See the top DraftKings MMA DFS picks and strategy for UFC Vegas 113: Bautista vs. Oliveira. Build winning lineups with our preview, analysis & fighter breakdowns.
UFC Vegas 113 DraftKings DFS Preview and Picks
If you're hoping to turn the event into an opportunity to build your DFS bankroll, DraftKings.com has you covered with a full slate of contests, including a $333k UFC Throwdown with $100k to first place. Players get a $50,000 budget to select six fighters, and the scoring rules are noted at the bottom of the column. Let's get to the action...
Main Event - Bantamweight
Mario Bautista (16-3-0) v. Vinicius Oliveira (23-3-0)
DK Salaries: Bautista ($8,800), Oliveira ($7,400)
Vegas Odds: Bautista (-185), Oliveira (+155)
This matchup isn't going to do a ton for the casual fan but it projects to be as about an entertaining a fight as the UFC can currently schedule at 135 pounds.
Bautista remains one of the most underrated fighters in the sport today. He won eight straight from February 2022 to June 2025, with victories over Patchy Mix, Jose Aldo and Ricky Simon during that stretch. The only complaint is five of the eight came via decision, with the other three being submissions. Bautista faced a major step up in competition against Umar Nurmagomedov his last time out in October and it didn't go well. He was swept on the scorecards in a three-round fight, giving up 11 takedowns and 10:46 worth of control time in the process. Mario might not quite be on the same level as true top title contenders as Umar, but he's not too far off.
Counting his fight on Dana White's Contender Series, Oliveira is 5-0 under the UFC banner with two knockouts and three unanimous decision wins on his resume. He's looked great, with the only knock being that, on the whole, he hasn't fought anywhere near the level of competition Bautista has. Oliveira has a win over Simon as well as over Kyler Phillips and Said Nurmagomedov, so he's not been going out there against fringe-roster fighters at least. He's not a kid at age 30 and I have no issue with him being given this main event spot. Let's see what Oliveira has.
Bautista is a high-volume striker (5.58 significant strikes landed per minute). He's in your face at all times and never seems to back down. It's volume-over-power on the feet, but he trains with an elite camp at the MMA Lab in Arizona and he always seems to be well prepared. His shown the ability to make in-fight adjustments when needed and he's always possessed strong foot work.
His takedown defense looks lousy on paper at 54 percent, but that number is largely skewed by the 11 he allowed to Nurmagomedov. Grappling is definitely the way to beat him, but I wouldn't say he has a massive hole in his game in that one area.
Oliveira lands at a near similar clip offensively (5.28 significant strikes per minute) as Bautista and he's much better defensively, absorbing just 2.89 significant strikes per minute. For comparison sake, Bautista is at 4.19 in that area.
While he's not a pure wrestler, the Brazilian has landed at least one takedown in each of his four official UFC fights. I certainly don't expect him to have the success grappling that Umar did, but even one of two well-timed shots in a five scheduled for 25 minutes could end up being the difference between winning and losing.
I wish we were getting Bautista at more like $8,400 or $8,500 instead of $8,800, but he's still the pick. He's faced better competition and on paper, this looks like a solid matchup for him. I will say, if you're an Oliveira believer or on the fence about this matchup, his salary seems more than fair. Should he dispatch Bautista, it figures to be quite a while until he has a salary as cheap as this one once again.
UFC VEGAS 113 PICK: Bautista
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Co-Main Event - Flyweight
Amir Albazi (17-2-0) v. Kyoji Horiguchi (35-5-0, 1NC)
DK Salaries: Albazi ($6,900), Horiguchi ($9,300)
Vegas Odds: Albazi (+295), Horiguchi (-375)
Albazi bounced around numerous different organizations including Bellator before arriving in the UFC back in July 2020. He won each of his first five fights with the company, including three (two submissions, one knockout) via stoppage. It looks great on paper, but his June 2023 split decision win over Kai-Kara France was one of the worst decisions of the year. Regardless, it put him in a position to face Brandon Moreno in his next fight in November 2024, which he lost via unanimous decision. Albazi has been on the sidelines since after withdrawing a week before a scheduled main event against Tatsuro Taira in August. I'm assuming he's healthy now after a year-plus away, but that's really just a guess.
Horiguchi's first UFC stint lasted from October 2013 to November 2016. He fought Demetrious Johnson for the UFC Flyweight Championship in in April 2015. He eventually left the company, spending time with both Rizin and Bellator before returning and dominating Tagir Ulanbekov via submission last November. Flyweight is a young man's division and Horiguchi will be 36 years of age in October, but I have zero doubt this guy is one of the most talented and best all-around 125-pounders in the world today and I expect him to fight for UFC gold again at some point in the future.
I really struggle to find anything Albazi does all that well.
