UFC 285 DFS: Top DraftKings daily Fantasy MMA picks, lineup advice for Jones vs. Gane, Shevchenko vs. Grasso
Mike McClure revealed his optimal MMA DFS picks for UFC 285 on Saturday, headlined by Jon "Bones" Jones vs. Cyril Gane for the UFC Heavyweight title

UFC 285 will be one of the biggest events in the history of the promotion with Jon "Bones" Jones set to make his return to the Octagon for the first time in more than three years. The main UFC 285 fight card is set for 10 p.m. ET, with the prelims beginning at 8 p.m. ET. Jones will fight Cyril Gane with the vacant UFC Heavyweight Championship on the line, and he'll have an opportunity to become just the eighth multi-division champion in the history of the UFC. But how should UFC daily Fantasy players be handling Jones' return after such a long layoff, and who else in the UFC DFS fighter pool should they be considering?
The co-main event will feature Valentina Shevchenko defending her UFC Women's Flyweight Championship against Alexa Grasso. Shevchenko will be a popular option for UFC DFS lineups after seven consecutive title defenses with four wins by way of knockout. Before scouring the UFC DFS fighter pool and making any 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.
Last month at UFC 284, McClure was all over Yair Rodriguez and Kleydson Rodrigues. The result: Rodriguez won with a triangle choke in the second round and Rodrigues scored a knockout in less than a minute. Anybody who built their lineups around them were well on the way to a profitable day.
Now, McClure has set his sights on Saturday's stacked UFC 285 card. You can only see his optimal UFC DFS picks and strategy here.
Top UFC 285 DFS predictions
For UFC 285 on Saturday, one of McClure's top MMA DFS picks is Dricus du Plessis at $8,700 on DraftKings. The 29-year-old South African is 18-2 in his career and he's won each of his first four UFC outings while on a six-fight winning streak overall.
Du Plessis has finished five of the six opponents he's beaten -- three knockouts and two submissions -- during his current streak and his opponent Derek Brunson is coming off a knockout loss to Jared Cannonier last February. Brunson is 39 and the Cannonier fight was the only one that he's taken in the last 18 months, so rust could be a factor while du Plessis should be in great shape after defeating Darren Till in December.
Part of McClure's optimal UFC DFS strategy also includes rostering Julian Marquez ($8,000 on DraftKings) as he takes on Marc-André Barriault in a middleweight bout on the preliminary UFC 285 fight card. The 32-year-old Marquez (9-3) fights out of Kansas City and he'll be making his sixth career appearance in the UFC.
He'll be looking to take the fight to the ground, where he can put a purple belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu to work. Marquez's last three victories have all been by submission and he's averaged 3.01 submission attempts per 15 minutes in his UFC career. By contrast, Barriault (14-6) has only averaged 0.15 submission attempts per 15 minutes.
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 285 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 285 card and cash in big on MMA DFS.















