The UFC returns to the Meta Apex in Las Vegas as Waldo Cortes-Acosta takes on Johnny Walker in the heavyweight main event at UFC Fight Night. Walker is always full of crazy antics and excitement, while Cortes-Acosta will look to use his slick boxing to win this fight early. The co-main event features a women’s strawweight clash between Tatiana Suarez and Virna Jandiroba; either of these women can make a case for a title shot with a highlight victory. The fights kick off with Prelims at 5:00 PM ET on Paramount+, and the Main Card starts at 8:00 PM ET.
Check out all the latest UFC odds, stats, predictions, and matchup breakdowns for the entire fight card below, and always feel free to reach out to me on Discord or on Twitter at @MikeIannoneDFS. Now let's look at some UFC DFS top picks and plays for Saturday's event. Good luck with your MMA daily fantasy lineups!
MMA DFS Playbook for UFC Fight Night: Cortes Acosta vs Walker
Main Event
| Fighter(s) | Price | Opponent | Risk | Odds | ITD |
| Waldo Cortes-Acosta vs Johnny Walker | 8700/7500 | - | Stackability: Moderate | -230/+190 | |
| Heavyweight is always a volatile division. Cortes-Acosta has much better boxing, but Walker has proven he is no slouch on the feet. I expect Waldo to land the heavier punches with more volume, while Walker looks for the one-shot KO finish. I’m backing Walker to get it done in Round 2/3. | |||||
Expensive Fighters
| Fighter(s) | Price | Opponent | Risk | Odds | ITD |
| Seokhyeon Ko | 9400 | Wellington Turman | Somewhat-Safe | -675 | -300 |
| Ko has massive wrestling upside, and enough power to finish this fight. Turman hasn’t been seen in nearly three years, so we don’t know what to expect from him this week. | |||||
| Austin Bashi | 9000 | Carlos Calderon | Somewhat-Safe | -300 | -150 |
| Bashi has great volume, excellent wrestling, and good cardio. He is someone who, even in a decision, could put up nearly 100 pts, so he is a safe play for his price this week. | |||||
| Mantas Kondratavičius | 9100 | Andre Petroski | Somewhat-Safe | -298 | -200 |
| Petroski has good wrestling that could be a problem for Mantas, but he rarely uses it. If Mantas can shrug off the first takedown attempt, he should be able to dominate this fight. | |||||
| Elijah Smith | 9100 | Davey Grant | Moderate | -310 | -175 |
| Smith is the much better athlete, but he lacks some of Grant's experience. An early win wouldn’t shock me, so he makes a great GPP play, but if this gets out of Round 1, I expect it to be a closely contested battle. | |||||
Mid-Range Fighters
| Fighter(s) | Price | Opponent | Risk | Odds | ITD |
| Tatiana Suarez | 8600 | Virna Jandiroba | Moderate | -205 | 150 |
| Suarez has elite wrestling, but this is a tough matchup on the ground. Someone in this fight likely scores well, and while I think Suarez has the advantage in Round 1, giving her more upside, once this gets to R2/3 it will be tight. | |||||
| Thomas Petersen | 8300 | Gabriel Lorenço | Moderate | -140 | 180 |
| Petersen has good enough wrestling; he needs to grind this fight to a slow pace and wear down Lorenço to find success. | |||||
| José Mauro Delano | 8000 | Murtazali Magomedov | Somewhat-Risky | -118 | 200 |
| Delano has elite volume for this weight class; if he keeps it standing, he should be able to put a pace on Murtazali that he can’t keep up with. | |||||
| Virna Jandiroba | 7800 | Tatiana Suarez | Somewhat-Risky | +170 | 250 |