He's shockingly low volume on the feet, averaging 2.72 significant strikes landed per minute. When you see a number that low, you typically think of a guy with a wrestling-heavy style who spends a ton of time in top position, but Albazi averages just 1.39 takedowns per 15 minutes.
In his last two fights against Moreno and Kara-France -- both of which went the five-round distance -- Amir landed 63 and 43 significant strikes respectively. At that rate, what's he going to land here against Horiguchi? 30? Not good enough.
With 15 career wins via knockout Kyoji has above-average power for a flyweight. He's super athletic and constantly moving. He's not a huge grappler himself, but Albazi is rocking a career 50 percent takedown defense. I can absolutely see Horiguchi picking up a takedown or two to steal a close round.
As well schooled as Horiguchi is, I feel like you better be an elite athlete or have one elite skill to fall back upon in order to beat him. I don't remotely see either of those things in regard to Albazi.
This was the easiest pick on the entire card for me.
UFC VEGAS 113 PICK: Horiguchi
Heavyweight
Jailton Almeida (22-4-0) v. Rizvan Kuniev (12-3-1, 1NC)
DK Salaries: Almeida ($8,500), Kuniev ($7,700)
Vegas Odds: Almeida (-150), Kuniev (+125)
This was originally scheduled to be Almeida and Ryan Spann before the latter withdrew just a handful of weeks ago. I'm not a huge Spann guy and think this is a tougher matchup for the Brazilian.
Almeida is difficult to figure out. His overall record looks great. He's 8-2 with the UFC, with the two setbacks being a knockout against Curtis Blaydes in a fight in which he couldn't have been more dominant early on, and the other being a split decision to Alexander Volkov, a guy I rate very highly, his last time out in October.
Kuniev has bounced between countless organizations in his pro career, including fighting once in the PFL and twice on Dana White's Contender Series. He made his official UFC debut against Blaydes last June and looked much better than most anyone, myself included, expected. He dropped a split decision that evening, although there was a real case to be made that he deserved the victory. Blaydes is a fringe top-five guy at heavyweight, so it was a strong debut despite the setback.
The strong record aside, Almeida has some clear flaws in his game. He's probably the most explosive heavyweight on the roster, averaging 6.66 takedowns per 15 minutes. That's all well and good, but he tends to do nothing with his positional advantage.
He landed seven takedowns and racked up 10:47 worth of control time against Volkov and managed just nine significant strikes. That is not a misprint. Now more than ever, judges are scoring rounds based upon damage inflicted. Landing a takedown and hanging out in top position and doing nothing isn't going to win you a fight.
Kuniev's takedown defense was brilliant in his debut, as he stuffed 13-of-15 attempts from Blaydes, who is probably the second-most explosive fighter in the division. The takedown defense is going to have to be on point once again if he hopes to win this one.
Your pick here depends on what you value the most. Do you value the guy with the one elite skill in Almeida? Or do you prefer Kuniev, who is much more well-rounded, should have an advantage on the feet, and just showed well against a guy with a theoretical similar skill set to Almeida in Blaydes?
I can't really fault those that go with a Kuniev pick here, but I still don't think it's a lock that he is able to generate enough offense to win. Kuniev's takedown defense is almost certainly better, but I think the most likely scenario here for Almeida is a repeat performance of the Volkov fight.
That would make it closer to a 50/50 result, in which case I want to bet on the better athlete and that's Almeida. It doesn't feel great.
UFC VEGAS 113 PICK: Almeida
Middleweight
Michal Oleksiejczuk (21-9-0, 1NC) v. Marc-Andre Barriault (17-10-0, 1NC)
DK Salaries: Oleksiejczuk ($9,100), Barriault ($7,100)
Vegas Odds: Oleksiejczuk (-360), Barriault (+285)
Somehow still just 30 years old for another handful of weeks, Oleksiejczuk has always been long on talent and short on actual production. He's capable of a stellar performance or two, but he can't turn it into a prolonged winning streak. That's what makes this fight so important for him. Mikey O lost three straight back in 2024 and four of five dating back to April 2023. He looked like an obvious release candidate, but the company gave not only gave him another chance, but he matched him up as soft as possible at 185 pounds. The end result was back-to-back knockout wins over Sedriques Dumas and Gerald Meerschaert his last two times out. He's facing a theoretical stiffer test in Barriault, although not by much.
Barriault is currently in the midst of a 1-4 stretch, with the lone win coming back in May 2025 against Bruno Silva, a guy that had openly said he probably shouldn't be fighting anymore. He'll be 36 years of age 11 days after this event takes place, and although he's highly entertaining, the long-term upside here is zero.
Forever, Oleksiejczuk and Barriault employed exactly the same style. They both have a ton of power and typically pay zero attention to defending themselves. They'll attack you the second the opening bell rings and let the chips fall where they may. Barriault in particular is always willing to eat a strike in order to land two of his own. Two of his last three defeats have come via knockout and he's getting up there in age, so durability is a major, major concern.
