (2-1) vs. Laura Sanchez (1-0)
Weight Class: Women's Lightweight
Neither Fabian nor Sanchez have a lot of experience, but I like the slight favorite in Fabian.
This fight will likely remain standing, and Fabian is a much better striker, as she has had a few pro boxing experiences. She's also had success in PFL, as her lone loss is to Bobbi-Jo Dalziel, and she went the distance in that fight. Sanchez will need to get the fight to the ground, but I doubt she will be able to, and Fabian will either get a decision or TKO win.
The Play: Genah Fabian (-200)
Fabricio Werdum (24-9-1) vs. Renan Ferreira (6-2)
Weight Class: Heavyweight
If you want some action on the main event, I like Fabricio Werdum to pick up the win.
Although Werdum is 43 years old and past his prime, he showed how dangerous he was in his last fight, as he submitted Alexander Gustafsson in the first round.
Ferreira will have a big size advantage, as he's 6-10 with an 83.5-inch reach, compared to Werdum, who is 6-4 with a 77-inch reach. We have seen Werdum get KO'd by Volkov who is a long fighter, yet Ferreira is far from the striker that Volkov is. I do think Werdum will be able to get him down and get a submission win. That prop is -139.
The Play: Fabricio Werdum (-305)
