UFC 289 DraftKings Reignmakers Breakdown
This week, DraftKings Reignmakers is offering up $125,000 in prizes between its five tiers of contests: CORE, RARE, ELITE, LEGENDARY, and REIGNMAKER.
All players from DraftKings’ Heatwave, UFC 281, UFC 282, UFC 289 and Genesis sets are eligible to compete in these contests.
With that said, this article breaks down the best fighters to consider adding to your team via the Reignmakers’ marketplace. All listed prices refer to CORE tier unless otherwise noted, but the recommendations can be agnostically applied to all other tiers.
The Good
Below are the best fighters to roster for the upcoming UFC 289 event.
Dan Ige ($5 - FLOOR)
Dan Ige, much like Amanda Nunes in this weekend’s main event, is a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and a brown belt in Judo. He is 1-3 in his last four fights, losing to Chan Sung Jung, Josh Emmett, and Movsar Evloev before finally picking up a win against Damon Jackson in January. Nate Landwehr is on a 3-fight win streak, but he is stepping up in competition, and Ige is stepping down… significantly. When Ige does win, he has knockout upside, and Landwehr is not afraid to push the pace, either. This should be a high-upside fight for both fighters, but Ige has more tools and paths to victory. He should find a win, and the best-case scenario is real first-round knockout potential.
Blake Bilder ($10 - FLOOR)
Blake Bilder is undefeated in his professional career with a 62.5 percent finishing rate. He’s an orthodox striker and grappler that has power in his hands but typically opts for submissions when his opponents are in trouble. His opponent this weekend, Kyle Nelson, recently lost to Carlos Diego Ferreira, Matt Sayles, Billy Quarantillo, and Jai Herbert in four of his last six fights. He will lean on his kickboxing and wrestling, but Bilder has good takedown defense, and his submission game is strong enough off the bottom, even if he does get in trouble. His potential to finish this fight inside the distance is higher than most of the card, and he makes for an excellent choice on DraftKings Reignmakers this Saturday.
The Bad
Below are the worst fighters to roster for the upcoming UFC 289 event.
Jasmine Jasudavicius ($3 - FLOOR)
Jasmine Jasudavicius gets a tough matchup this weekend against the much shorter and younger Miranda Maverick. Maverick, despite only being 25 years old, has five more professional fights than Jasudavicius, and she should be able to use that experience to keep out of the clinch game. Jasudavicius will want to use her reach, which is likely her only advantage, but Maverick is too well-rounded to not find a way to get Jasudavicius to the ground. Once on the ground, Maverick has great submission upside, and she has good potential to finish this fight inside the distance. Jasudavicius will likely spend most of this fight getting beat up or on her back. Even if she does utilize the clinch effectively, she just isn’t going to score high enough in a three-round decision to be worth playing on DraftKings Reignmakers.
The Obvious
Below are the most obvious fighters to roster for the upcoming 289 event.
Amanda Nunes ($6 - FLOOR)
Amanda Nunes is arguably the best women’s UFC fighter in the history of the sport. She hasn’t fought since around this time last year, but she’s still a big favorite heading into this matchup against Irene Aldana. Aldana has impressive wins against Yana Kunitskaya and Macy Chiasson in her last two bouts, but Nunes is on another level. Both fighters are great strikers and grapplers, but Nunes has a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and a brown belt in Judo. She also has a slight reach advantage, and she should eventually find a finish in what should be an entertaining, fast-paced main event.
