Daily Fantasy MMA Picks for UFC Fight Night 89 - 6/18/16

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A top-heavy card for UFC Fight Night 89 from Ottawa, Canada leaves us with plenty of options and several guys the majority of MMA fans know nothing about. As a fight fan, I want to be super jacked about this card, but I'm just counting down the days until International Fight Week in early July. BUT - as a DFS player, these cards often offer the best opportunity to capitalize on limited mainstream information. Fight Night cards have turned out my biggest scores this year, let's see if we can continue the trend.

Note – I’ll be checking the comments section right until lineup lockup, so let’s get the conversation going. I mean, what’s better than talking daily fantasy?

VEGAS FAVORITE ($10,500+)

Steve Bosse ($10,700)

Vegas Line: -150
Career Record: 11-2
UFC Record: 1-1
Record In Last 5: 4-1
Finishes: 9 KO / 1 Sub / 9 First-Round
Losses by Stoppage: 2 KO
Last Time Out: W, 1st Round KO - James Te Huna

Do. Not. Blink. This fight should be over quick. The line on Bosse has fallen throughout the week but I'm still a believer as the TriStar Gym member takes on Sean O'Connell. Bosse's two UFC fights have both lasted under a minute, with one going each way. On the other side, O'Connell has been finished in six of his seven career losses and that plays into the KO machine that is Bosse -nine knockouts in 13 career fights as well as nine first-round finishes. There are no heavyweight fights on the card so I'll have to settle for a light heavyweight scrap and I think Bosse is the most likely to score a quick KO for over 100 points.

MID-RANGE TARGET ($9,500-$10,400)

Stephen Thompson ($9,800)

Vegas Line: -115
Career Record: 12-1
UFC Record: 7-1
Record In Last 5: 5-0
Finishes: 7 KO / 1 Sub / 5 First-Round
Losses by Stoppage: None
Last Time Out: W, 1st Round TKO - Johnny Hendricks

Here's your disclaimer - I'm recommending a main event stack in cash game lineups. But, if I had to narrow down the main event (and you do in GPP), I'll take Stephen "Wonderboy" Thompson. He looked nothing short of incredible against former champ Johnny Hendricks in February and a win over Rory MacDonald almost guarantees he'll get a shot at the Welterweight title. In his last four fights he has first-round KOs over Hendricks, Jake Ellenberger, and Robert Whittaker - an impressive list to say the least. He finishes fights while MacDonald often sees his bouts dragged into deep water. The main event is razor thin on paper and should have plenty of points both ways but Thompson clearly has the higher finish potential and that's why he gets the nod for DFS.

UPSET ALERT (UNDER $9,500)

Ion Cutelaba ($8,500)

Vegas Line: +170
Career Record: 11-1
UFC Record: 0-0
Record In Last 5: 5-0
Finishes: 9 KO / 2 Subs / 10 First-Round
Losses by Stoppage: None
Last Time Out: W, 1st Round KO - Malik Merad

I'm taking a massive, but calculated, risk on this one. I usually hate guys making their UFC debut, especially when the quality of past opponents appears as low as it does here, but the price on Ion Cutelaba is too good for me to pass up. Another light heavyweight fight that I don't expect to last long - there are 25 bouts between the two fighters and only two have gone to the judges. Cutelaba clearly has massive power with seven straight first-round finishes and while Misha Cirkunov has two UFC wins, they both came against promotional newcomers. Cutelaba has the one-punch power that I love in underdogs - big risk but could be a big reward.

Want to see how these picks and more fit into lineups for UFC Fight Night 89? Shaun is selling lineups for only $5 for DraftKings Cash Games & Tournaments. Just click the button below, this is a separate service than our traditional monthly membership.

 

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