No such thing as MMA Math

Might as well start with this, the picks for last week went south for Bellator 273. I wouldn’t tell anyone to play something I wouldn’t and I did. So if you made that play, rest assured I lost too. Sorry about that but it just goes to show no matter how much MMA math you do, you can still be wrong. So, I steered clear of UFC Vegas 47 this week.

Fernando Gonzalez is the most recent guest on the Coast-2-Coast Combat Hour podcast and he’s got a fight coming in in March against recently released from the UFC Maki Pitolo. It’s in Vegas, the day before UFC 272 and a win could get the right eyeballs on them. Check out the video interview above, listen here.

Okay, so I don’t always pick em’ right but like fighting, you can’t win em’ all. Make your plays at your own risk but here are my main card picks for UFC 271 that I submitted to MMANews.com:

This main event doesn’t seem as hyped as the first time around. Probably because the first time went so well Adesanya, it’s hard to think anything will go differently the second time around. But it’s fun to think it would, right? Whittaker did take some time off so there’s always a chance, but not big enough for me to not go with the current champion. Pick: Israel Adesanya

Up until UFC 265, Lewis was undefeated in Texas. That loss was to Cyril Game and his fifth time being T/KO’d. Tuivasa has only been T/KO’d once in his professional career so if the chins are going to be checked between these two fan favorites, I would not be surprised if the underdog, Tuivasa pays off in this matchup. I don’t think home-field advantage matters anymore in combat sports. Pick: Tai Tuivasa

This fight is pretty even despite the experience of Brunson over Cannonier in their MMA careers. Brunson has a slight height advantage but not enough to matter and they’re pretty even in reach. Cannonier’s striking output seems to be greater than Brunson’s so I would not be surprised if we see a lot of takedowns from Brunson and that could get him a decision win. Pick: Derek Brunson

Phillips is a bantamweight that came out of LFA, one of the places the UFC farms a lot of talent from that does very well once they’re signed. He is coming off a loss but it was a decision loss which means he was never out of the fight. Rojo came to the UFC from Combate Global and has had a few ups and downs. He’s coming off a loss too and while that should motivate both men for a finish, Phillips is more likely to get one. Pick: Kyler Phillips

This opener should make for an exciting lightweight bout. Green’s experience could trump the youth and inexperience of Haqparast but in today’s realm of combat sports, it’s never been more obvious that MMA is a young man’s game. Green certainly has the ingredients to put Haqparast away early, but if it goes longer than one and a half rounds, I’m going with the younger fighter. Pick: Nasrat Haqparast

Wanna know what I’m going with on Draft Kings? These are my plays for UFC 271. Make them at your own risk, but if you’re going to do it on Draft Kings be sure and sign up with my code so we can both break even at least.