Mont insisted the Blanchfield-Barber main event is a mandatory DraftKings stack in cash games. At $9,100, Erin Blanchfield carries a –250 money-line tag and owns some of the best fantasy peripherals in women’s MMA: 5.1 significant strikes a minute in R1–R2, 4.5 in R3, and 7.7 during the limited fourth-round sample, all while averaging at least 0.5 takedowns and nearly two minutes of control per round. She has eclipsed 90 DK points in four of her last five wins, including 123 against Molly McCann and 98 versus Jessica Andrade—both inside of nine minutes. Mont’s angle is that Maycee Barber’s $7,100 salary and shaky 53 % takedown defense virtually guarantee Blanchfield will pile up control time, but Barber’s own 4.7 sig-strikes per minute gives her enough return-fire to score 40-plus even in a loss, especially over 25 minutes. Because the fight-goes-to-decision prop sits at –200, Mont projects a combined 130-150 DK points and views the stack as a safety net that lets players fade other volatile chalk. For tournaments he will be overweight Blanchfield, lean underweight Barber, but in single-entry and double-ups he said, “you stack this, period—end of story.”

Mont pegged Ludovit Klein at $7,700 as the underdog everyone will click—and he’s fine joining the party. Klein’s recent physical transformation has coincided with sharper output and improved cardio, making him dangerous against Mateusz Gamrot, who has been knocked down five times in just ten UFC starts. Gamrot’s takedown defense (68 %) and top control are solid, but his striking defense leaks (absorbs 3.9 per minute) and he lands little volume of his own, creating a path for Klein to win rounds or even score a late finish. Both fighters have made the DraftKings optimal lineup three times since 2021, which led Mont to float a rare three-round cash stack: he envisions scrambles, reversals, and a combined 200+ significant strikes if it sees the cards, letting the loser still post 50-plus points. For tournaments he will be overweight Klein, dabble in Gamrot leverage, and sprinkle the under 2.5 prop (currently +200) in his betting portfolio, believing the market underrates Klein’s finishing upside.

Mont sided with Dustin Jacoby at $8,800, arguing the veteran kickboxer’s defensive wrestling has quietly tightened up while Bruno Lopez relies almost exclusively on takedowns to win. Jacoby has allowed more than two takedowns only once since 2021 (Darren Stewart) and still kept every opponent under nine minutes of control. Lopez’s gaudy 90 % control-time figure is almost entirely the result of his forgettable Gaudzy Zula fight, where he landed just 33 total strikes in 15 minutes despite spending nine of those minutes on top. On the feet Lopez gets out-landed overall and owns some of the worst leg-kick defense in the division—problematic against a guy who built his career around chopping kicks. Mont acknowledged Jacoby’s finish equity is moderate, but said 80–90 points via clean striking volume and leg-kick damage can still beat his slightly inflated salary. Lopez is merely “an OK dart” for large-field leverage, but Mont will be overweight Jacoby in his GPP pool and treat the bout as low-priority exposure otherwise.

Mont sided with Macy Chiasson at $8,000 despite the pick-em betting line because her round-by-round activity dwarfs Ketlen Vieira’s. Chiasson averages 4.0-plus significant strikes per minute and lands more takedowns and control-time seconds in each of the first two rounds, whereas Vieira’s overall volume sits below three strikes per minute and she is negative in differential (3.9 landed vs 2.9 absorbed). Vieira’s elite 89% takedown defense means Chiasson may need to win this on the feet, but Mont trusts her pace: Chiasson lands 3.7 while absorbing only 2.7 per minute. With the fight expected to go the distance (−300), Mont views Chiasson’s superior output as the deciding factor in both real-life scoring and DraftKings decision wins. At near-even salaries, he will lean toward the statistically busier Chiasson in cash games and mid-range GPP builds.

Mont sided with Andreas Gustafsson at $8,400 despite debut jitters, noting the matchup is tailor-made for a knockout. Giles has been finished in six of his seven UFC defeats and now moves into a 180-lb catchweight where Gustafsson’s 10 career KO/TKO victories should translate. Giles’ offense is notoriously low-volume—allowing fewer than 2.5 sig-strikes a minute overall but spiking to nearly 5.0 absorbed in Round 2—leaving him vulnerable once opponents ramp up. Mont expects Gustafsson to pressure early, land the heavier shots, and find a stoppage before cardio questions surface. He will prioritize Gustafsson in GPPs given the –170 ITD line and mid-range salary, while largely avoiding Giles aside from small leverage stacks due to Giles’ tendency to fight at molasses pace when he survives.

Mont said Alice Ardelean is the only DraftKings side that makes sense in this opener. Dos Santos is 0-3 in the UFC yet sits as a ‑270 favorite and a $9,300 salary—the highest on the slate—despite a ‑375 fight-goes-to-decision prop that caps her ceiling. Ardelean costs just $6,900 and has posted 40 and 48 DK points in her two previous 15-minute outings while landing 4–6 significant strikes per minute and mixing in takedowns plus brief control. Mont argued that if Dos Santos fails to land an early knockout, Ardelean can repeat that 40-point output and smash value, whereas Dos Santos almost certainly cannot reach the 110+ points she needs to justify her price. He will fade Dos Santos completely and sprinkle Ardelean in GPPs as a salary-saver with win equity.