| Virna has better submissions than Suarez but lacks some of the wrestling. If she finds her way to top control, she should be able to stay there and ride the round out successfully. | |||||
Pay-Down Fighters
| Fighter(s) | Price | Opponent | Risk | Odds | ITD |
| Jonny Parsons | 7300 | José Henrique Souza | Somewhat-Risky | +186 | 300 |
| Parsons is priced to pay off in a competitive welterweight bout. He should be able to keep the fight close, and at his low price, he makes for a good salary-saving play. | |||||
| Davey Grant | 7200 | Elijah Smith | Risky | +250 | 350 |
| Grant has the experience advantage, and whenever he is a dog price, he usually comes through. He is 41 years old, so if he gets KO’d, I won’t be surprised, but if this gets out of Round 1, he should be able to keep it close. | |||||
| Billy Elekana | 7400 | Lucas Fernando | Risky | +260 | 400 |
| Elekana brings athleticism and upside. Fernando is favored, but Elekana’s power and athleticism make him a viable GPP paydown. | |||||
| Andre Petroski | 7100 | Mantas Kondratavičius | Risky | +240 | 450 |
| Petroski is very low volume, so don’t expect a huge score in a decision. If he can get his wrestling going, this is a 50/50 fight. | |||||
| Mitch Raposo | 7600 | Marcos Degli | Risky | +194 | 300 |
| He always fights very close, and while I don’t love this matchup for him, he is someone who normally comes through when you least expect it. He is well-rounded even if he gives up on overall strength and power in this matchup. | |||||
Sample Lineup
Live Dogs
Walker, Jandiroba, Grant, Parsons
Picks and Stats
Waldo Cortes-Acosta | vs | Johnny Walker |
$8,700 | DFS Salary | $7,500 |
17-4-0 | Record | 23-10-0 |
9 | Knockouts | 18 |
1 | Subs | 3 |
-230 | Vegas Odds | +190 |
Tatiana Suarez | vs | Virna Jandiroba |
$8,600 | DFS Salary | $7,800 |
13-1-0 | Record | 23-4-0 |
1 | Knockouts | 3 |
7 | Subs | 14 |
-205 | Vegas Odds | +170 |
Elijah Smith | vs | Davey Grant |
$9,100 | DFS Salary | $7,200 |
10-1-0 | Record | 18-8-0 |
4 | Knockouts | 7 |
3 | Subs | 2 |
-310 | Vegas Odds | +250 |
Seokhyeon Ko | vs | Wellington Turman |
$9,400 | DFS Salary | $6,800 |
13-3-0 | Record | 18-8-0 |
6 | Knockouts | 6 |
0 | Subs | 5 |
-675 | Vegas Odds | +490 |
Austin Bashi | vs | Carlos Calderon |
$9,000 | DFS Salary | $7,200 |
14-2-0 | Record | 11-4-0 |
5 | Knockouts | 4 |
4 | Subs | 3 |
-300 | Vegas Odds | +240 |
Mantas Kondratavičius | vs | Andre Petroski |
$9,100 | DFS Salary | $7,100 |
9-1-0 | Record | 13-7-0 |
5 | Knockouts | 3 |
2 | Subs | 5 |
-298 | Vegas Odds | +240 |
José Mauro Delano | vs | Murtazali Magomedov |
$8,000 | DFS Salary | $8,200 |
17-3-0 | Record | 11-0-0 |
8 | Knockouts | 4 |
3 | Subs | 5 |
-118 | Vegas Odds | -102 |
Thomas Petersen | vs | Gabriel Lorenço |
$8,300 | DFS Salary | $7,900 |
11-5-0 | Record | 8-1-0 |
4 | Knockouts | 5 |
2 | Subs | 1 |
-140 | Vegas Odds | +120 |
Jonny Parsons | vs | José Henrique Souza |
$7,300 | DFS Salary | $8,900 |
9-3-0 | Record | 9-1-0 |
3 | Knockouts | 4 |
1 | Subs | 2 |
+186 | Vegas Odds | -245 |
Billy Elekana | vs | Lucas Fernando |
$7,400 | DFS Salary | $8,800 |
10-2-0 | Record | 14-3-0 |
4 | Knockouts | 6 |
1 | Subs | 3 |
+260 | Vegas Odds | -325 |
Mitch Raposo | vs | Marcos Degli |
$7,600 | DFS Salary | $8,600 |
11-3-0 | Record | 15-3-0 |
4 | Knockouts | 5 |
3 | Subs | 4 |
+194 | Vegas Odds | -237 |