The UFC returns for the fourth straight Saturday for their final event in the month of November. The Octagon heads to Seoul, South Korea for the first time for UFC Fight Night 79, headlined by a five-round welterweight bout between Benson Henderson and Jorge Masvidal. Let’s take a look at some fighters to target for your fantasy line-ups for the event.
STUDS
Dong Hyun Kim ($11,100)
Dong Hyun Kim is the biggest betting favorite and the highest-salaried fighter on the UFC Fight Night 79 card. He fights a short-notice opponent who has yet to taste victory in the UFC. Kim hasn’t scored a lot of points, fantasy-wise, in his recent UFC bouts, but he is coming off of a submission win over Josh Burkman in May. He is a much-higher class fighter than his opponent, Dominic Waters, and he should be able to use his judo skills and striking to get the win. I expect him to finish Waters, and probably early, and he is a very good bet to score you a great amount of points on Saturday.
Fredy Serrano ($10,400)
Fredy Serrano enters just his third official professional MMA bout on Saturday, but he already has a good bit of hype being a member of the Colombian wrestling team in the 2008 Olympics. He has been impressive in his short career, with two wins by finish, and with his wrestling background and power in his hands, he has a very good chance at scoring a lot of points on Saturday. His opponent, Yao Zhikui, is just 2-2 in his career and hasn’t been overly impressive. Serrano is a fighter I like a lot on this card to do some damage.
VALUE PICKS
Alberto Mina ($9,200)
Alberto Mina is a perfect 11-0 in his professional career. All eleven wins have come by finish, and he has been out of the first round just twice in his career. He has power in his hands, feet and knees, and he has a slick submission game. With all of that said, he has a low salary on Saturday. A lot of it has to do with his inactivity having fought just twice in the last four years, and more to do with his opponent, Yoshihiro Akiyama. Akiyama is a good wrestler who tends to rely too much on his striking, and that costs him fights. This is also a reminder that Akiyama is just 1-4 in his last five fights. Mina is a very solid value pick on this card.
Sam Sicilia ($8,900)
Sam Sicilia is looking to score his third straight win as he comes into UFC Fight Night 79. He is a live underdog play at a low salary as he takes on the tough Doo Ho Choi, who has won ten straight bouts. Sicilia has more experience inside the Octagon and these two have been scheduled to fight twice before, with Choi pulling out of the fight both times. Perhaps that will give Sicilia some extra motivation to finish Choi. Choi is a young and rising fighter, but Sicilia has that grittiness to get the job done. He is worth a shot if you are looking for a low-risk, low-salary, high-reward fighter.
AVOID
Jake Collier ($10,000)
Jake Collier has a decent salary as he looks to score his second straight win when he takes on Dongi Yang, who makes his UFC return in his home country of South Korea. Collier hasn’t been overly impressive in the UFC, with a 1-1 record, and his lone win coming by a close split decision. He faces a tough wrestler in Yang, and one who can avoid being hit. Yang will look to land the takedowns on Collier and be the aggressor on the feet. At his salary point, Collier is someone who I will look to avoid rostering.
Seo Hee Ham ($9,100)
Seo Hee Ham is one of the more experienced fighters in the UFC’s strawweight division as she sports a respectable 15-6 record. She lost her UFC debut to Joanne Calderwood, but it was a bout she took on short notice. However, when looking at her 15 wins, 13 have come by decision, and in fights where she didn’t inflict a lot of damage. She fights a tough opponent in Cortney Casey, who has been training with the Power MMA camp in Arizona. She doesn’t have a ton of experience with just six professional fights, but her four wins have all come by stoppage in the first round. It is not a favorable match-up for Ham, so we also recommend to avoid her on your roster.
OUR LINE-UPS
RYAN FREDERICK: Dong Hyun Kim ($11,100), Doo Ho Choi ($10,500), Fredy Serrano ($10,400), Alberto Mina ($9,200), Jorge Masvidal ($8,600)
I like Dong Hyun Kim and Fredy Serrano for the reasons stated above. I see them at a much higher level than their opponents, and I think a finish is likely for both of them, and both of them to win early. I like Doo Ho Choi over Sam Sicilia. Sicilia definitely has the chance to finish Choi, but Choi is a rising prospect with a good bit of hype, and he has some good power and good submissions. Alberto Mina has a chance at scoring the upset over Yoshihiro Akiyama. Mina hasn’t fought anyone really, but he is 11-0 with 11 finishes, and that is something to be accounted for. His salary made it easier to spend up on some bigger fighters. The same goes with Jorge Masvidal. Masvidal is cheap and is an excellent fighter. He has a tough fight against Benson Henderson, but he lands a lot of strikes, has good takedowns and can pull off the upset if Henderson isn’t careful enough.
PAUL FONTAINE: Dong Hyun Kim ($11,100), Mike de la Torre ($9,600), “Maestro” Dong Hyun Kim ($9,500), Dongi Yang ($9,400), Alberto Mina ($9,200)
I’m picking both Dong Hyun Kim’s on my team cause it was just too juicy a prospect not to. But seriously, the one we’re all familiar with is a top contender who’s only lost once in his last 7 fights and that was to highly ranked Tyron Woodley. The second one, who will be making his debut, is a bit of an unknown but looking at his record, he’s won 7 of his last 8 fights, all by KO or submission. His opponent, Dominique Steele, lost his one and only UFC fight by KO so that seems like a likely outcome. Both guys will be hometown heroes in their native country so that should help. De La Torre came into UFC with a great reputation and I keep expecting him to finally put it all together so I’m putting him in my lineup with the hope that it happens here. Dongi Yang is returning to UFC after an impressive run outside the company, including a KO of former UFC title challenger Dennis Hallman in his last fight. His opponent Jake Collier has had a loss and a split decision win in his two UFC fights so he’s not exactly setting the world on fire. My final pick is Alberto Mina, the unbeaten Brazilian who has won all of his fights by finish including his one and only UFC fight. His opponent Akiyama is one of the more overrated fighters on the roster with just one win in the last 6 1/2 years.
PEACH MACHINE: Benson Henderson ($10,800), Doo Ho Choi ($10,500), Mike de la Torre ($9,600), Leo Kuntz ($9,300), Alberto Mina ($9,200)
I’m a big fan of Masvidal, but he’s out of his league with Bendo, who looked great his first time out at 170. Bendo has fought in Asia and is part Korean, so he’s got the home field advantage. That’s my only real pick. I selected four other guys I liked, then picked the opposite, because my recent picks have been terrible. It could be a bad night out for me, but couldn’t possibly be any worse. I do like de la Torre to finish but other than that, I’m really picking guys who I think will lose. We will see.