RotoWire Expert Picks: UFC 280

UFC 280 picks are in! Check out how the RotoWire team of contributors envisions every fight going down on Saturday's pay-per-view card.
RotoWire Expert Picks: UFC 280
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Two title fights headline the UFC's return to Fight Island in Abu Dhabi, where champions at 155 and 135 pounds will be crowned.

As a reminder, the following selections are purely picks. If you're looking for a fantasy-specific breakdown of these fights, check out the MMA Mashup from Chris Olson or our DraftKings MMA preview courtesy of Jon Litterine. We also have a MMA DFS Lineup Optimizer to try if you're looking to try out different combinations  of fighters or generate multiple lineups.

MATCHUP

WEIGHT 

CLASS

JONJAKECHRIS
Charles Oliveira (+155) vs.
Islam Makhachev (-180)

Lightweight
Championship

OliveiraOliveiraOliveira
(C) Aljamain Sterling (-175) vs.
TJ Dillashaw (+150)

Bantamweight
Championship

SterlingSterlingDillashaw
Petr Yan (-275) vs.
Sean O'Malley (+230)

Bantamweight

YanYanYan
Beneil Dariush (+165) vs.
Mateusz Gamrot (-195)

Lightweight

GamrotGamrotDariush
Katlyn Chookagian (+185) vs.
Manon Fiorot (-215)

Women's
Flyweight

FiorotFiorotChookagian
     
UFC 280 RECORD 2-32-31-4
2022 RECORD 29-2236-1521-20
2022 PERCENTAGE .569.706.512
2021 RECORD 35-2842-2137-26
2021 PERCENTAGE .556.667.586
2020 RECORD 36-1834-2028-26
2020 PERCENTAGE .667.630.519
2019 RECORD 39-1935-2332-26
2019 PERCENTAGE .672.603.552
ALL-TIME  234-149244-139 189-145
ALL-TIME PERCENTAGE .611.637.566

 

MATCHUP

WEIGHT 
CLASS

JOE

"SUNTZU"

SHAUN 
"TheDFSniper"

Charles Oliveira (+155) vs.
Islam Makhachev (-180)

Lightweight
Championship

MakhachevMakhachev
(C) Aljamain Sterling (-175) vs.
TJ Dillashaw (+150)

Bantamweight
Championship

DillashawSterling
Petr Yan (-275) vs.
Sean O'Malley (+230)

Bantamweight

YanYan
Beneil Dariush (+165) vs.
Mateusz Gamrot (-195)

Lightweight

GamrotDariush
Katlyn Chookagian (+185) vs.
Manon Fiorot (-215)

Women's
Flyweight

ChookagianFiorot
    
UFC 280 RECORD 1-44-1
2022 RECORD 32-1935-16
2022 PERCENTAGE .627.686
2021 RECORD 38-2536-27
2021 PERCENTAGE .603.571
2020 RECORD 36-1838-16
2020 PERCENTAGE .667.704
2019 RECORD 34-2434-24
2019 PERCENTAGE .586.586
ALL-TIME 167-105173-99
ALL-TIME PERCENTAGE .614.636

 

MATCHUP

WEIGHT 
CLASS

COLE     

DRAKE

Charles Oliveira (+155) vs.
Islam Makhachev (-180)

Lightweight
Championship

MakhachevOliveira
(C) Aljamain Sterling (-175) vs.
TJ Dillashaw (+150)

Bantamweight
Championship

DillashawDillashaw
Petr Yan (-275) vs.
Sean O'Malley (+230)

Bantamweight

YanYan
Beneil Dariush (+165) vs.
Mateusz Gamrot (-195)

Lightweight

GamrotGamrot
Katlyn Chookagian (+185) vs.
Manon Fiorot (-215)

Women's
Flyweight

FiorotFiorot
    
UFC 280 RECORD 2-31-4
2022 RECORD 33-1832-19
2022 PERCENTAGE .647.627
2021 RECORD 43-2117-14
2021 PERCENTAGE .672.548
2020 RECORD N/AN/A
2020 PERCENTAGE N/AN/A
2019 RECORD N/AN/A
2019 PERCENTAGE N/AN/A
ALL-TIME 73-3749-33
ALL-TIME PERCENTAGE .664.598

THE PICKERS

Jon Litterine: RotoWire lead MMA beat writer and scribe for our weekly DrafKings preview. Lead analyst on the RotoWire MMA Podcast. Follow him on Twitter at @JonLitterine.

Jake Letarski: RotoWire.com Operations Manager, plus MMA and NCAA Hoops Senior Editor. Host on the RotoWire MMA Podcast and guest on the RotoWire Fantasy Football Podcast. Follow him on Twitter at @RotoJake.

Chris Olson: Contributor at RotoWire to "Fight IQ, presented by RotoWire," as well as The MMA Mashup, DFS Baseball, a MMA gambling columnist and fight recaps. Follow him on Twitter at @RealChrisOlson.

Joe "SunTszu": Known more commonly by his Twitter handle @SunTszu, Joe is a Hedge Fund Executive by day and high-volume DFS player by night. He is a 2x "Bracket Challenge" & "Gotham qualifier. You can also find him as one of the original contributors of "Fight IQ, presented by RotoWire," a DFS-centric video breakdown. He is also a co-creator of the "Creating Alpha in DFS" podcast.

@theDFSniper: @theDFSniper is the host and lead instigator of "Fight IQ, presented by RotoWire," a DFS-centric video breakdown. He also appears on the LoudMouth MMA podcast and contributes soccer content to DFS Army.

Cole Shelton: Cole Shelton is a full-time sports writer focusing on MMA. His work has appeared on BJPenn.com, CBC Sports, Sports Betting Dime and Blue Jays Nation. He currently pens the MMA Best Bets column on RotoWire. Follow him on Twitter at @ColeShelton91.

Drake Burden: Drake is a proven DFS winner with multiple four-figure paydays under his belt. He took an interest to writing MMA during the pandemic and is active in various Discords and other social media communities. Follow him on Twitter at @DBurdz.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
RotoWire Editor for College Basketball and MMA. Frequent podcaster, plus radio and video guest. Follow Jake on Twitter at @RotoJake.
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