UFC Fight Night DFS Picks & Lineups: Royval vs. Kape Cheat Sheet, 12/13

Published: Dec 12, 2025

Updated: Dec 12, 2025

UFC Fight Night: Royval vs Kape takes place this Saturday from Qatar. The card kicks off with the Prelims at 7:00 PM EST on ESPN+, followed by the Main Card at 10:00 on ESPN+ PPV. This card features two of the top flyweights in the main event, with both looking to get in the title picture for 2026. Brandon Royval had his shot for the belt and gave a good account of himself, and is coming off a back-and-forth fight against the current champion, Joshua Van. Manel Kape has as much power as anyone can at 125lbs, and should be able to dictate where this fight takes place. This fight should be all action in a classic power vs speed match-up.

Check out all the latest UFC on ESPN odds, stats, predictions, and matchup breakdowns for the entire fight card below, and always feel free to reach out to me in 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: Royval vs Kape

Main Event
Fighter(s)	Price	Opponent	Risk	Odds	ITD
Brandon Royval vs Manel Kape	#N/A	-	Stackability: Low	230/ -310	500./110.
An exciting flyweight main event to end the year. Royval has challenged for a belt so he has the experience here, but Kape comes in has a massive favorite at -310. I think this line should be closer, especially since Royval just put up 200 significant strikes in a 3 round fight against Joshua Van so we know he can push the pace. Kape has more power and should be able to outmuscle Royval, but he could fade with the pace that Royval is going to push. I'm picking Kape to win, but this fight will not be as easy as the line suggests.

Expensive Fighters

Expensive
Fighter(s)	Price	Opponent	Risk	Odds	ITD
Yaroslav Amosov	9400	Neil Magny	Somewhat-Safe	-1,100	-105
Amosov is a great counter wrestler and should be able to outmuscle Magny. If he doesn't finish Magny early this might be a weird fight that ends up going the distance, but if someone is getting the finish here it'll be Yaroslav and I see him getting it done by early KO.
Kevin Vallejos	9100	Giga Chikadze	Somewhat-Safe	-320	165.
Vallejos should be able to wrestle here, and while this is a big step up in competition, I think he'll be able to push the pace. Giga is a good kickboxer but he is aging and his durability hasn't been as good as in years past. I think Kevin gets it done by decision.
Joanderson Brito	9000	Isaac Thomson	Somewhat-Safe	-245	110.
When Brito has the physicality advantage he can take over a fight and he might have it here. If Brito can outmuscle Thomson he should be able to control the fight where ever he wants, but Thomson coming in on short notice is a bit of a red flag because we don't know what version of Thomson we will see Saturday.
King Green	9000	Lance Gibson Jr.	Moderate	#N/A	150.
A few years ago this is a Green -500 spot, but his durability has started to go. If this is a clean striking battle I expect Green to win the boxing, but if they are trading power punches in the pocket I'm nervous about his chin holding up. Green is a good piece for lineups, but I'm not overly confident.
Steven Asplund	8900	Sean Sharaf	Moderate	-240	-175
This is the lowest level of heavyweight as we get a 4-1 fighter taking on a 6-1 fighter. Asplund seems a bit more well rounded but this is just a tournament play where the ceiling of the winner is a KO very quickly so they might be the piece you need. I don't think either guy has good cardio, so if this fight goes long we may get a sloppy low scoring heavyweight fight.

Mid-Range Fighters

Mid-Range
Fighter(s)	Price	Opponent	Risk	Odds	ITD
Guilherme Pat	8600	Allen Frye Jr.	Moderate	-176	-125
I think Pat is the side here but this is another fight of low level fighters making their UFC debut. Pat is absolutely jacked and he looks to have fought some better competition. This is another fight where the winner should score well on DraftKings.
Morgan Charriere	8000	Melquizael Costa	Moderate	-115	250.
Charriere is more physical and has much more power in his striking. I expect him to land early and often on Costa. As long as he avoids the takedowns he wins this fight.
Marcus Buchecha	7800	Kennedy Nzechukwu	Somewhat-Risky	110	165.
Taking a dog shot on a submission specialist at heavyweight never seems to workout, but I think Marcus should be able to outmuscle Kennedy here. Takedowns should be available, and once he gets on top he shouldn't lose position. Kennedy can go from winning fights against top contenders like Carlos Ulberg, to losing as a -750 favorite to Ovince St. Preux so he is incredibly tough to gauge.
Luana Santos	8500	Melissa Croden	Somewhat-Risky	-138	380.
Santos is giving up some size but she has submission skills. If this hits the ground with Santos in the favorable position she should be able to win the fight.
Tereza Bleda	8300	Jamey-Lyn Horth	Somewhat-Risky	#N/A	#N/A
Bleda is tough, young, and physical. She is making improvements fight to fight and I expect her to look career best here. It's tough to out physical Horth, but Bleda should be the quick striker on the feet so expect her to get the win.
Allen Frye Jr.	7600	Guilherme Pat	Somewhat-Risky	#N/A	200
Frye is someone I would take a shot on if I had $7600 left for my last slot in my lineup. I don't think he is the better fighter but with these guys only having a handful of fights and most of them being against opponents with losing records he could pull the upset by gassing out Pat.
Melquizael Costa	8200	Morgan Charriere	Risky	-111	475.
Costa has ground and submission skills so he has a clear path here. I don't think he is going to be physical enough to get the fight where he wants it but, if he does get it to the ground he will have a clear advantage.

