Mixed Martial Arts is an increasingly popular sport that is capturing the attention of fans from more and more corners of the world. While the fans themselves are able to get a lot of entertainment and adrenaline out of the sport, companies have also begun to see it as an opportunity for growth and increased exposure for their brands.

This is not surprising, since in theory, with the help of placing an ad on the octagon or the back of a fighter, you can reach a really sizable audience. This happens mainly when brands decide to cooperate with top organizations, such as the UFC, KSW, Bellator or PFL. We would like to point out the reason why Mixed Martial Arts sponsorship is so popular among a variety of companies from all over the world.

Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) has surged in popularity in recent years, captivating audiences with its blend of athleticism, strategy, and raw combat. Alongside the rise of MMA, the world of sports betting has also seen significant growth, with fans eager to wager on their favorite fighters and events. 

As technology continues to advance, online sportsbooks are evolving to meet the demands of MMA enthusiasts, offering innovative features and betting options. In this exploration, we delve into the future of MMA betting, examining the trends and innovations shaping the landscape of online sports wagering.

Once again, we hit the safe parlay last week, but the others failed.  The smart parlay isn’t feeling so smart so far, and I may tighten the belt more on the requirements for that one in the near future.

This week, there is only 1 qualifying fight for the underdog and smart options (Oliveira/Tsarukyan), so going to skip those.

Post #4 in the series..  Here we go…

Bouts considered must satisfy all of the criteria below:

• Both fighters must be active (fought in 360 days prior to event).  Reduces uncertainty.
• Both fighters must have at least 5 fights, with at least 1 draw or 1 loss (excluding debut).  More data makes WHR happy.
• Both fighters must be rated in the same division as the fight.  Further reduces uncertainty.

Now for the parlays…

Light Heavyweight Championship (205)
[#1/#8P4P] Alex Pereira (9-2-0, -142) vs. [#4] Jamahal Hill (13-1-0, +116)
Alex Pereira is the All-Time #25 ranked Light Heavyweight fighter.
Jamahal Hill is the All-Time #30 ranked Light Heavyweight fighter.

Last 3 Fights: Alex Pereira (2-1-0)
2023-11-11: W vs. [#5LHW] Jiri Prochazka (29-4-1) via TKO (Elbows) in 4:08 of round 2
2023-07-29: W vs. [#2LHW] Jan Blachowicz (29-10-1) via SD (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
2023-04-08: L vs. [#1MW] Israel Adesanya (24-3-0) via KO (Punches) in 4:21 of round 2

Last 3 Fights: Jamahal Hill (3-0-0)
2023-01-21: W vs. [*] Glover Teixeira (33-9-0) via UD (50-44, 50-44, 50-44)
2022-08-06: W vs. [#13LHW] Thiago Santos (22-12-0) via TKO (Punches and Elbows) in 2:31 of round 4
2022-02-19: W vs. [#11LHW] Johnny Walker (21-8-0) via KO (Punch) in 2:55 of round 1

Days Since Last Pro Fight: Alex Pereira 154, Jamahal Hill 448
Previous Match-up Record: No previous match-ups.
Wins Against Common Opposition: No common opposition or both are winless against common opposition.
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Women Strawweight Championship (115)
[#1/#1DD/#1P4P] Weili Zhang (24-3-0, -413) vs. [#2/#7DD/#9P4P] Xiaonan Yan (18-3-0, +307)
Weili Zhang is the All-Time #5 ranked Women’s fighter.

Last 3 Fights: Weili Zhang (3-0-0)
2023-08-19: W vs. [#4SW/#10DD] Amanda Lemos (14-3-1) via UD (50-43, 50-44, 49-45)
2022-11-12: W vs. [*] Carla Esparza (19-7-0) via Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) in 1:05 of round 2
2022-06-11: W vs. [*] Joanna Jedrzejczyk (16-5-0) via KO (Spinning Backfist) in 2:28 of round 2

Last 3 Fights: Xiaonan Yan (2-1-0)
2023-05-06: W vs. [#5SW] Jessica Andrade (25-12-0) via KO (Punches) in 2:20 of round 1
2022-10-01: W vs. [#8SW] Mackenzie Dern (13-5-0) via MD (48-47, 48-47, 47-47)
2022-03-05: L vs. [#7SW] Marina Rodriguez (17-3-2) via SD (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

Days Since Last Pro Fight: Weili Zhang 238, Xiaonan Yan 343
Previous Match-up Record: No previous match-ups.
Wins Against Common Opposition: Weili Zhang leads 2-1
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Lightweight (155)
[#3/#10P4P] Justin Gaethje (25-4-0, -190) vs. [#3FW] Max Holloway (25-7-0, +155)
Justin Gaethje is the All-Time #12 ranked Lightweight fighter.
Max Holloway is the All-Time #8 ranked Absolute fighter.

