UFC DFS Picks Today: UFC 274 Oliveira vs. Gaethje DraftKings Picks

The UFC is live inside the Footprint Center in Phoenix, Ariz., with an exciting lightweight main event between UFC 274: Charles Oliveira vs. Justin Gaethje. Below is a full preview of the fights that have the most upside for UFC DFS purposes. Let’s dig into some UFC DFS picks for UFC 274, and some of the best predictions for DraftKings UFC prediction and FanDuel MMA lineups this weekend. Be sure to check out all of our UFC 274 betting picks and predictions before finding all of the best fight odds over at OddsShopper.

MMA DFS Picks: UFC 274 Oliveira vs. Gaethje

Kleydson Rodrigues $9,400 vs. C.J. Vergara $6,800

Kleydson Rodrigues

Age: 26
Height: 5-foot-6
Weight: 125 lbs.
Reach: 67 ins
Record: 7-1-0
Striking Accuracy: 68%
Betting Odds: -335

Rodrigues is an exciting prospect who will come out hunting finishes inside the Octagon. He has excellent movement and will use high kicks in the pocket to do damage to his opponents. Rodrigues will throw slicing elbows from the clinch, looking to hurt his opponent and drag them to the mat. Once down, Rodrigues has nasty ground and pound and dangerous jiu-jitsu. Rodrigues has the cardio to keep consistent volume and smothering pressure. He has three wins via knockout, two via submission and two via decision. In this fight Rodrigues’ counterpunching and fast hands will have the technical striking edge over C.J. Vergara.

C.J. Vergara

Age: 30
Height: 5-foot-6
Weight: 125 lbs.
Reach: 68 ins
Record: 9-3-1
Striking Accuracy: 60%
Betting Odds: +270

Vergara is a pressure fighter that is always coming forward with aggression and looking to finish his opponent. He will use his jab, solid kicks and volume to keep his opponents at range. Vergara throws solid combinations when pressuring forward and has the power to put his opponents lights out. In this fight Vergara will need to bring heavy pressure, looking to overwhelm Rodrigues with his fast pace and never-ending cardio. However, that approach could put Vergara in danger, as Rodrigues is a powerful counter striker with heavy hands.

The lean on DraftKings and FanDuel is Rodrigues. If Vergara can get heavy pressure and avoid Rodrigues’ powerful counter striking, then he can use seal a decision. However, Rodrigues’ counterstriking and wrestling will be too much for Vergara to overcome.

UFC DFS Pick: Kleydson Rodrigues via Third-Round Submission.

Randy Brown $7,900 vs. Khaos Williams $8,300

Randy Brown

Age: 31
Height: 6-foot-3
Weight: 170 lbs.
Reach: 78 ins.
Record: 14-4-0
Striking Accuracy: 51%
Betting Odds: +102

Brown is well-rounded inside the Octagon, with solid striking and a dangerous submission game. He is a crafty veteran that uses crazy movement and constantly switching stances to confuse his opponent. The issue is Brown does not fluidly strike when switching stances, which gives his opponents an opportunity to blitz him. Facing a power striker like Williams could cause huge problems for Brown’s style, ending in Brown getting tagged and put on the canvas. Brown should look to use his long frame to get this fight to the mat, where he has proven to be an issue for many opponents.

Kalinn Williams

Age: 28
Height: 6-foot-0
Weight: 170 lbs.
Reach: 77 ins.
Record: 13-2-0
Striking Accuracy: 42%
Betting Odds: -120

Williams is a dangerous striker with heavy hands that can put anyone’s lights out in a hurry. Moreover, he throws in combinations and will deliver damaging body shots, which will set up his left hook that will put his opponents to sleep. Williams is coming off a knockout win over Miguel Baeza in November that earned him the Performance of the Night bonus. Williams’ power and devastating combinations will knock Brown out early.

The lean on DraftKings and FanDuel is Williams. Brown is super dangerous on the mat with his long frame, but if William’s can avoid takedowns early and use the Octagon to his advantage, he could seal another Performance of the Night bonus.

UFC DFS Pick: Khaos Williams via Second-Round KO/TKO.

Michael Chandler $9,600 vs. Tony Ferguson $6,600

Michael Chandler

Age: 36
Height: 5-foot-8
Weight: 155 lbs.
Reach: 71.5 ins.
Record: 22-7-0
Striking Accuracy: 51%
Betting Odds: -360

Chandler is coming off back-to-back losses against the two fighters facing off for the lightweight title in Saturday night’s main event. Chandler faced off against Charles Oliveira for the vacant lightweight belt in May, losing via knockout in Round 2. Then he lost to Justin Gaethje in November via decision in an electrifying bout that earned Fight of the Night honors. Chandler is a well-rounded fighter with explosive power and a high-pressure style. He will throw two- to three-punch combinations that can damage his opponent. Chandler’s explosiveness and physical talent are his best attributes inside the Octagon.

