UFC 290 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 290, 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 290 event.
Alex Volkanovski ($6 - FLOOR)
The main event of UFC 290 is an incredible showdown between the Interim UFC Featherweight Champion, Yair Rodriguez, and the man who vacated the belt to fight up a weight class, Alex Volkanovski. Volkanovski cleaned out the featherweight division before moving up to lightweight to fight Islam Makhachev. He lost a close battle, and now he is back for what is rightfully his. More importantly for DraftKings Reignmakers, he is an aggressive striker with knockout potential. His odds to win this fight are -400, and despite Rodriguez’s varied fighting background, Volkanovski is +160 inside the distance compared to Rodriguez’s +450. Take the favorite in this fight.
Jim Crute ($1.75 - FLOOR)
UFC 290 is a strange event because it features seven fights with -400 or greater favorites. Two fights are -1000 or greater, including one -2400 fight. Even the closer bouts are -200 or greater, but not Jim Crute against Alonzo Menifield. This fight is a toss up. Crute has a slight edge with the odds changing in his favor over the last 24 hours. He is now -120 on DraftKings Sportsbook. The fight, however, is -350 to end inside the distance. Both Crute and Menifield have incredible power, and this fight likely ends in fireworks. Whichever fighter comes out on top is likely to be part of the winning DraftKings Reignmakers lineup, even with all these massive favorites on the card. Target this high-upside fight for leverage and lower ownership rates.
The Bad
Below are the worst fighters to roster for the upcoming UFC 290 event.
Edgar Chairez ($0.75 - FLOOR)
Edgar Chairez is a +700 underdog on DraftKings Sportsbook, and he is going to get tossed around by Tatsuro Taira. Taira is a grappler and submission specialist, while Chairez prefers to keep it standing and strike. Unfortunately for Chairez, he’s going to end up on his back, and even if Taira doesn’t find a submission (though, he should in the first round), he is going to keep Chairez on his back for the majority of this fight. Seemingly, the best case scenario for Chairez in this fight is a three-round decision loss where he doesn’t score many fantasy points from the bottom position on the mat. Avoid at all costs.
The Obvious
Below are the most obvious fighters to roster for the upcoming UFC 290 event.
Bo Nickal ($12.50 - FLOOR)
Bo Nickal is the biggest favorite in an official UFC bout in recent memory at -2500 on DraftKings Sportsbook. The former Penn State wrestler was expected to fight Tresean Gore this week, but after a last minute fight cancellation, his opponent is now Valentine Woodburn. Woodburn is fighting on short notice against a wrestler with an endless gas tank. Nickal is going to keep him on the mat and likely finish the fight within the first or second round. This is the safest play on the card by a large margin. Don’t miss out.
