MMA fans who enjoyed last weekend's UFC 249 get another dose of action on Wednesday with UFC Fight Night: Smith vs. Teixeira. The event will take place without fans in Jacksonville due to COVID-19 precautions, but Wednesday's UFC Fight Night card includes plenty of high-octane fighters. There are plenty of UFC DFS tournaments, cash games and 50-50s to choose from, as FanDuel is holding a $150K UFC Wednesday Night Special, while DraftKings is running a $400K Midweek Melee.
Glover Teixeira takes on Anthony Smith in the light-heavyweight main event, while heavyweights Ovince Saint Preux and Ben Rothwell will also square off. The preliminary UFC fight card begins at 6 p.m. ET. With so much talent, finalizing your UFC Fight Night DFS strategy could be a challenge. Before you make your UFC DFS picks, check out the optimal UFC Fight Night DFS strategy from SportsLine's resident daily Fantasy sports millionaire, Mike McClure.
McClure is a predictive data engineer and DFS pro with almost $2 million in career winnings. He's crushed his DFS selections recently, producing tournament rosters that have cashed huge in multiple sports over the past few years.
In March at UFC Fight Night 170, McClure was all over Renato Moicano as one of his top picks. The result: Moicano scored a first-round submission over Damir Hadzovic, and anybody who followed McClure's advice was well on their way to a memorable day.
Now, McClure has set his sights on UFC Fight Night and locked in his top UFC daily fantasy picks. You can only see them here.
Top UFC Fight Night DFS predictions
For UFC Fight Night, McClure is high on Glover Teixeira at $7,200 on DraftKings and $15 on FanDuel as he takes on Anthony Smith in the light-heavyweight main event. This matchup was originally supposed to occur at UFC Lincoln before it was cancelled due to COVID-19.
Teixeira (30-7) is riding a three-fight winning streak and is a perfect 8-0 in submissions, while Smith (32-14) has won four of his last five bouts. Both have a common opponent in Jon Jones, who stopped Teixeira via unanimous decision in 2014 and defeated Smith in the same fashion at UFC 235 in March 2019. Teixeira lands more significant strikes per minute (3.41 to 3.06) and owns a better takedown accuracy percentage (38.1 percent to 26.67).
Part of McClure's optimal UFC Fight Night DFS strategy also includes rostering Alexander Hernandez ($7,900 on DraftKings, $15 on FanDuel). Hernandez steps up with his 11-2 record to take on fellow lightweight and dangerous southpaw Drew Gober (22-9).
Hernandez carries a two-inch reach advantage into Wednesday's fight and also has a better takedown accuracy percentage (30.77 percent to 17.95). Hernandez (11-2) has won nine of his last 10 fights, with the lone blemish a TKO loss to Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone in January 2019. Dober (22-9) has won five of his last six bouts,
How to make UFC DFS picks
McClure is also targeting a value fighter who is a must-roster because his fight is a huge mismatch. This pick could be the difference between cashing huge in MMA DFS or going home with nothing. You can see all of McClure's MMA DFS picks and advice here.
So what are the optimal DraftKings and FanDuel picks for UFC Fight Night: Smith vs. Teixeira? And which value fighter needs to be in your lineup? Visit SportsLine now to see DFS millionaire Mike McClure's complete optimal picks for Wednesday's UFC Fight Night, and cash in big on MMA DFS.