DWCS Week 3: Predictions, Picks and Betting Odds August 27

DWCS Week 3 Betting Preview

UFC WagerTalk handicapper Andy Lang gives his Week 3 DWCS picks and predictions for August 27th with the main event headlined by Andrey Pulyaev vs Liam Anderson in a middleweight fight. The main card starts up at 8:00pm ET from the UFC APEX in Las Vegas, NV.

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Andrey Pulyaev vs Liam Anderson: DWCS Week 3

Tuesday, August 27	Dana White Contender Series Betting Notes (Courtesy of Caesars)
Moneyline:	Andrey Pulyaev +140 vs Liam Anderson -180
Rounds:	N/A
Fight Time:	Main Card Starts at 8:00pm ET / 5:00pm PT
Arena:	UFC APEX in Las Vegas, NV
TV:	ESPN+

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DWCS 3 Predictions

Nick Piccininni -315 vs Jack Duffy +230

Piccininni is the rightful favorite here as all he really has to do is avoid the takedown of Duffy, and he’ll dominate on the feet.

Duffy took several years off from 2019-2023, and he’s won 2 fights since returning, and both wins were because of his takedowns and dominance on the ground, but he’s shown some real weakness in his striking defense, and honestly, his striking offense isn’t that impressive.

He got knocked down several times 2 fights ago against a smaller opponent, and Piccininni will probably be the best striker he’s faced.

If Duffy gets this to the ground, he can control and score points, but that’s not the name of the game at Contender Series.

I can see him trying to strike for a bit against Piccininni, and then when he realizes that it isn’t going well, he’ll shoot for a takedown, but Piccininni will expect it and be ready for it.

I think Piccininni gets the job done, probably by KO. The other thing in this fight is that I’ve faded guys coming from Urijah Faber’s A1 Combat League, and so far they are 0-2 this season. I think it goes to 0-3 after this fight.

Malcolm Wellmaker -166 vs Adam Bramhald +130

I can poke some pretty big holes in both these fighters, so the value is certainly on Bramhald. The big red flag for Bramhald is that he’s fought some interesting fighters with records like 19-27, 0-18, and multiple people with 1-2 fights on their resume.

He has a muay thai style so I expect a lot of kicks coming from him, and I haven’t seen Wellmaker fight anyone who’s thrown leg kicks like Bramnhald will throw.

Wellmaker has also fought some cans, and while he only has 7 professional fights, he fought a ton of amateur fights so he has a lot of cage time, but not against good fighters.

His striking is good, but I’ve seen him controlled pretty easy in the clinch, but I’m not sure Bramhald can exploit it. I don’t trust either of these guys, so it’s dog or pass on this fight, but it’s certainly a pass for me.

Marco Tulio -375 vs Matthieu Duclos +270

Tulio won on Contender Series last season, but Dana didn’t give him the contract, but going back and watching the fight, Tulio fought a tough guys and it was a really good fight.

Striking was good, he got a crucial takedown in the third that got him the win, and since then he went to LFA for a fight and knocked out Cemey dos Santos in the second round.

I think Dana may have some regrets about not giving him a contract, and this may sound dumb, but Carlos Prates and Oki fought on that episode of Contender Series, and they pulverized their opponents so it was almost impossible to match their level of domination as Tulio and Timmy Cuamba didn’t get contracts that night, and this feels like a nice spot for redemption for Tulio.

I actually like Duclos, he’s exciting, good power, and finishing ability, but he’s only 6-2, and has fought…NOBODY.

His last fight was against a guy who was 5-2, but the fight got stopped really early when the ref made a mistake about an eye poke so we didn’t get to see much from him.

This is a massive step up in competition for Duclos, and I think he gets knocked out as he just doesn’t have the experience to compete with Tulio. Tulio by KO in the second is my prediction.

Bogdan Grad -145 vs Michael Aswell +114

Bogdon Grad got fed to Tom Nolan last season on Contender Series, and he got knocked out early in the fight, but we’ve seen Nolan not look dominant in the UFC so that’s not a great look for him.

He’s won 2 fights since that loss, both by finish in Cage FS, and while I wasn’t impressed with his competition, he looked confident and strong.

The big concern is that he got taken down easily to start both of those fights, and that’s how his fight on Contender Series started as well, with him getting knocked down and on his back 20 seconds in.

Aswell also has 2 finishes in his last 2 fights as he’s really shown off his striking, and his forward pressure, and I think his forward pressure will be the key for him.

Grad seems to accept position, and rely on countering, but if Aswell pushing forward from the beginning he can dictate the pace, and where this fight takes place.

This should be a really fun fight, but I’ll take a sprinkle on Aswell as I think his striking is going to be non-stop, and it’s going to look better to the judges if goes to decision. If the fight finishes, it will be from a KO.

DWCS Week 3 Main Event: Liam Anderson -180 v Andrey Pulyaev +140

Anderson has some hype to him as he has really powerful striking, both with punches and kicks, but he’s got some big holes in his striking defense.

We saw him get wobbled pretty good 2 fights ago against a lackluster opponent, and even though he has lots of finishes, he’s benefitted big time from his opponents making dumb mistakes or just not being very good. He’s a powerhouse for sure, but I think he’s a bit overrated.

I think Pulyaev is going to give him some problems as he doesn’t have a ton of upside, but he also doesn’t seem to make a lot of mistakes.

He’s fought most of his pro fights in the Shlemenko promotion and it’s tough to find a lot of video to watch on him, but what I’ve seen is that his striking is good, but I’m not sure if he’s going to be fast enough to get to the chin of Anderson, but he’ll certainly have the openings.

He’s averaging a fight every 2-3 months, but he hasn’t fought since February so I’m wondering if he’s been planning for this as it’s by far his biggest break between fights since 2019.

Anderson has the upside, but he has too many holes in his game for me to bet this number. I’ll definitely take this fight to not go the distance as both guys can submit or knockout the other. It’s dog or pass for this one, but taking the under will make a parlay for sure for me.

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