Monk said Austin Hubbard is a salary-saver you can click in every DraftKings format at $7,100. Hubbard has attempted at least five takedowns in four of his last five appearances and is averaging 3.9 DK points per minute whenever he is the one dictating pace. The stat case is simple: 5-of-10 TDs vs Prepelic, 6.0 significant strikes per minute against Figlak, and more than three minutes of top control in three different UFC bouts. Rong Zhu, meanwhile, has coughed up control in every fight (3:00, 2:30, 1:21, 1:10) and was taken down 4-of-25 times on Contender Series plus 2-of-10 in his short-notice debut. Monk expects Hubbard to chain 3–5 takedowns, bank several minutes of ride time and win a dull decision that still clears a 10× return. He recommends sprinkling a little Rong Zhu in large-field GPPs for leverage but calls Hubbard a cash-game cornerstone.

Monk advised backing Austin Hubbard at +210 and $7,100 because Rong Zhu is an overpriced favorite whose defensive profile leaks everywhere. Zhu absorbs 5.51 strikes per minute, concedes large chunks of control time early, and owns just a 2-2 UFC record with both losses coming when competition stiffened. Hubbard’s output hovers around 4 strikes per minute, but his game plan is wrestle-heavy: multiple takedown attempts every fight and control-time percentages that rise each round. All three of Hubbard’s UFC finishes came by submission—Zhu’s weakest defensive area—yet the fight is still –220 to go the distance, favoring Hubbard’s grinding style on the cards. With salaries inverted (Zhu $9,100 vs Hubbard $7,100), Monk sees Hubbard as a strong salary-saver in DFS and a viable money-line underdog bet who can rack up takedowns, control, and maybe steal a late sub or judges’ nod.

Jeff Fox sided with Rong Ju at roughly –240, framing the matchup as youth versus mileage. Ju is nine years younger, and Fox questioned how much tread remains on Hubbard after two separate UFC stints and one win in his last four. With neither man owning a standout resume, Fox prefers betting on the fresher athlete in what he called a near coin-flip everywhere else.

Gumby Vreeland said he was happy to grab Austin Hubbard around +200 because Hubbard’s wrestling-cardio combo directly attacks Rong Ju’s biggest leak. Vreeland noted Ju has surrendered seven takedowns in his last four appearances while recording none of his own, and that his surface-level “better grappling stats” are inflated by Road-to-UFC bouts. Hubbard, by contrast, has proven gas-tank equity—his relentless pace forced Max Roshkov to quit on the stool and pushed Markel Mederos to a split decision in his return fight. Since Ju’s best wins (Cody Steele, Shin Haruuchi) came when exhausted wrestlers quit shooting, Vreeland expects Hubbard’s superior conditioning to keep the takedown pressure constant and win minutes as an underdog.