Last 3 Fights: Justin Gaethje (2-1-0)
2023-07-29: W vs. [#4LW] Dustin Poirier (30-8-0) via KO (Head Kick) in 1:00 of round 2
2023-03-18: W vs. [#9LW] Rafael Fiziev (12-3-0) via MD (29-28, 28-28, 29-28)
2022-05-07: L vs. [#2LW/#6DD/#9P4P] Charles Oliveira (34-9-0) via Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) in 3:22 of round 1

Last 3 Fights: Max Holloway (2-1-0)
2023-08-26: W vs. [*] Chan Sung Jung (17-8-0) via KO (Punch) in 0:23 of round 3
2023-04-15: W vs. [#8FW] Arnold Allen (19-3-0) via UD (49-46, 49-46, 48-47)
2022-07-02: L vs. [#2FW/#8DD] Alexander Volkanovski (26-4-0) via UD (50-45, 50-45, 50-45)

Days Since Last Pro Fight: Justin Gaethje 259, Max Holloway 231
Previous Match-up Record: No previous match-ups.
Wins Against Common Opposition: Even: Both have 1 win(s) against common opposition.
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Last week was a good week.  Technically, two out of three parlays hit — the “underdog” and the “safe” options.  Jason Butcher, who was featured in the “underdog” parlay, withdrew from his fight. This reduced the underdog option to one fight, but it still would’ve cashed at a lesser payout.

I’m going to start tracking progress back to the start of the weekly 3-parlay posts and include that ongoing.  This is post #3.

Here we go…

Bouts considered must satisfy all of the criteria below:

• Both fighters must be active (fought in 360 days prior to event).  Reduces uncertainty.
• Both fighters must have at least 5 fights with at least 1 draw or 1 loss.  More data makes WHR happy.
• Both fighters must be rated in the same division as the fight.  Further reduces uncertainty.
• Major organizations only.  If it is a dead week, I’ll bend.  Other interesting bets may be posted in comments.

Now for the parlays…

When it comes to Irish MMA stars, there are none as exciting as Conor McGregor. Back in 2014, he managed to defeat Diego Brandao at the Dublin O2 Arena. At that point, he became a famous name in the MMA scene, and went on to become the very first “Champ Champ”.

At that fight in 2014, five different Irish MMA fighters managed to win their matchups as well. At this point, it looked like Irish fighters were going to become the biggest names in MMA, but since then we haven’t seen the same success from them. This has been especially disappointing for those in the betting scene, who were hoping to see more from Irish Fighters. Irish bookmakers seen at Betfree.ie offer betting on pretty much every MMA event, but unfortunately at the moment not many Irish stars are listed. With MMA becoming a bigger deal and no one in betting, Irish punters want to bet on the home fighters.

Now though, there are several different MMA fighters who are looking to replicate that success and become the top names in the sport. Here are just some of these fighters that you need to be watching right now.

Middleweight (185)
[#9] Brendan Allen (23-5-0, -208) vs. [#21] Chris Curtis (31-10-0, +168)

Last 3 Fights: Brendan Allen (3-0-0)
2023-11-18: W vs. [#18MW] Paul Craig (17-7-1) via Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) in 0:38 of round 3
2023-06-24: W vs. [#42MW] Bruno Silva (23-11-0) via Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) in 4:39 of round 1
2023-02-25: W vs. [#20MW] Andre Muniz (24-6-0) via Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) in 4:25 of round 3

Last 3 Fights: Chris Curtis (1-1-0, 1 NC)
2024-01-20: W vs. [#38MW] Marc-Andre Barriault (17-7-0) via SD (28-29, 30-27, 30-27)
2023-06-10: NC vs. [#13MW] Nassourdine Imavov (13-4-0)
2023-04-08: L vs. [#26WW] Kelvin Gastelum (18-9-0) via UD (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)

Days Since Last Pro Fight: Brendan Allen 140, Chris Curtis 77
Previous Match-up Record: Chris Curtis leads 1-0-0
Wins Against Common Opposition: No common opposition or both are winless against common opposition.
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Featherweight (145)
[#41] Damon Jackson (22-6-1, +156) vs. [#82] Alexander Hernandez (14-7-0, -192)

Last 3 Fights: Damon Jackson (1-2-0)
2023-08-05: L vs. [#38FW] Billy Quarantillo (18-6-0) via UD (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
2023-01-14: L vs. [#16FW] Dan Ige (18-7-0) via KO (Punch) in 4:13 of round 2
2022-09-17: W vs. [#76FW] Pat Sabatini (18-5-0) via TKO (Submission to Punches) in 1:09 of round 1

Last 3 Fights: Alexander Hernandez (1-2-0)
2023-10-07: L vs. [#35FW] Bill Algeo (18-8-0) via UD (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
2023-02-18: W vs. [#54LW] Jim Miller (37-17-0) via UD (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
2022-12-10: L vs. [#38FW] Billy Quarantillo (18-6-0) via TKO (Knees and Punches) in 4:30 of round 2

