How to Bet on MMA Online
Bet on MMA Online
Since man first began engaging in athletic competitions, combat sports have been popular. And when we first discovered the joy of putting money down on those competitions, it was boxing that helped lead the way on growing sports betting.
Boxing has since been replaced as our main love of one-on-one combat with the global phenomenon that is MMA. Begun modestly as UFC1 in Denver in 1993, the UFC has since held events in more than 20 different countries and with multiple in-person attendance figures of more than 50,000.
Fighting is a full-contact combat sport, unlike boxing. We’ve moved out of the ring and into the octagon. And the number of fights on a nightly card, and the number of big fights drawing in millions of wagers per year, has never been higher.
MMA/UFC Structure
Mixed martial arts is the sport better known as MMA. The Ultimate Fighting Championship is the company that runs the highest level of MMA fighting, better known as the UFC. However, there are multiple MMA organizations in the world, with the UFC and Bellator being the two biggest.
When betting on MMA, typically, you will only find odds on the UFC and Bellator.
A standard UFC bout has a limit of three rounds of five minutes each, with championship fights having up to five rounds. And in a UFC bout, the fighters can punch, kick, elbow, and take down their opponents.
A fight card is made up of bouts at the five different weight classes in the UFC and with fighters matched against someone else in their weight class. The typical event features a preliminary card of around six fights, the main card of five fights, and then a main event that features the most high-profile championship fight of the night.
Fighter rankings are voted on by the media and help determine which fighters are matched up in the event.
A women’s division was created in the UFC when Rhona Rousey was signed in 2012, and another 11 women fighters were signed in 2013. Women’s fights have become a staple of every UFC event since that time.
Types of MMA Bets
This is the most basic of all UFC bets. It’s a win/loss bet placed on a moneyline, meaning that each fighter pays out on different odds.
The favorite of the fight is designated in American odds with a negative number (-175 as an example), while the underdog in the fight has a positive number (+150). This means that for the favorite, it will require a $175 bet to clear $100 in winnings. A $100 bet on the underdog will play out $150.
Another popular type of bet is on the method of victory. Not only are you choosing the winner of the fight, but you’re also choosing how they will win. These are also paid out on a moneyline but with a much higher return than just a win/loss bet. Each of the possible methods of victory is posted on a board with odds and includes these potential bets.
- Fighter 1 wins by KO/TKO/DQ
- FIghter 2 wins by KO/TKO/DQ
- FIghter 1 wins by Submission
- Fighter 2 wins by Submission
- Fighter 1 wins by Decision
- Fighter 2 wins by Decision
You can also place a wager on the fight ending in a draw.
Similar to a totals bet in team sports, which doesn’t rely on a specific winner, MMA betting allows you to bet on the over/under of rounds in the fight. These bets are also winners or losers regardless of which fighter wins.
You can bet over/under 1.5 rounds, which is a common bet when both fighters are aggressive. Over/under on 2.5 rounds is the most common round bet in the UFC. For championship fights scheduled to go five rounds, 3.5 rounds is the most common over/under line you will see.
The half-rounds are important for this type of bet. Since each round is five minutes, the round is official after two minutes and 30 seconds. So a fight of two rounds, two minutes, and 31 seconds is considered over 2.5 rounds.
Since most UFC cards have around 10 fights in an evening, most bettors will place wagers on more than one fight. And like with other sports, you can bundle your multiple picks into a single parlay.
Like with other moneyline parlays (baseball and hockey as examples), the amount that the parlay pays is calculated on what each leg of the parlay pays.
Also called in-play or in-game betting, live betting on MMA fights is growing in popularity. Live bets are wagers that are placed after the fight has already begun, and with shifting moneyline odds, method of victory payouts, and over/under round lines that each move as the fight progresses.
There are a number of advantages of betting on the UFC after a fight has started. You can see the strategies each fighter is employing, how someone looks after coming back from injury, which fighter seems to be fading, plus the pace of the fight and how that might change the length of the fight.
Live UFC betting is also a great way to secure a certain amount of profit that can help offset a result on which you already placed a wager.
Outside of the method of victory, there are only a few other proposition bets that can be wagered on the UFC. If you watch the UFC on a regular basis, then you’ve no doubt seen the post-event awarding of the Performance of the Night and Fight of the Night.
Both of those awards can be wagered on before the event begins, and both usually pay on long odds.
MMA Betting Strategies
As with all sports betting, getting an edge, even a small one, can make the difference between being a regular loser or a regular winner. And getting an edge over your fellow MMA bettors requires more than just a knowledge of each fighter. Knowing the fighters and their histories is the minimum you must do.
One top strategy used in MMA betting is the rematch strategy. Typically the fighter who won the first fight also wins the second. This frequency increases if the rematch is the very next bout for each fighter. So don’t be swayed by the underdog seeking revenge for a previous loss. Chances are good they will lose again.
Each fighter has different strengths and weaknesses, but when it comes to which strength is the most valuable, it seems to be wrestling. When it comes to the history of the UFC and the fighters that won championship titles, more of them have a wrestling background than any other. The next most common is jiu-jitsu because those fighters are also superior in take-downs.
On the flip side of the above note about wrestlers, it’s always good when placing your bets to avoid specialists. If a fighter is one-dimensional, choosing to concentrate their efforts on the one thing they do really well, they are usually going to lose to a fighter that is more well-rounded.
This is one of the things people like most about MMA, as compared to boxing. There is no one way to succeed in the sport. True success only comes to those who do many things well.
Where to Bet on MMA
As the popularity of mixed martial arts has grown, and the UFC and Dana White’s footprint on the sports world has gotten bigger, all good sportsbooks now offer UFC bets. Customers demand it, and they have all risen up to meet that demand.
As for whether you can find Bellator odds along with UFC odds, that isn’t so universal. So if you’re a huge MMA fan and want to place wagers on multiple levels of competition, you may have to look around for the right sportsbook. But don’t worry. They exist.
Along with their amount of offerings making them the right fit, also look for the sportsbooks that offer you the most free money. Risk-free bets, welcome bonuses, and deposit match bonuses are all now standard in the business, but not all offers are equal. Figure out the type of betting you plan to do, and then compare that to the type of bonuses you are most likely able to use.
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