DraftKings MMA Contests Are Here

I’m excited to report that DraftKings DFS is now hosting real money fantasy MMA contests. They made the announcement on New Year’s Eve and will debut the new offerings tomorrow for UFC 182. On Saturday, January 3^rd, you’ll be able to pick a roster of fighters and earn points as you watch the action live.

Other sites already dabble in fantasy MMA, but DraftKings is by far the largest to expand into mixed martial arts. The contests will work in a similar manner to other sports. You’ll get a virtual salary of $50,000 and will be asked to draft five of the fighters who will be competing in an upcoming event. As the fighters score takedowns, land significant strikes and finish fights, you’ll earn points for the contest.

Each MMA contest at DraftKings will last for exactly one UFC event. You’ll pick your fighters, watch the event and then get paid that night if you win. As usual, the goal is to accumulate more fantasy points than your opponents. Points are awarded based on the following in-cage statistics:

Here’s a handy video from DraftKings that explains it well:

Now that fantasy football season is coming to a conclusion, it’s great to have a new year-round option. Between major UFC pay-per-view events and free fights on cable, there will be plenty of opportunities to win real money off a sport that knows no season.

The 100K Ground and Pound

The first ever DraftKings MMA event will begin about 24 hours from now. To celebrate the new sport, DraftKings will be hosting a $100,000 guaranteed contest in addition to dozens of other smaller contests. The $100K Ground and Pound will be the biggest one this weekend with a six figure prize pool and $20,000 going to first place.

This one has room for 555 entries and will cost $200 to buy in direct. If you’d like to give it a shot, you can get started now at DraftKings.com.

Is $200 a little too steep for the ole bankroll? No problem; DraftKings also has a whole variety of smaller contests with buyins starting at $1. They will be hosting heads-up leagues, double-up leagues and multi-person contests with room for anywhere from 3 people to several hundred. Whatever your bankroll and skill level, you should find something that works over at DraftKings.

First Thoughts

I’ve already done my fair share of speculating so let me share a couple first thoughts. First of all, huge MMA contests won’t happen as often as you see in other sports. There just aren’t as many possible combinations of rosters with only a couple dozen fighters scheduled to fight in any single event.

For example, UFC 182 has nine fights scheduled (not counting 2 UFC Fight Pass prelims) for a total of 18 fighters to choose from. There are only so many unique teams that you can build from such a limited roster. Point totals will not be as varied as what you’d see in a weekend of NFL games. Even a single NFL matchup gives you more people to draft than an entire UFC card.

Unless DraftKings decides to combine multiple MMA events, I doubt we’ll see often see cheap contests with million dollar prize pools. On the other hand, you’ll probably find it easier to draft rosters and will be able to easily enter multiple contests to boost your earnings. Team building will be much easier in MMA than it is in the NFL or MLB.

I do see a couple of large events (the biggest accepting up to 14.3K entries), but most are smaller. If DraftKings does indeed host more contests with this many entries, it will be interesting to see how DraftKings MMA scoring plays out. There are going to be a lot of people making the same fighter picks… I guess we’ll just have to wait and see how this goes in practice.

As far as strategy goes, I believe the keys to winning will be to identify matchups that are likely to end early. The 100 point bonus for a first round KO is huge. Even if someone makes it all the way to a decision, it’s highly unlikely he’ll rack up anywhere near 100 points during the course of the fight. Finishing rate will be a key statistic.

Main event contenders will be the most expensive but they offer the benefit of having an extra two rounds to work. Championship fights are always scheduled for five rounds rather than the standard three for non-title fights. If you pick a guy from the main event, he’s got more room to score points if the fight goes the distance.

These are just my first thoughts though, so it’s possible I’ve got the strategy completely wrong. We’ll see very soon how it all works out in real time. UFC 182 will kick off at 7 PM ET with the Fight Pass prelims, move to the preliminary card at 8 PM and then the main card at 10 PM.

Related: DraftKings UFC Sports Betting Partnership