UFC Fight Night DFS Picks & Lineups: Moreno vs. Albazi Cheat Sheet, 11/2

UFC Fight Night: Moreno vs. Albazi takes place this Saturday live from Edmonton Canada. The card kicks off with the Prelims at 5:00PM EST on ESPN+, followed by the Main Card at 8:00PM EST on ESPN+.

UPDATE: The fight between Derrick Lewis and Jhonata Diniz has been cancelled as Lewis had a medical issue that was not related to his weight cut.

The Main Event features former Featherweight Champion Brandon Moreno taking on rising prospect Amir Albazi as both look to put themselves in title contention with a win this weekend. The Co-Main Event features another former title holder in “Thug” Rose Namajunas as she takes on someone who should be fighting for a title in the next few years in Erin Blanchfield.

Both of these fights should be action packed with the winners making a solid case that they should be next in line for a shot at the belt.

Check out all the latest UFC Fight Night DFS picks and lineups, plus matchup breakdowns for the entire fight card below and as always feel free to reach out to me in Discord or on X/Twitter at @MikeIannoneDFS. 

Now let's look at my UFC Fight Night cheat sheet for Saturday's event. Good luck with your UFC Fight Night DFS picks and lineups!

UFC Fight Night DFS Picks & Lineups: Moreno vs. Albazi Cheat Sheet, 11/2

Main Event UFC DFS Picks

This is a tricky main event this week. Moreno seemed to be on the fence if he was going to retire or at least take some time away from the sport but he is stepping back in the cage only eight months later, but you can't really blame him after losing the title in a split decision, and his next fight in another close split decision. At his best Moreno wins this fight and runs away with it, but I'm not sure if his heart is in it. Albazi is going to look to control the fight against the cage, or possibly get takedowns but for as long as it is on the feet Moreno should be ahead. I'm picking Moreno to win, likely by decision.

Expensive UFC DFS Picks

This is another week where the high-priced fighters have a lot of questions. Malott is the better grappler, so I expect him to get the fight to the ground, my problem is that we just watched him totally gas out his last time in the cage. Giles is tough and normally slows the pace of fights so that will really hamper DK scoring if he has success.

Jasmine needs takedowns, and while Ariane da Silva (Lipski) has improved dramatically, I still think Jasmine gets it done here. Normally a +320 ITD for a high-priced fighter would be a fade, but with her wrestling upside and the other fighters in this range she makes for a decent play.

Zalal should be able to outmuscle Shore and have success on the ground if he takes it there. His size is going to be a major factor in this fight, and I think that alone is going to be too much for Shore to overcome.

Barriault is the more polished striker, and his volume is nearly double of what Stoltzfus normally puts out. If someone gets a takedown, it's probably going to be Stoltzfus so that is something to be worried about. In Canada I think Barriault gets it done, and probably lands 125 significant strikes in a decision.

Gibson at his best can land a ton of volume when he isn't worrying about takedowns, and I expect that here. Anheliger is pretty durable so this could be tough to get a finish, but 125 significant strikes and a takedown or two is a possibility for Gibson and at his price that'll be a piece you want in your lineups.

Mid-Range UFC DFS Picks

Blanchfield is going to push a pace on Rose, and even if she isn't successful on all of her takedowns, I expect her to get a few. This fight is 5 rounds, and we just watched Blanchfield lose a decision where she put up 130 strikes, so even if she doesn't get her wrestling going she can get there on volume. This fight isn't a must play like the Chimaev fight last week, but I'm going to have it in almost all of my lineups.

Romanov is a front runner in most of his fights and I expect him to start fast again. His wrestling early in fights is as strong as anyone in the UFC, and while he isn't good enough to compete against the top 10, I do think this step back in competition is going to help us to see the old Romanov who was putting up 110+ fantasy points.

This fight should be chaos from the start, and while I don't really love either of these fighters, I'm more intrigued by Caio. Caio is coming down from heavyweight and is going to be about 40 lbs. lighter than the last time he fought so if his power and strength translates, he should be able to dominate this fight. With dropping that much extra weight though, it'll be tough to tell if it impacts his cardio, or his chin.

This is another high upside play, but I think Lewis can mix in his wrestling here and once he gets it down his ground and pound is powerful. This is obviously a lower-level heavyweight fight so while I don't have as much faith as I would like in Lewis, I still think he wins this and puts up a big score. Update: With this fight being cancelled, Derrick Lewis will not accumulate any points.

Whoever wins this fight is likely scoring well as Lewis normally either gets finished in the first or second round or he is the one knocking out his opponent. Diniz could score 100+ with the early KO but if it gets past the first round, he probably disappoints in terms of DK scoring. Update: With this fight being cancelled, Jhonata Diniz will not accumulate any points.

Henry is welcoming Jourdain to a new weight class, and while I don't love picking older fights in the lower weight classes, Henry has been a volume machine in the UFC and if Jourdain wants to stand and trade shots I could see either of these fighters getting close to 150 significant strikes. 

Zahabi is the cheaper fighter of the two on DraftKings despite being a -135 favorite. I don't think this fight scores well on DK but anytime we get a favorite for under $8100 we have to take a good look at him. There is a decent change if Zahabi wins this fight he scores around 70 so for large field tournaments I think he makes for a good fade.

Rose has five rounds to work with and is a similar matchup to Fiorot, who just beat Blanchfield. Rose at her best is a champion in the UFC, but when she is mentally checked out of a fight she just shuts down. It's tough to know what version of Rose we get, but with 5 rounds to work with we need to have her in some of our lineups. If it stays standing, she probably wins this, and makes it look like she should have been -250.

Paydown UFC DFS Picks

This fight is going to stay standing, and if you give Armfield space he is a good striker. I don't see Sidey closing space well or looking to wrestle so I'm picking Armfield straight up this week and I'll have bets on him. He probably doesn't get the finish but at his price even a decision to win might be enough to win a GPP.

I always pick against Giles but as the cheapest fighter on the card I have to give him some props. He has been in there with some killers, and we have seen Malott completely fall apart before so I wouldn't be surprised to see it here. 

Anheliger is tough and this should be a close fight. Gibson isn't a world beater and while I think Gibson is the better striker in terms of volume, I wouldn't be surprised if Anheliger ended up being more technical than Gibson.

She can wrestle a little bit, she probably isn't getting a finish, but if she gets 2-3 takedowns it might be enough to sway the judges. 

Stoltzfus isn't as good of a striker as Barriault but if he wrestles, he might be able to win close rounds. Barriault is constantly in fights where he and his opponents land around the same number of strikes, and while I think Barriault has more power, I can see this going to the judges and at that point it is anyone’s fight.

Da Silva is the better striker of the two when it comes to flashy more impactful strikes, but this whole fight is going to be decided on if Jasmine can get takedowns. While Da Silva has been better as of late, Jasmine will shoot relentlessly to get the fight downs and if she can stop them, she will win this fight.

Shore is a decision fighter who isn't going to wrestle, so his path to being on a GPP winning lineup is for him to win and not have two other fights priced by him also win. On a different slate I might be inclined to play more Shore, but I don't like how he fits in with the other underdogs here.

UFC DFS Optimizer: Sample UFC Fight Night Lineup

MMA DFS Strategy: Live Dogs

• Albazi, Namajunas, Armfield

Moreno vs. Albazi UFC Fight Night Picks & Stats