Tony Ferguson

Age: 38
Height: 5-foot-11
Weight: 155 lbs.
Reach: 76.5 ins.
Record: 26-6-0
Striking Accuracy: 48%
Betting Odds: +290

Ferguson is coming into this matchup on a three-fight losing streak. His losing streak included defeats to Justin Gaethje, Charles Oliveira and Beneil Dariush. Prior to his recent skid, Ferguson had won 12 consecutive fights inside the Octagon, with nine coming via finish. Ferguson is a well-rounded fighter that combines elite striking with an electrifying pace and a dangerous submission game. Over Ferguson’s last three fights, he absorbed 100 significant strikes to the head at the hands of Gaethje and 24 minutes of control time on the ground by Oliveira and Dariush.

The pick on DraftKings and FanDuel is Chandler. Ferguson is super dangerous on the feet with solid power, but Chandler’s speed, combinations and explosiveness will be too much for the fading Ferguson to withstand.

UFC DFS Pick: Michael Chandler via Second-Round KO/TKO.

Latest MMA & UFC DFS Content

Rose Namajunas $8,900 vs. Carla Esparza $7,300

Rose Namajunas

Age: 29
Height: 5-foot-5
Weight: 115 lbs.
Reach: 65 ins.
Record: 12-4-0
Striking Accuracy: 45%
Betting Odds: -200

Namajunas is the two-time strawweight champion after knocking out Zhang with a head kick just one minute into UFC 261. Zhang and Namajunas stepped into the Octagon again in November for a rematch, and Namajunas once again walked away victorious. Namajunas will now be making her second consecutive title defense when she meets Carla Esparza in the five-round co-main event at UFC 274. She is a well-rounded fighter with excellent footwork and crisp boxing skills. Namajunas has an extremely dangerous submission game. Namajunas will have the clear advantage in striking, and she has made huge improvements in her ground game since their first meeting.

Carla Esparza

Age: 34
Height: 5-foot-1
Weight: 115 lbs.
Reach: 67 ins.
Record: 19-6-0
Striking Accuracy: 65%
Betting Odds: +168

Esparza is coming into this matchup on a five-fight winning streak, including victories against Yan Xiaonan, Marina Rodriguez and Michelle Waterson. She is a former wrestling All-American and stepped up on short notice to replace Namajunas in a grappling match against Danielle Kelly at Fury Pro Grappling 3 in December. Esparza will need to get this fight to the canvas and avoid Namajunas’ dangerous boxing. That said, Namajunas has improved a lot on the ground and could lock in a submission with a mistake from Esparza. Esparza has takedown upside in this matchup, as she has 42 takedowns landed in strawweight competition, which happens to be the most in divisional history.

The lean on DraftKings and FanDuel is Namajunas. Esparza is super dangerous on the mat with a slick grappling game, but Namajunas should be able to hold her own if this fight plays out on the ground.

UFC DFS Pick: Rose Namajunas via Third-Round KO/TKO.

Charles Oliveira $8,500 vs. Justin Gaethje $7,700

Charles Oliveira

Age: 32
Height: 5-foot-10
Weight: 155 lbs.
Reach: 74 ins.
Record: 23-3-0
Striking Accuracy: 61%
Betting Odds: -168

Oliveira is currently riding a 10-fight winning streak. He showed in his last bouts against Michael Chandler and Dustin Poirier that it is his time. Out of the 40 professional fights Oliveira has had, he has only seen the scorecards four times. Oliveira has 29 wins by finish, and on his current win streak nine have come via finish. He is a dangerous submission specialist with 15 tapouts to his name, and he should clearly have the advantage on the mat. Over Oliveira’s 10 fights, he has showed crazy growth in his all-around game. If he can weather the storm and avoid the incredible power of Gaethje and get this fight to the mat, that is where Oliveira will have the clear advantage.

Justin Gaethje

Age: 33
Height: 5-foot-11
Weight: 155 lbs.
Reach: 70 ins.
Record: 17-6-0
Striking Accuracy: 60%
Betting Odds: +142

Gaethje is an absolute animal inside the Octagon. He is always coming forward with high guard and throws nasty, damaging leg kicks. The pace Gaethje brings to the Octagon is insane, always blitzing his opponent with heavy pressure. Furthermore, Gaethje has incredible stopping power in his hands, as he will take big shots just to be able to counterstrike. Gaethje was an All-American wrestler in college, but for now he does not seem interested in making wrestling part of his game. The one weakness with Gaethje’s style is he takes a ton of damage — roughly eight significant strikes per minute. Plus, Oliveira has the power to put Gaethje to sleep, as he showed against Michael Chandler.

The lean on DraftKings and FanDuel is Oliveira. Gaethje is super dangerous on the feet with undeniable power in his hands, and if he can get heavy pressure early and disrupt Oliveira’s rhythm, he could possibly land a power uppercut that could finish Oliveira. However, Oliveira’s elite striking, power and outstanding grappling should prevail.

UFC DFS Pick: Charles Oliveira via Third-Round Submission.

Thanks for reading to the end of this article! If you appreciate this free content and want to see more of it every day, you can help us out by sharing this article on social media!