UFC Fight Night 69 will take place today from the O2 World in Berlin, Germany and the fight card will begin at 12 p.m. ET/9 a.m. PT on UFC Fight Pass.
The event will be headlined by a title fight as Joanna Jedrzejczuk defending the UFC women’s strawweight title against Ultimate Fighter 20 alum Jessica Penne.
Take a look at my Draft Kings preview and recommended lineup for today’s event.
Joanna Jedrzejczyk ($11,300) vs. Jessica Penne
The set-up here is to build the team around the strawweight champion. Jessica Penne deserves a lot of credit for being a tough, well-rounded 115-pounder that’ll be a name in the division for while. With that being said, Jedrzejczyk has established – especially in her last fight – that she is a really special fighter, specifically with her striking. Unless, her last fight was a misnomer then I’ll be surprised if the Polish champ drops the belt anytime in the near future. I’d anticipate that Jedrzejczyk will be able to avoid the ground game and pick away at Penne on the feet.
Mairbek Taisumov ($10,100) vs. Alan Patrick
In an even-money fight between two up-and-coming, promising lightweight fighters, I’ll go with Taisumov. He’s struggled in his UFC career, but he’s shown a serious ceiling and has taken some nice steps forward in his last fights. It’s been a while since Patrick last fought in the UFC, and the absence from competition may be enough for him to struggle against a game Taisumov.
Scott Askham ($10,700) vs. Antonio dos Santos
Look for Askham to get his first promotional win and show what he brought to table in his BAMMA and Cage Warriors days. Askham has the advantage in may areas including experience, physique, refined skills and finishing ability.
Steve Kennedy ($8,500) vs. Peter Sobotta
The pick for Kennedy is solely based on value here. Sobotta has proven himself outside of the UFC, and he’s had solid preparation in the lead-up to a fight in his home country of Germany. Still, it’s hard for me to get behind him being such a big favorite versus a capable fighter in Steve Kennedy.
Tatsuya Kawajiri ($9,100) vs. Dennis Siver
With the remaining salary, I’ll lay down the rest on Kawajiri. I’m picking Siver in my official picks for the site, but it’s not a selection that I’m confident about at all. This is really a pick-em fight between two featherweights that have shown a real inconsistency in having amazing performances that reflect their best attributes – Siver with his striking, and Kawajiri with his grappling – and they’ve had outings that lowlight their age. I’ll put the rest of my Draft Kings cap on the idea that Kawajiri will be able to score takedowns on Siver and outpoint him.
(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
