UFC Fight Night 70 will take place today from the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casin in Hollywood, Florida and the fight card will begin at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on Fox Sports 2.
The event will be headlined by a middleweight bout as former UFC champion Lyoto Machida looks to get back on the winning side of the fight when he meets Olympic freestyle wrestling silver medalist Yoel Romero.
Take a look at my Draft Kings preview and recommended lineup for today’s event.
Lyoto Machida ($10,500) vs. Yoel Romero
On a 9-fight card with a lot of close bouts, it’s slim pickings at UFC Fight Night 70 from a Draft Kings standpoint. On a normal fight card, I probably wouldn’t have Machida on my team – there’s a lot of risk giving his price, how poor he looked against Luke Rockhold and how great run Romero has been on. That being said, I like Machida here because I think he’s still incredibly dangerous on the feet and will eventually catch Romero with a counter-shot. If Romero runs through Machida, I wouldn’t be shocked – Machida is clearly on the descent of his career, but I still think Machida has a few more prime outings in him.
Alex Oliveira ($11,800) vs. Joe Merritt
A .500 start to Oliveira’s UFC career doesn’t tell the whole story with him. His blistering win over KJ Noons was remarkable, and he showed real promise in his promotional debut against Gilbert Burns. Joe Merritt has a solid resume on the regional scene, and he’ll probably end up with a few UFC wins down the line. The problem for Merritt is that he’s taking on Oliveira who if his last performance is indicative on what happens tonight – should win in impressive fashion.
Steve Montgomery ($10,500) vs. Tony Sims
There’s a lot to like about both Montgomery and Sims from a prospect standpoint, especially with their striking. I’m siding with Montgomery here because of the unorthodox nature of his stand-up, his length on the feet and the level of competition he’s faced prior to the UFC.
Eddie Gordon ($8,400) and Steve Bosse ($8,700)
With the remainder of the salary I have left over, I’ll put it on two underdogs. The thought process between these two picks is that I think they’re opponents – Antonio Carlos Jr. and Thiago Santos – are slightly overvalued, and that both Gordon and Bosse possess significant power in their strikes. Sure, Gordon and Bosse both have their blemishes. Gordon can look really, really bad (case in point being his last fight), and Bosse hasn’t fought since 2013. There’s real risk with having both of these guys on your team, but the reward could be winning your league.
(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.)
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
