Allan Fabrykant 
RIBAS V NAMAJUNAS
We have been on a roll as of late as well near the highly anticipated UFC 300. For now, we are back in Las Vegas for a new Fight Night Card, UFC Vegas 89. The card will feature 13 fights, with some great matchups throughout, and will end with a women’s flyweight bout with two big stars looking to break into the top 15 of a competitive division. Now, with all that out of the way, let’s get right into the action!
SLATE STARTS AT 7:00 PM ET
Exposure to the main event is highly recommended. DFS production in these fights is usually high as they are five-round fights. I do not recommend branching away from the Main Event. These fighters are usually both active, and they can rack up a lot of points. There will be four top plays followed by best bets. Now, let’s get ready to make some money!
Tonight, I’m here to give you my top four favorite DFS and Sports betting picks for UFC Vegas 89 Ribas vs Namajunas.
MY UFC VALUE TARGET (CASH & GPP):
Cameron Saaiman vs Payton Talbott
The odds here are wild to me. Talbott is coming into this one, where he fought as a -775 on his UFC debut and cleanly lost the first round. Despite the scare against Nick Aguirre, Talbott has never been tested by someone with the skill level of Saaiman.
Despite losing the perfect record in his last fight, Saaiman was on a roll with three UFC wins and a Contender Series win where he put together four finishes and a strong decision win.
In the striking game, both of these fighters are very similar. However, Saaiman will have a clear advantage in the grappling department and will be able to put pressure on Talbott, which he hasn’t faced thus far in his MMA career. I think we’ll see some exchanges on the feet to start the fight, and Saaiman will transition the fight to the ground when the opportunity presents itself. I see a lot of technical striking in this matchup, and I predict that this fight will go to the judges for a decision.
MY UFC DFS PICK: Cameron Saaiman UNANIMOUS DECISION
MY UFC LOCKED-IN TARGET (CASH):
Edmen Shahbazyan vs AJ Dobson
Edmen Shahbazyan saw some early success in his UFC career, stringing together a five-fight winning streak before facing Derek Brunson in a main event in 2020, where he was outstruck badly and taken down at will. That started a bit of a spiral where he proceeded to lose three of his next four fights (albeit against stronger competition) mostly by KO. Luckily for Shahbazyan, Dobson is not a high-level fighter by any means.
Dobson has gone 1-2 in his UFC career, with his only win coming against Tafon Nchukwi, who had lost three of his last four coming into that fight, and even then, the fight ended up being fairly close. I don’t see Dobson having the same luck this time around with someone like Shahbazyan, who packs a lot of power in his strikes.
I think Dobson will get in trouble early and will be on the back foot for most of the fight. Realistically, I see this fight ending early. However, if Shahbazyan is in a rhythm, he may coast a bit to a judge’s decision. If you’re betting on Shahbazyan, I would recommend going with the Double Chance (KO/Decision)
MY UFC DFS PICK: Edmen Shahbazyan by SECOND-ROUND KO (possible UNANIMOUS DECISION)
MY UFC TOP SCORING TARGET (GPP):
Ricardo Ramos vs Julian Erosa
I’m honestly surprised at how good the odds are here. Despite the fact that Ramos is a favorite, I expected him to be a much higher favorite. Erosa has lost his last two fights by first round KO and has been knocked out six times over his 14-fight (7-7) UFC career. So, almost half of Erosa’s fights have ended with him getting slept. Even in two of the fights he won, he got knocked down.
Bottom line is that Erosa’s chin is extremely suspect and Ramos is no joke. He’s landed two spinning elbow KOs in his UFC career and is a creative striker that can pose some real problems for Erosa.
Erosa has a high-paced style where he throws out a lot of strikes but also absorbs a lot of strikes. So, if Ramos can handle the early onslaught of pressure, he should be one step ahead of Erosa for the whole fight.
MY UFC DFS PICK: Ricardo Ramos SECOND-ROUND KO (possible THIRD-ROUND KO)
MY MAIN EVENT PREDICTION (CASH & GPP):
Amanda Ribas vs Rose Namajunas
This one was a tough call but I know it was the right call. As good as Ribas is against most people in her division, she is definitely outmatched here against Namajunas. Rose’s striking is simply on another level; not only has she knocked out high-level strikers like Joanna Jedrzejczyk and Zhang Weili, but she can also expose the weaknesses of her opponents quite thoroughly and as we saw on multiple occasions, Ribas does have some areas of improvement, specifically in the striking department.
Ribas is 3-3 over her last six fights, getting KO’d by both Maycee Barber and Marina Rodriguez. Against middle and lower-level competition Ribas thrives and has seen some success in the octagon however, Namajunas definitely has the skill level to cause Ribas a lot of problems.
Namajunas will be pushing at a very high pace and pushing forward with a lot of strikes. Since this is a 5-round fight, I can see the extra rounds posing a much bigger problem for Ribas than Namajunas. Of her last eight fights, six have been championship fights (5-rounds), and three of them went the full five rounds. Ribas has no experience in 5-round fights. As much as I think Ribas would have better luck against other competition, tonight simply won’t be her night.
MY UFC DFS PICK: Rose Namajunas UNANIMOUS DECISION (possible FOURTH-ROUND KO)
SUMMARY:
On Saturday’s fourteen-bout MMA UFC DFS slate, I am finally allowed to bet again on UFC as restrictions have now been lifted in my area. As such, I will play the Parlay of the Day. 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. GOOD LUCK, and don’t forget to come back and Win Daily!
TOP BETS
PARLAY OF THE DAY
Steve Nguyen (Double Chance KO/Decision) -125
Ricardo Ramos -170
Edmen Shahbazyan (Double Chance KO/Decision) -145
PLAYS OF THE DAY
- Montserrat Rendon vs Darya Zheleznyakova to Go the Distance -300
- Miles Johns by Decision +190
