UFC on FOX 16 will take place today from the United Center in Chicago, Illinois and the fight card will begin at 4:15 p.m. ET/1:15 p.m. PT with four preliminary bout on Fight Pass before the televised preliminary card begins at 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT on FOX.
The main card on FOX will begin at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT and will he headlined by a title fight rematch as T.J. Dillashaw defends the bantamweight title against former champion Renan Barao.
Take a look at my Draft Kings preview and recommended lineup for today’s event.
T.J. Dillashaw ($10,900) vs. Renan Barao
When Renan Barao was UFC bantamweight champion, it was a given that had he somehow dropped the belt, he’d receive an automatic rematch, no questions asked. It speaks to how great T.J. Dillashaw looked when he topped Barao, that there actually where some questions asked when the fight was announced. In their initial bout, Dillashaw controlled the entire fight, eventually outclassing Barao with barrages and putting him away in the fifth frame. It’s a given that Barao will look better in his second tilt with Dillashaw, although how great the champ looked against the ex-titleholder allows me to feel comfortable with placing Dillashaw in the lineup.
Joe Lauzon ($11,100) vs. Takanori Gomi
A Joe Lauzon fight makes two promises: a quick initiation of action and a high variance of possible finishes. Lauzon’s aggressiveness has made him perennial fight of the night or performance of the night contender, and it’s also got him into trouble later into fights. As cool and nostalgics as it would be to see Gomi get another quality UFC win, his increasing age in the sport presents the likely outcome of a Lauzon submission win.
Edson Barboza ($9,700) vs. Paul Felder
In a fight in which both Edson Barboza and Paul Felder are assigned the same dollar amount, my selection is Barboza. The reason for the Barboza pick is that I expect the fight to play out on the feet, and while Felder has shown a real successful technical striking approach, at some point Barboza’s explosive and aggressive nature could lead to a highlight-reel worthy victory.
James Krause ($9,100) and Gian Villante ($8,600)
The remaining salary goes to two underdogs – at least according to Draft Kings. On most best lines Krause is a slight underdog against Daron Cruickshank, but Villante is actually a favorite in his fight against Tom Lawlor. The thought process regarding Villante being at such a low value on DK is likely due to inability to defend strikes. Taking into account that deficiency in Villante’s game, he makes his way onto the team because of his physical ability and offense as well as the fact Lawlor has been away from competing for quite a while. The Krause/Cruickshank bout promises to be a back-and-forth scrap on the feet, so the thinking behind taking him is taking the slight dog in a razor-thin fight prone to a volatile result.
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
