Coming off the return of live North American sports with last Saturday’s UFC 249, daily Fantasy players will have more live MMA action on Wednesday when UFC Fight Night: Smith vs. Teixeira takes place at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville. Due to the coronavirus pandemic there will be no fans in attendance, but Wednesday’s UFC Fight Night card ensures that viewers will be thoroughly entertained. There’s also plenty on the line in UFC DFS tournaments, cash games and 50-50s. DraftKings is running a $400K Midweek Melee, while FanDuel is holding a $150K UFC Wednesday Night Special.
Talented light-heavyweight Anthony Smith faces Glover Teixeira in the main event, but which one should you back with your MMA DFS picks? With so much talent, finalizing your UFC Fight Night DFS strategy could be a serious 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 happen at UFC Lincoln before it was cancelled due to COVID-19.
Smith (32-14) has won four of his last five bouts, with his only loss coming to Jon Jones in a title fight at UFC 235. Meanwhile, Teixeira (30-7) has a three-fight winning streak. Teixeira has won 17 of his bouts by TKO and is a perfect 8-0 in submissions. Teixeira also has tangled with Jones, seeing a 20-bout winning streak fall in a 2014 unanimous-decision loss. Teixeira owns a better takedown accuracy percentage (38.1 percent to Smith’s 26.67 percent) and lands more significant strikes per minute (3.41 to 3.06).
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 is looking for a second victory since falling to Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone in January 2019. Although Gober is a feared Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu artist, Hernandez enters the Octagon with a far better takedown accuracy percentage (30.77 percent to Gober’s 17.95) and carries a two-inch reach advantage.
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.
