Dana White’s Contender Series Picks: Week 8 | DraftKings Sportsbook

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Torrez Finney vs Abdellah Er-Ramy

Finney is an explosive athlete with a strong athletic background. Finney played college football at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and was a state champion wrestler in high school. Finney's athleticism shows up in his takedowns, which are primarily based on blast doubles and slam finishes, two techniques that require a lot of power to finish.

Finney has a very unique build, especially for his weight class. At 5’8”, Finney is short for middleweight, but he is massively wide and loaded with muscle mass. Finney also has long arms for his height—his reach was measured at 75.5”, which is a solid reach for the weight class. Finney’s shorter height helps him get underneath his opponents’ hips easier for entries on lower-body takedowns, which helps with blast doubles, one of Finney’s favorite techniques.

Finney has competed on Dana White’s Contender Series twice previously, once in 2023 and once earlier this season. Finney has recorded huge grappling volume in each of his two DWCS fights, recording 17 total takedowns, which translates to 11 takedowns per 15 minutes, a massive rate. Finney has also logged a heavy 18 minutes of total control time.

However, Finney has displayed glaring weaknesses in several areas, most notably in his distance striking. Finney’s striking defense has looked very leaky and he has been lit up in striking exchanges. Finney has absorbed more strikes than he has landed in each of his two DWCS fights, which is a red flag. Finney's offensive striking output has also been poor, landing only 1.5 significant strikes per minute. However, Finney does have huge punching power, which is a great equalizer and gives him more margin for error. Finney has not been able to showcase his punching power yet on Dana White’s Contender Series, but he has recorded starching KOs on the regional scene.

Finney’s opponent, Abdellah Er-Ramy, has experience fighting in major MMA promotions and most recently fought in PFL, where he secured a first-round TKO stoppage. In that fight, Er-Ramy got taken down several times but was able to survive on the ground, scramble back to his feet and land fight-changing power strikes. A similar theme will likely be in play in this fight—Finney is highly likely to take Er-Ramy down early, and the outcome will be decided by Er-Ramy’s ability to survive on the ground and get back to his feet where he can take advantage of Finney’s leaky striking defense.

At distance, Er-Ramy has a high guard with his hands, which is good for boxing defense but will make him vulnerable to Finney’s blast double, as Finney has more clearance to shoot underneath Er-Ramy's arms. Er-Ramy also does not display great grappling physicality, and Finney will take a massive advantage in athleticism and strength into this fight. If Finney’s cardio holds up, he should have no issues taking Er-Ramy down and finally securing a UFC contract with a win by finish.

Prediction: Torrez Finney to win by finish

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All odds provided by DraftKings Sportsbook, lines and odds subject to change.

All views expressed are my own. I am an employee of DraftKings and am ineligible to play in public DFS or DKSB contests. The contents contained in this article do not constitute a representation that any particular strategy will guarantee success. All customers should use their own skill and judgment in building lineups.