With a deep-rooted appreciation for the martial arts and a particular affinity for jiu-jitsu, Brazil is one of the top combat sports countries in the world. On Saturday night, it'll play host to UFC 237. The pay-per-view event will feature Rose Namanjunas defending her women's strawweight title against Jessica Andrade in the main event as well as legendary Brazilian champion Anderson Silva against Jarred Cannonier in a battle between ranked middleweights. The action is expected to be heavy-hitting and with hundreds of thousands of dollars on the line in MMA DFS tournaments and cash games on DraftKings, that intensity should translate directly to the daily fantasy arena. Raoni Barcelos is the most expensive option for UFC 237 DFS lineups after his opponent, Said Nurmagomedov, withdrew with an injury and was replaced by Carlos Huachin. Before you make any picks, be sure to see the UFC DFS strategy from DFS millionaire Mike McClure.
McClure is a predictive data engineer and a DFS pro with almost $2 million in career winnings. He's crushed his DFS selections in multiple sports recently, including producing tournament rosters that have cashed huge in NFL, NBA, golf, NASCAR and NHL in the past year.
At UFC Fight Night 151 last week, McClure crushed it with his DraftKings lineups. All six of his fighters wound up victorious and his lineups saw returns of at least 29x and as much as 60x depending on the size of the field and format.
For UFC 237 in Rio de Janeiro on Saturday, we can tell you McClure is high on Clay Guida ($9,500) as he takes on B.J. Penn in a lightweight battle. Penn (16-13-2) is an unquestionable UFC legend, but he's made the mistake of fighting well past his prime. He has lost six consecutive fights and only has one win in his last 10 bouts. Guida (34-18) is also a veteran, but at 37 he's actually three years younger and won two of his three bouts over the last two years.
That includes wins over Joe Lauzon and Eric Koch. Guida's last win came in the first round, while three of Penn's last four losses have come via stoppage, so the possibility of Guida ending this fight early is high. That makes him worth the sizable investment in your UFC DFS picks.
McClure's optimal MMA DFS strategy also involves rostering submission specialist Ryan Spann ($8,800) as he takes on Antonio Rogeiro Nogueira in a light heavyweight bout. Spann (15-5) is on a five-match winning streak, and four of those wins have come via first-round stoppage. He has 10 career submission victories, but chances are this one will come down to striking given that Nogueira (23-8) has never been submitted. Spann has two first-round knockouts in his last four fights, so he has the power to put the 42-year-old Minotouro down as the younger, more active fighter with a 6.5-inch reach advantage.
McClure is also targeting a value fighter who is a must-play because his fight is a huge mismatch. This pick could be the difference between cashing huge in UFC 237 DFS or going home with nothing.
So what is the optimal DraftKings lineup for UFC 237 in Rio? And which value fighter needs to be on your roster? Visit SportsLine now to see DFS millionaire Mike McClure's complete optimal tournament lineup for UFC 237, and cash in big on MMA DFS.
