UFC Fight Night 66 will take place tomorrow from the Mall of Asia Arena in Manila, Philippines and the fight card will begin at 7 a.m. ET/4 a.m. PT on UFC Fight Pass.
The event will be headlined by a featherweight bout as former UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar meets former WEC featherweight champion Urijah Faber.
Take a look at my Draft Kings preview and recommended lineup for tomorrow’s event.
(For those that are unfamiliar with the Draft Kings format of daily MMA betting: with a cap of $50,000, the objective is to select 5 fighters – who have been allotted prices – to produce as many points as possible. The rules on how points are scored by a particular fighter can be found on the bottom of this article.)
Luke Barnatt, $10,300 vs Mark Munoz
Both middleweights have had a rough go-about it in recent fights with both men sharing a combined five fight losing streak. The thought process between this pick is that Barnatt can capitalize on a fading fighter in Mark Munoz who is retiring after this bout and has only landed three strikes in his last three fights. Look for Barnatt to use his lanky physique to snap his losing skid and potentially get a finish.
Neil Magny, $9,800 vs Hyun Gyu Lim
While it’s a likely probably that this fight goes the distance, there’s a lot to like about the potential of Neil Magny racking up points with strikes on the feet, in the clinch and on the ground. This should be a closely contested fight – Lim should be game in every round and he has significant power in his strikes. Still, Magny should be able to use his technique and length to outpoint Lim en route to a decision.
Phillipe Nover, $8,900 vs Yui Chul Nam
If you can get the “next Anderson Silva” at $8,900, you always have to take it right, right? So Nover has disappointed greatly since his run on The Ultimate Fighter, but he’s progressed quite a bit since the loss to Escudero. Nam’s striking commands respect and is probably the reason why he is the favorite, but Nover should be able to win this fight with his grappling as long as he stays out of reach from Nam’s best strikes.
Kajan Johnson, $9,900 vs Zhang Lipeng
With Kajan Johnson, the biggest concern has to be his chin, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see Lipeng expose that. Lipeng has showcased a lot of raw areas in his game that could ultimately turn into tools that lead to consistent success, but as of today, Johnson has been the more well-rounded and skilled fighter.
Nolan Ticman, $10,700 vs Zhikui Yao
The thought process with this pick is: pick the guy that wasn’t on TUF China.
Draft King’s MMA Scoring System
1st Round Win: 100 points
2nd Round Win: 70 points
3rd Round Win: 50 points
4th Round Win: 40 points
5th Round Win: 40 points
Decision Win: 25 points
Significant Strikes: 0.5 points
Advances: 1 point
Takedowns: 2 points
Reversal/Sweeps: 2 points
Knockdowns: 3 points
