NEWS & ADVICE
Despite a recent setback against the current lightweight champion, Edson Barboza makes for a sneaky underdog play on DraftKings this week. Jon Litterine has the full Atlantic City card breakdown.
4/21/2018
Fantasy Analysis
A massive first round and a decent second round masked the fact that Willis did virtually nothing during the second half of the fight. Big Pretty has legitimate power in his hands, but his cardio is questionable and his footwork is non existent. Willis is good enough to beat roster depth guys such as Sherman, but his lack of mobility is going to cost him dearly when the competition level rises. Willis is now 3-0 in the UFC and he should get a slightly better opponent his next time out.4/21/2018
Fantasy Analysis
Sherman is stupidly tough and it was a minor miracle that he was able to survive Round 1. He was the better, more active fighter in the third frame, but he did so little early on that he didn't have a prayer of getting the decision from the judge's. Sherman looks like he should be more effective than he actually is. He's a marketable asset, but he simply isn't a very good fighter. Sherman falls to 2-4 in the UFC with Saturday's setback.4/21/2018
Fantasy Analysis
No, that is not a misprint. Branch earned a knockout win, his first since November 15, 2014 against Yushin Okami. Getting eaten alive with leg kicks, Branch finally pushed forced and connected with a wild right hand that finished off Santos. It was a terrific bounce back performance from Branch on the heels of his loss to Luke Rockhold last September. Branch keeps himself in excellent condition, but he turns 37 years old in September and he can't afford many more losses if he wants to remain in the title conversation in the UFC's middleweight division. He responded in a big way on Saturday.4/21/2018
Fantasy Analysis
Four straight knockout victories put Santos in position to make a run in the UFC middleweight division, but this loss is a massive setback for the 34-year-old Brazilian. Santos was throwing a bunch of leg kicks and doing a decent job of keeping the bigger Branch off balance early in the contest prior to the finish, yet one big right hand from Branch that didn't even appear to land flush turned his lights out. Santos' power is undisputed, but he struggles to win fights if he isn't landing with regularity. He is 8-3 in his past 11 fights dating back to January 2015.4/21/2018
Fantasy Analysis
It was the best and most complete performance of Sterling's UFC career. He outclassed an over matched Johns in all aspects of he fight. In addition to a 111-57 edge in total strikes landed, Sterling scored on 4/9 takedown attempts and racked up 6:21 worth of control time. It was a dominant effort against a talented opponent. Aljo asked for former UFC Bantamweight Champion Dominick Cruz in his post-fight interview. That seems highly unlikely to happen, but Saturday's strong effort will get Sterling a big name opponent his next time out.4/21/2018
Fantasy Analysis
Known as a strong grappler, Johns' striking defense, or lack thereof, was the primary reason he suffered the first loss of his pro career on Saturday. He had no answer for Sterling's repeated jabs and he struggled to close the distance against the athletic Serra/Longo product. He was facing a talented opponent, but this was the first time in Johns' young UFC career that we have seen him struggle. It will be interesting to see how he rebounds in his next fight. Johns is young enough (26) that it's reasonable to expect him to make significant strides with his striking skills.
Fighters Who May Be Returning Soon
