How a Bettor Won Nearly $400,000 with a $1 UFC Parlay on DraftKings Sportsbook

A DraftKings Sportsbook bettor had an epic weekend during UFC 285, turning just $1 into nearly $400,000 in one of the greatest wins in sports betting history. Targeting the UFC 285 card, the bettor placed a $1 Parlay Bet on DraftKings Sportsbook featuring the following six picks at +39947171 odds:

• Dricus Du Plessis to Win by KO/TKO/DQ in Round 2
• Cody Garbrandt To Win By Decision
• Bo Nickal to Win by Submission in Round 1
• Shavkat Rakhmonov to Win by Submission in Round 3
• Alexa Grasso to Win by Submission in Round 4
• Jon Jones To Win By Submission

The official win was $399,472.71.

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This Parlay Bet featured two UFC 285 preliminary card fights and four main card fights. The first leg of this parlay that was on the main card was Bo Nickal’s fight against Jamie Pickett. Picking Nickal to win by submission in Round 1 was a smart idea that had plenty of support leading into the fight. As a three-time NCAA Division I National Champion wrestler, Nickal is one of the most exciting UFC prospects in recent memory and destroyed his competition on Dana White’s Contender Series to earn a UFC contract. Nickal won each of his two DWCS fights in roughly one minute and finished both fights by submission. In those fights, Nickal specifically hunted submissions and chose to go for a triangle choke from full mount rather than try to finish the fight by ground-and-pound, which hinted to this bettor that Nickal would employ a similar strategy in his fight against Pickett.

That is exactly what happened—Nickal immediately began hunting submissions from the start of the fight. To get the submission attempts started, Nickal threw Pickett to the ground with an underhook whip to a knee pick and was working on a front choke. After the front choke was unsuccessful, Nickal pivoted to Pickett’s back and threw two hooks in to secure rear mount and hunt a rear-naked choke. Nickal then ended up in Pickett’s half guard, where he ferociously hunted an arm-triangle choke. Nickal held his squeeze for a prolonged period of time, working to find the correct leverage to finish the choke. Once Nickal passed Pickett’s half guard and freed his trapped leg, he had the leverage to finish the choke and end the fight by submission.

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

The most shocking and unlikely hit in this Parlay Bet was Alexa Grasso’s win over Valentina Shevchenko. Shevchenko entered this fight as roughly a -800 favorite and had dominated the women’s flyweight division, winning eight consecutive flyweight title fights. Shevchenko had never been submitted before in her professional career, and she appeared to have the edge in grappling over Grasso leading into the fight.

Late in Round 4, Shevchenko threw a turning side kick, but Grasso identified the strike before it could land and moved in to grab a hold of Shevchenko’s exposed back. Grasso jumped on Shevchenko’s back, threw two hooks in and took Shevchenko to the mat. From this dominant back mount position, Grasso sunk in a rear-naked choke, which forced Shevchenko to tap out in a stunning upset.

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

The final leg of this epic hit was the main event of UFC 285. Jon Jones was making his return after a three-year absence and was moving up a weight class to fight at heavyweight for the first time. Jones’ advantage in grappling was immediately on display, as he quickly took Ciryl Gane to the ground. Jones’ first takedown attempt was timed perfectly—he entered while Gane was overextended throwing a punch, which made securing the takedown easy. After a scramble and another takedown by Jones, Gane ended up sitting against the fence where Jones caught Gane with his head down, which exposed Gane to a guillotine choke. Gane escaped Jones’ first attempt at the guillotine, but Jones quickly re-gripped and sunk in the fight-finishing submission.

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Check out Stepped Up Same Game Parlays on DraftKings Sportsbook for big profit boosts! The more legs in the parlay, the bigger the boost! See the Stepped Up Same Game Parlays page for more details!

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Same Game Parlay (SGP) is available on DraftKings Sportsbook for multiple sports! To place a SGP:

1. Find a game that has a +SGP icon in the top-left corner.
2. Toggle “Same Game Parlay” on. Once it’s on, all available bets will appear.
3. Build your Same Game Parlay. Combine multiple bets from one game. The more bets you combine, the more you can win.
4. Place your parlay. Add your Same Game Parlay to your bet slip, enter your wager amount, and submit your bet.

Read more about SGP at the DraftKings Sportsbook SGP page!