Jim Thomson 
UFC Fight Island 2.
It has been an outstanding fight-filled week, three fight cards on Fight Island in a week! On Wednesday, we witnessed the second-ever fight card in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, and it did not disappoint. Watching live MMA fights on ESPN in the middle of the week was a nice break from the typical everyday workday and much needed. Tonight im here to give you my top three favorite DFS and Sports betting picks for the third fight card on UFC Fight Island. After my posted picks at the later stages of my article, I will have my predicted winner for the remaining fights that were not mentioned. Let’s get started and get ready for Fight Island 2, Saturday, July 18, 2020.
Win Daily Sports is committed to bringing its members and subscribers fresh content daily for as long as the professional sports leagues remain on hiatus. Our goal is to continue to focus on how to be better DFS and Sports Gamblers by teaching you how to do the little things better just like the pros. Sign up at this link and stay prepared!
MY MMA VALUE TARGET (CASH&GPP):
Amir Albazi (-150) (DK 8600) (FD $17) vs. Malcolm Gordon (+130) (DK 7600) (FD $14).
This one took me a while to land on. Gordon is coming in as a +130 underdog, and Albazi is coming in as a -150 favorite. In my opinion, this fight is way closer to a pick-em battle than Vegas odds suggest. In Albazis career, he has never been knocked out or submitted. On multiple different occasions, he came extremely close, whether it be a punch too late or a saved by the bell from a submission.
Gordon has twelve wins and three losses as a professional fighter. He has a two-inch height advantage and a three-inch reach advantage. Malcolm “X” Gordon is rolling hot with a four-fight win streak with 33 percent of his fights ending by KO/TKO, 50 percent by submission, and 17 percent by decision. After watching fight film on both Gordon and Albazi, in my opinion, Gordon is clearly the better fighter. Gordon has the advantage when standing, throwing strikes, on the mat, and grappling.
This is one of those fights that I believe that Vegas has the odds reversed. Albazi could most definitely be looking at his first-ever submission loss coming during his UFC debut. Gordon should come out aggressive, work Amir on the feet, land a nice double leg takedown, steal the back, and slowly work in the Kimura submission to steal the show of the double UFC debut fight.
MY UFC DFS PICK: Malcolm Gordon (+130) (DK 7600) (FD $14). SECOND ROUND STOPPAGE.
MY MMA LOCKED-IN TARGET:
Grant “The Prophet” Dawson (-235) (DK 9200) (FD $19) vs. Nad “Smiler” Narimani (+205) (DK 7000) (FD $12).
Since entering the UFC, Dawson has been on a mission, convincingly winning three fights in a row en route to an undefeated record (3-0). Grant is a special kind of fighter; he is primarily a grappler and is one of the best grapplers I have ever seen. He is bulldozing the competition with his underestimated power and slick submission capabilities. Dawson has the ability to not only control an entire fight, but if he is in the situation where his opponent is attempting a submission, he will likely completely avoid it, slip out like butter, or reverse it in a blink of an eye. The future holds tremendous things for Dawson.
Narimani tends to try and keep fights on the feet when his true strength is wrestling. If he actually forces grappling his opponents instead of attempting to knock them out, I believe he would have a shot here. The problem with this fight is that Dawson is a better wrestler and a better striker than Narimani. I think this fight is going to end relatively quickly. My prediction is that Nad Narimani attempts a takedown that gets reversed immediately, and The Prophet takes his back right into a Rear Naked Choke Submission in the first round.
MY UFC DFS PICK: Grant “The Prophet” Dawson (-235) (DK 9200) (FD $19) FIRST ROUND SUBMISSION.
MY MMA TOP SCORING TARGET:
Roman Dolidze (-160) (DK 8900) (FD $17) vs. Khadis Ibragimov (+140) (DK 7300) (FD $14).
Since Ibragimov has entered the UFC, he has shown that he might have stepped up a little too soon. In his first two fights, He took a unanimous decision loss to Ed Herman and lost via Standing Guillotine Choke to Da Un Jung. In both of those fights, it was evident that his striking defense was nowhere where it needed to be to fight with the best of them at the UFC level. He has shown that he has heart and does not like to give up, but that is not enough. Every fighter needs to be able to at least compete with their opponent in the UFC. Khadis is now matched up against Roman Dolidze, who is making his UFC debut, which in my opinion, will be his toughest test yet.
Dolidze is an animal with heavy hands. Out of his perfect record (6-0), he has finished every one of his opponents. Dolidze is the type of fighter who will give it everything he has the entire fight, look for weaknesses, and will be attempting to completely decapitate his opponent with every punch thrown. He will grapple his opponents in an attempt to submit them or go all out, forcing an immense amount of pressure, until they go to sleep. I do not see Khadis winning this fight. Roman will enter the octagon and immediately bullrush him with non-stop hooks, jabs, and haymakers until the fight is over. Dolidze should have no problem taking out Ibragimov in the first round by TKO.
MY UFC DFS PICK: Roman Dolidze (-160) (DK 8900) (FD $17) FIRST ROUND TKO.
MMA HONORABLE MENTION:
Deiveson Figueiredo (-220) (DK 9000) (FD $22) (First Round TKO)
Serghei Spivac (-170) (DK 8400) (FD $16) (Second Round Submission)
Jack Hermansson (Underdog of the Fight) (-115) (DK 8000) (FD $16) (First Round Submission)
Alexandre Pantoja (-200) (DK 8800) (FD $18) (Second Round TKO)
EXTRA PICKS:
(OTHER FIGHTERS I WILL BE USING)
Montel Jackson (-200) (DK 9100) (FD $19) (Decision)
(I will have two lineups with Brett Johns (+170) because Johns is extremely tough and in the case of a decision, he could potentially win.
Marc Diakiese (-160) (DK 8500) (FD $18) (Decision)
Joel Alvarez (GPP ONLY) (+295) (DK 6900) (FD $11) (Decision)
Davi Ramos (GPP ONLY) (+175) (DK 7500) (FD $13) (Decision)
PREDICTED WINNERS (Winners I am Fading):
Ariane Lipski (-125) (DK 8300) (FD $15) (Decision)
SUMMARY:
On Saturday’s 12 bout MMA UFC DFS slate, I will be building 10 GPP lineups. I will be focusing on the three targets listed in my article to be a part of about 75 percent of my lineups. Always remember the more rounds in a fight, the higher the fantasy score could be. This slate is very tough to predict a winner and all fights are pretty close in skillset. I will use a hedging technique on the fights that are closer in odds. I’m focusing on building a GPP winning lineup.
I’m building lineups that can variate from the field and taking bigger risks tonight. I will use my core fighters (Value, Locked-In, Top Scoring, Honorable Mention) to be a staple in my DFS lineups, and I will build around them using the available salary with the remainder of my predicted winners. Remember, to take down a GPP; you have to be different and take risks. Scared money doesn’t make money in tournaments. For any further questions, I will be available until lock in our WinDaily Discord chat or you can find me on Twitter @JThomsonDFS. GOOD LUCK and don’t forget to come back and Win Daily!
