UFC 273 Best Bets On DraftKings Sportsbook

Chimaev has monstrous offensive wrestling, thoroughly and brutally manhandling opponents. In Chimaev’s most recent fight against Li Jingliang, he so easily ragdolled Jingliang with a bodylock that Chimaev decided to yell at UFC president Dana White while he was holding Jingliang in the air. This type of thorough dominance is incredibly rare in the UFC, and Chimaev is one of the most exciting prospects the UFC has ever seen.

Chimaev has unbelievable metrics through four UFC fights. Chimaev is landing just under nine significant strikes per minute and has absorbed just one total significant strike in four UFC fights. This gives Chimaev an incredible significant strikes landed to absorbed ratio of 112:1.

Order UFC 273: Volkanovski vs Korean Zombie | How To Watch In Your Country

Gilbert Burns is a huge step up in competition for Chimaev. Burns is a world champion in jiu jitsu, so it will be very difficult for Chimaev to submit Burns or advance to positions on the ground that would make a finish easy. As a world champion in BJJ, Burns’ submission defense is excellent, as is his positional game on the ground. Chimaev will have a difficult time taking Burns’ back or getting into a dominant top position, which is how he has finished his opponents by submission.

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Instead, it is much more likely that Chimaev will win this fight either by decision or KO/TKO. Chimaev has showcased one-punch knockout power, most notably in his win over Gerald Meerschaert, and Burns is coming off a recent knockout loss to Kamaru Usman. A decision win is also a realistic outcome—if Chimaev can record takedowns but cannot advance to strong positions to help him finish the fight, we could see Chimaev win a decision based on takedowns, close-distance striking volume and control time.

Eliminating the submission finish against a world champ in jiu jitsu and taking Chimaev to win by decision or KO/TKO cuts the moneyline down from a heavy -525 to a much more reasonable -150. Since it will be difficult for Chimaev to submit Burns, this is an appealing trade-off.

Pick: Khamzat Chimaev to win by KO/TKO or Decision (-150)

Alexander Volkanovski vs. Chan Sung Jung

Like Khamzat Chimaev, Volkanovski is a gigantic favorite on the moneyline, sitting at -800, which is one of the higher marks you’ll see in a men’s title fight. Like Chimaev, looking at other DraftKings Sportsbook bets besides the moneyline could be a way to extract better value for a fight that Volkanovski is highly likely to win.

Volkanovski is extremely tough and durable, and his toughness was best on display in his most recent fight against Brian Ortega. Ortega had Volkanovski in a tight mounted guillotine choke that a lot of fighters would have tapped to, but Volkanovski managed to survive the choke and escape the bad position.

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Volkanovski later found himself in a triangle choke and managed to escape that submission attempt as well. Volkanovski’s toughness and durability give him more margin for error.

Volkanovski has been a decision machine. All four of Volkanovski’s last four fights have been decision wins. Five of Volkanovski’s last six fights have gone to decision, and seven of Volkanovski’s last nine UFC fights have gone to decision. Chan Sung Jung is also tough and durable, which is how he got his nickname “The Korean Zombie”. Between these two fighters, their last six fights combined have gone to decision.

A fight between two very tough fighters at a lighter weight class is a recipe for a long fight, and taking the fight to end in a decision is an appealing consideration at -165.

Pick: Exact Method of Victory: Decision (-165)

Aljamain Sterling vs. Petr Yan