This weekend’s UFC 288 card is now down a fight, and the last-minute news has a direct impact on the DFS and betting landscape. On Thursday afternoon, promotion officials announced the scheduled Daniel Santos vs. Johnny Munoz bantamweight fight has been canceled, leaving the DFS community wondering how to set their lineups accordingly. Players looking for the best MMA DFS projections should be sure to check out Stokastic’s UFC DFS projections for all the top picks for Saturday night’s card!
UFC 288 DFS News: Daniel Santos-Johnny Munoz Cancellation
Daniel Santos (-170 on DraftKings Sportsbook) opened as the heavy favorite to defeat Johnny Munoz. But an injury Santos suffered in training forced the Brazilian into a late cancellation.
“Due to injury, Daniel Santos has been removed from his bantamweight bout with Johnny Munoz,” a brief statement on the promotion’s official website read. “As a result, this bout has been canceled from this weekend’s card.”
DFS players and bettors were heavily favoring Santos over Munoz. Stokastic’s DFS Ownership Projections had Santos ($8,400 on DraftKings) to be owned in 30.1% of lineups, leaving those players left to find value elsewhere.
Luckily, the UFC 288 card offers DFS players many other options before a bantamweight title fight between Aljamain Sterling and Henry Cejudo closes out the card. Stokastic’s models had Santos projected at 75.04 fantasy points, leaving a long list of fighters (including both Cejudo and Sterling) ahead of him.
It is unclear what the severity of Santos’ injury is quite yet. The 28-year-old is coming off the first win of his UFC career, having compiled a 10-2-0 record in mixed martial arts. He has five TKO wins during his professional career and was considered a real threat to finish Munoz (who has a reputation for sometimes having a weak chin) inside the distance.
Munoz is also coming off a win in the UFC and has a 12-2-0 record in his MMA career. It is unknown if the Daniel Santos-Johnny Munoz bout will be rescheduled for a later card, but this UFC 288 DFS news certainly has an impact on players looking to gain an edge for Saturday night’s card.