To Oleksiejczuk's credit, he switched camps recently, spending far more time with the Fighting Nerds in Brazil and although it's come at the expense of lousy competition, it appears to have turned his career around.
He's picking his spots much better. Instead of rushing in and fighting foolishly, Oleksiejczuk is displaying patience and smarts. If he hurts his opponent, he is intelligently seeking a finish instead of firing off a billion shots and tiring himself out in the process.
I have zero idea if this is going to last and I don't think a fight against Barriault is going to answer that question for us one way or another because Oleksiejczuk should win, but he has real talent. Barriault, on the other hand, couldn't change his style of fighting at this point even if he wanted to.
UFC VEGAS 113 PICK: Oleksiejczuk
Other Bouts
Bantamweight
Jean Matsumoto (17-1-0) v. Farid Basharat (14-0-0)
DK Salaries: Matsumoto ($7,200), Basharat ($9,000)
Vegas Odds: Matsumoto (+240), Basharat (-300)
UFC VEGAS 113 PICK: Basharat
Light Heavyweight
Dustin Jacoby (21-9-1) v. Julius Walker (7-1-0)
DK Salaries: Jacoby ($8,700), Walker ($7,500)
Vegas Odds: Jacoby (-185), Walker (+155)
UFC VEGAS 113 PICK: Walker
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Welterweight
Alex Morono (24-12-0, 1NC) v. Daniil Donchenko (13-2-0)
DK Salaries: Morono ($6,600), Donchenko ($9,600)
Vegas Odds: Morono (+440), Donchenko (-600)
UFC VEGAS 113 PICK: Donchenko
Women's Strawweight
Bruna Brasil (11-5-1) v. Ketlen Souza (15-6-0)
DK Salaries: Brasil ($7,800), Souza ($8,400)
Vegas Odds: Brasil (+140), Souza (-165)
UFC VEGAS 113 PICK: Souza
Bantamweight
Said Nurmagomedov (18-5-0) v. Javid Basharat (14-2-0, 1NC)
DK Salaries: Nurmagomedov ($7,900), Basharat ($8,300)
Vegas Odds: Nurmagomedov (+105), Basharat (-125)
UFC VEGAS 113 PICK: Basharat
Women's Flyweight
Cong Wang (8-1-0) v. Eduarda Moura (12-1-0)
DK Salaries: Wang ($9,200), Moura ($7,000)
Vegas Odds: Wang (-380), Moura (+300)
UFC VEGAS 113 PICK: Wang
Bantamweight
Muin Gafurov (20-6-0) v. Jakub Wiklacz (17-3-2)
DK Salaries: Gafurov ($8,200), Wiklacz ($8,000)
Vegas Odds: Gafurov (-130), Wiklacz (+110)
UFC VEGAS 113 PICK: Wiklacz
Women's Bantamweight
Klaudia Sygula (7-2-0) v. Priscila Cachoeira (13-7-0)
DK Salaries: Sygula ($8,600), Cachoeira ($7,600)
Vegas Odds: Sygula (-150), Cachoeira (+125)
UFC VEGAS 113 PICK: Cachoeira
Note: All odds accurate as of time of posting, and taken from the DraftKings Sportsbook, if available. Check out DraftKings to bet on MMA Odds and use the DraftKings promo code for a great welcome offer.
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DraftKings MMA Scoring
Note: Scoring has been updated as of early-2021! Please review the scoring changes below.
Moves Scoring
Strikes: +0.2 PTS
Significant Strikes (SS): +0.2 PTS
Control Time: +0.03 PTS/SECOND
Takedown (TD): +5 PTS
Reversal/Sweep (REV): +5 PTS
Knockdown (KD): +10 PTS
Fight Conclusion Bonuses
1st Round Win (1rW+): +90 PTS
2nd Round Win (2rW+): +70 PTS
3rd Round Win (3rW+): +45 PTS
4th Round Win (4rW+): +40 PTS
5th Round Win (5rW+): +40 PTS
Decision Win (WBD+): +30 PTS
Quick Win Bonus: +25 PTS
(fight is finished in 60 seconds or less)
Scoring Notes
- Significant Strikes are any Distance Strike or Clinch/Ground Strikes that are considered "Power Strikes" by official scorers.
- A Significant Strike will count as both a strike and a significant strike and will be worth a total of 0.4 Pts
- Control Time is the time spent in the dominant position on the ground or in the clinch. +0.03 points are awarded per second.
- A Knockdown is awarded to a fighter who knocks his/her opponent down due to debilitation for what the official scorers consider an appreciable amount of time.
- A Quick Win Bonus is awarded to the winning fighter if they win in the first round in 60 seconds or less.FEB
