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Stipe Miocic and Daniel Cormier will go head-to-head with the Heavyweight Championship on the line for a third time on Saturday at UFC 252. The two legendary fighters both scored a knockout victory in their two previous battles. Picking winners in UFC DFS tournaments, cash games and 50-50s on sites like FanDuel and DraftKings is critical, so Miocic vs. Cormier III might be a fight to avoid as you fill out your UFC 252 DFS lineups. That's because the two have nearly the same odds to win at William Hill.

However, a loaded UFC 252 fight card means you'll have plenty of options available in Saturday's UFC DFS fighter pool. With established veterans like former UFC Heavyweight Champion Junior Dos Santos and Ultimate Fighter winner John Dodson as well as talented young prospects like Jairzinho Rozenstruik and Magomed Ankalaev all scheduled for action, you'll want to have a clear plan of attack with your MMA DFS strategy. So before making your UFC DFS picks for Saturday, be sure to see the latest UFC DFS advice from SportsLine's 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.

At UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. Oleinik last Saturday, McClure was all over Derrick Lewis as one of his top picks. The result: Lewis scored a second-round knockout win over Aleksei Oleinik, and anybody who followed McClure's advice was well on their way to building a winning lineup. 

Now, McClure has set his sights on Saturday's stacked UFC 252 card. You can only see his optimal UFC DFS picks and strategy here.

Top UFC 252 DFS predictions

For UFC 252, McClure is high on Sean O'Malley at $9,200 on DraftKings and $21 on FanDuel. The undefeated 25-year-old picked up right where he left off after a nearly two-year hiatus because of a series of failed drug tests by knocking out Jose Alberto Quinonez in March and then scoring another knockout against Eddie Wineland in June.

Both were first-round knockouts to move his record to 12-0 and now he'll take on Marlon Vera (15-6-1), who is coming off a loss to Yadong Song in May. O'Malley will have an edge on his feet since he lands 6.93 significant strikes per minute to Vera's 3.7. He's also the more active grappler with 1.33 takedowns per 15 minutes to Vera's 0.88.

Part of McClure's optimal UFC DFS strategy also includes rostering Herbert Burns ($8,900 on DraftKings, $19 on FanDuel). After earning his way into the UFC with a first-round submission win over Darrick Minner in Dana White's Contender Series last August, Burns earned first-round stoppages over Nate Landwehr and Evan Dunham.

Now, Burns (11-2) gets Daniel Pineda (18-11), who will be making his first UFC appearance since 2014 after spending the last six years fighting for a number of other promotions. Burns is a dynamic wrestler who averages 7.41 takedowns per 15 minutes while landing 100 percent of his takedown attempts and stuffing 100 percent of his opponents' attempts. Pineda only defends against 48 percent of takedown attempts and will have a difficult time keeping the fight from the ground on Saturday.

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 252 on Saturday? And which value fighter needs to be in your lineup? Visit SportsLine now to see DFS millionaire Mike McClure's complete optimal picks for Saturday's UFC 252 card and cash in big on MMA DFS.