This article is part of our UFC Picks series.
When you think of the light heavyweight division in MMA, the first name that comes to mind for most is Jon "Bones" Jones. There's little doubt he was once the greatest pound-for-pound fighter on the entire roster, but he's competed just once since the beginning of 2015. While personal and USADA-related suspensions have kept him from stepping into the octagon, Daniel "DC" Cormier has emerged to take the UFC light heavyweight strap, beating Anthony "Rumble" Johnson via submission at UFC 187 back in May of 2015. Johnson has since bounced back, however, winning three straight fights via stoppage within two rounds. Cormier will now defend his belt once more against Johnson, this time as a (+105) underdog. Only one thing is certain, though -- all roads in this division eventually lead to Jones.In an effort to offer our readers additional perspectives, please welcome Jason Rubin and Chris Olson to our staff picks -- both long-time MMA fans, RotoWire contributors and friends of the site. You can read more in their bios below.
If you're looking for a fantasy-specific breakdown of these fights on DraftKings, click here for Jon Litterine's UFC 210 preview.
MATCHUP | WEIGHT CLASS | JON | EVAN | JAKE |
Anthony Johnson (-125) vs. Daniel Cormier (+105) | Light Heavyweight | Cormier | ||
Chris Weidman (-105) vs. Gegard Mousasi (-115) | Middleweight | Mousasi | ||
Cynthia Calvillo (-280) vs. Pearl Gonzalez (+240) | Women's Strawweight | Calvillo | Calvillo | Calvillo |
Patrick Cote (-155) vs. Thiago Alves (+135) | Welterweight | |||
Charles Oliveira (+215) vs. Will Brooks (-255) | Lightweight | |||
RECORD | 1-4 | 2-3 | 2-3 | |
OVERALL (since UFC 200) | 37-28 | 34-31 | 39-26 |
MATCHUP | WEIGHT CLASS | RICHARD | CHRIS | JASON |
Anthony Johnson (-125) vs. Daniel Cormier (+105) | Light Heavyweight | Cormier | Cormier | |
Chris Weidman (-105) vs. Gegard Mousasi (-115) | Middleweight | Mousasi | Mousasi | Mousasi |
Cynthia Calvillo (-280) vs. Pearl Gonzalez (+240) | Women's Strawweight | Calvillo | Calvillo | |
Patrick Cote (-155) vs. Thiago Alves (+135) | Welterweight | Alves | Alves | |
Charles Oliveira (+215) vs. Will Brooks (-255) | Lightweight | |||
RECORD | 3-2 | 3-2 | 3-2 | |
OVERALL (since UFC 200) | 23-13 | 3-2 | 3-2 |
THE PLAYERS
Jon Litterine: RotoWire lead MMA beat writer and scribe for our weekly DrafKings preview. Lead analyst on the RotoWire MMA Podcast. Follow him on Twitter at @JonLitterine.
Evan Dahl: Pens our bi-weekly MMA Barometer column. Follow him on Twitter at @RealEvanDahl.
Jake Letarski: MMA and NCAA Hoops Senior Editor. Sirius XM contributor. Host of the RotoWire MMA Podcast, RotoWire Fantasy Football Podcast and RotoWire DFS Podcast. Follow him on Twitter at @JakeSki52.
Richard Mann: Richard is a stats-based analyst that has appeared on ESPN MMA via Fightmetric. He handles event recaps in our Fight Stat Wrap column, and maintains his own, data-driven MMA blog at StrikescoreMMA.com. Follow him on Twitter at @RichardAMann.
Chris Olson: Chris writes DFS articles and blogs for a variety of sports including MLB, NFL and MMA. Follow him on Twitter @RealChrisOlson.
Jason Rubin: Jason Rubin is a sports personality and producer, broadcasting on TYTSports since 2014. In addition to RotoWire, he has contributed to numberFire, Rant Sports and Bleacher Report while avidly backing the New York sports market. Follow him on Twitter at @jasonrubin91.
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