Paydown Fighters

Pay-Downs
Fighter(s)	Price	Opponent	Risk	Odds	ITD
Cesar Almeida	7500	Cezary Oleksiejczuk	Somewhat-Risky	176	350.
The low level this week is a ton of debuting fighters. I don't like Cesar's chances if his opponent wrestles, and coming from the fighting nerds I'm expecting him to. Cesar has a kickboxing win over Alex Pereira, but he isn't as big of a power puncher so don't expect a one punch KO.
Amanda Lemos	7400	Gillian Robertson	Somewhat-Risky	158	425.
If Lemos keeps this standing she is going to dominate the fight, but she has a bad habit of getting controlled against grapplers. The most likely outcome is for Robertson to get the takedowns and control the fight, but if she can avoid them at least she has a clear path to victory.
Sean Sharaf	7300	Steven Asplund	Risky	190	+275
Low level fight, but he has a better ITD line than a lot of fighters priced above him. He is a great play if you are trying to get first in a tournament, but in a smaller field contest I would avoid him. He is pretty much KO or bust here.
Lance Gibson Jr.	7200	King Green	Risky	+165	#N/A
His dad actually fought in the UFC back in the day but he has taken a slow path to get here. He had one fight in Bellator where he lost in a minute so I'm not expecting much out of him. He has power, but this is a big step up in competition for him.
Isaac Thomson	7200	Joanderson Brito	Risky	186	450.
Thomson is another short notice replacement who only has 10 career fights taking on a UFC veteran in Brito. I think this is a spot I'll probably avoid Thomson, but Brito has shown he'll fade if he faces enough resistance.
Giga Chikadze	6700	#N/A	Risky	235	600.
Giga can KO almost anyone if he lands a good enough kick but I think he is giving up too much speed and wrestling ability here. He is low volume so even in a decision win he won't score well.
Neil Magny	6400	#N/A	Risky	310	700.
He has more experience than his opponent, but he is giving up a lot in terms of explosiveness. This is a bunch of inexperienced fighters so there is a chance for a major upset, but I think the odds are right so he is a big longshot.

Sample Lineup

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AI-generated content may be incorrect.

Live Dogs

Royval, Almeida, Buchecha, Sharaf, Frye

Picks and Stats


Brandon Royval	vs	Manel Kape
$7,000	DFS Salary	$9,200
Record: 17-8-0	Record	Record: 21-7-0
4	Knockouts	13
9	Subs	5
230	Vegas Odds	-310

Giga Chikadze	vs	Kevin Vallejos
$7,100	DFS Salary	$9,100
Record: 15-5-0	Record	Record: 16-1-0
9	Knockouts	11
1	Subs	2
235	Vegas Odds	-320

Cesar Almeida	vs	Cezary Oleksiejczuk
$7,500	DFS Salary	$8,700
Record: 7-1-0	Record	Record: 16-3-0
5	Knockouts	9
0	Subs	2
176	Vegas Odds	-230

Melquizael Costa	vs	Morgan Charriere
$8,200	DFS Salary	$8,000
Record: 24-7-0	Record	Record: 21-11-1
7	Knockouts	13
8	Subs	3
-111	Vegas Odds	-115

Kennedy Nzechukwu	vs	Marcus Buchecha
$8,400	DFS Salary	$7,800
Record: 14-6-0	Record	Record: 5-2-0
7	Knockouts	1
1	Subs	4
-140	Vegas Odds	110
	0
King Green	vs	Lance Gibson Jr
$9,000	DFS Salary	$7,200
Record: 32-17-1 (1 NC)	Record	Record: 9-1
11	Knockouts	4
9	Subs	3
-192	Vegas Odds	160

Amanda Lemos	vs	Gillian Robertson
$7,400	DFS Salary	$8,800
Record: 15-5-1	Record	Record: 16-8-0
8	Knockouts	3
3	Subs	9
158	Vegas Odds	-205

Joanderson Brito	vs	Isaac Thomson
$9,000	DFS Salary	$7,200
Record: 17-5-1	Record	Record: 9-2-0
7	Knockouts	4
8	Subs	1
-245	Vegas Odds	186

Neil Magny	vs	Yaroslav Amosov
$6,800	DFS Salary	$9,400
Record: 31-14-0	Record	Record: 28-1-0
9	Knockouts	9
5	Subs	11
310	Vegas Odds	-420

Sean Sharaf	vs	Steven Asplund
$7,300	DFS Salary	$8,900
Record: 4-1-0	Record	Record: 6-1-0
4	Knockouts	5
0	Subs	0
190	Vegas Odds	-240

Melissa Croden	vs	Luana Santos
$7,700	DFS Salary	$8,500
Record: 7-2-0	Record	Record: 9-2-0
6	Knockouts	1
1	Subs	5
112	Vegas Odds	-138

Allen Frye Jr.	vs	Guilherme Pat
$7,600	DFS Salary	$8,600
Record: 6-0-0	Record	Record: 5-0-0
6	Knockouts	4
0	Subs	0
138	Vegas Odds	-176