Days Since Last Pro Fight: Damon Jackson 245, Alexander Hernandez 182
Previous Match-up Record: No previous match-ups.
Wins Against Common Opposition: Even: Both have 1 win(s) against common opposition.
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Featherweight (145)
[#46] Jose Mariscal (15-6-0, +135) vs. [#110] Morgan Charriere (19-9-1, -166)

Last 3 Fights: Jose Mariscal (3-0-0)
2023-09-09: W vs. [#144FW] Jack Jenkins (12-3-0) via TKO (Arm Injury) in 3:19 of round 2
2023-06-24: W vs. [#159LW] Trevor Peek (9-1-0) via UD (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
2023-02-17: W vs. [#118FW] Guilherme Faria de Souza (19-10-0) via TKO (Punches) in 2:02 of round 2

Last 3 Fights: Morgan Charriere (3-0-0)
2023-09-02: W vs. [#534FW] Manolo Zecchini (11-4-0) via KO (Body Kick and Punches) in 3:51 of round 1
2023-07-21: W vs. [#332LW] Diego Silva (16-9-0) via TKO (Punches) in 4:13 of round 3
2023-04-29: W vs. [#924FW] Pedro Souza (18-5-0) via TKO (Doctor Stoppage) in 5:00 of round 1

Days Since Last Pro Fight: Jose Mariscal 210, Morgan Charriere 217
Previous Match-up Record: No previous match-ups.
Wins Against Common Opposition: No common opposition or both are winless against common opposition.
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This post covers the rest of March.  Hopefully we’ll hit something.  It is a bit of a dead week, so I’m bending a bit and including some lesser organizations in the parlays.

In this post, I’m going to cover this week’s fights and will now feature three different parlays:

Bouts considered must satisfy all of the criteria below:

• Both fighters must be active (fought in 360 days prior to event).  Reduces uncertainty.
• Both fighters must have at least 5 fights with at least 1 draw or 1 loss.  More data makes WHR happy.
• Both fighters must be rated in the same division as the fight.  Further reduces uncertainty.
• Major organizations only.  If it is a dead week, I’ll bend.  Other interesting bets may be posted in comments.

Now for the parlays…

Wrestling in Mixed Martial Arts is overwhelmingly intricate when considering who will win, and it’s normally the context that often decides who the victor of the match will be. For those of us looking to place a smart bet on an upcoming fight, diving into the wrestling backgrounds of fighters and understanding how different styles impact matches can be the deciding factor. Especially when trying to pick the team that is most likely to win.

When analyzing fighters for betting purposes, it’s crucial to consider not just their win-loss record, but also their wrestling skill level and style. Some fighters use wrestling defensively, to keep the fight standing using their striking abilities. Others may rely on their wrestling offensively to take opponents down and work towards a submission or ground-and-pound victory.

It’s also important to factor in how a fighter’s wrestling skills match up against their opponent’s. A well-timed takedown or a successful sprawl can swing the momentum of a round, influence judges’ scoring, and ultimately affect the outcome of the fight. Paying attention to these details is key to predicting how a fight might unfold.

A thorough understanding of the wrestling styles in play, and how they interact with other fighting disciplines, can give you a much sharper edge in you decision making. Keep in mind that while wrestling can be a determining factor in many fights, it’s not the only one. Conditioning, mental fortitude, experience, and the ability to strategize on the fly are also critical components that influence a fight’s outcome.

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The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) calendar for 2024 is shaping up to be another electrifying year for mixed martial arts enthusiasts. With a slate of events that span the globe, the UFC continues to cement its status as the pinnacle of combat sports. In this article, we delve into the highlights of the upcoming UFC events, offering fans a glimpse into the matchups that are sure to captivate audiences worldwide.

A High-Octane Beginning and Mid-Year Spectacles

The year began with Magomed Ankalaev defeating Johnny Walker by TKO (strikes) in the second round of their rematch in January. This victory was a significant highlight early in the UFC calendar, setting a high standard for the fights that followed​​. By the time UFC 297 rolled around, fans had already witnessed a series of compelling bouts, including Sean Strickland’s encounter with Dricus du Plessis for the UFC Middleweight Title in Toronto. The months that followed continued to deliver exciting matchups, with UFC 298 showcasing a featherweight title fight between Alexander Volkanovski and Ilia Topuria, alongside other notable fights such as Robert Whittaker vs. Paulo Costa and Tai Tuivasa vs. Marcin Tybura.

In UFC 299, Sean O’Malley beat Marlon Vera by decision in a much-anticipated rematch for the UFC Bantamweight Title in Miami. In the co-main event, Dustin Poirier knocked out Benoit Saint-Denis in the second round in a lightweight clash. This event also saw Michael Page improve to 22-2, winning in a decision over Kevin Holland in the welterweight division.