Mixed Martial Arts has a long history that dates back to 648 BCE Greece. Back then, it was a sport for the Greek military. Today, MMA is a sport for everyone with a background in boxing, wrestling, Muay Thai, kick boxing and karate.
MMA is one of the fastest growing sports in the world thanks to the following major promoters:
- Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)
- Bellator MMA
- ONE Championship
- Cage Warriors
- Absolute Championship Berkut
Now, fighting in the UFC is every MMA athlete’s dream. It’s the biggest MMA promoter in the world. And thus, the best place to find fights for betting.
How to Bet and Where to Bet on MMA
If you’re an MMA fan, it’s easier to get into MMA betting compared to someone who knows little about the sport. However, it’s not a complicated sport. It’s about fighting, so the main thing to bet on is who wins in a fight.
Regarding where to bet, many people prefer to wager through online sportsbooks. It’s convenient. Online bookmakers offer great odds and bonuses and you can use your smartphone.
Read this guide here to learn more about choosing an MMA betting site. As a bonus, you’ll discover more information on how to go about betting on the sport.
Top Tips for MMA Betting
To win your MMA bets regularly, use the following tips regularly:
Choose an MMA Promotion
For many bettors, the UFC is the obvious choice for MMA betting. For starters, it’s the most popular promoter. Secondly, you can find UFC betting lines at all leading sportsbooks. Finally, there’s lots of information about the organization and multiple platforms to stream its fights.
With that in mind, the UFC is not your only choice. As we mentioned earlier, Bellator MMA, ONE Championship and Cage Warriors are respected organizations.
Alternatively, you can focus on upcoming promotions like Russia’s ACB, Rizin Fighting Federation from Japan and Pancrase.
Specializing in one promotion helps you learn everything you need to know about its athletes, major bouts and player fighting style. It helps you become an expert of one promotion—an important regimen for excelling in betting.
Learn the Divisions and Fighters
The UFC has nine divisions ranging from the Strawweight to the Heavyweight division. The divisions are determined by weight classes. For example, the lightweight division is for athletes who weigh 145 to 155 pounds.
In every division, there’s a ranking system for fighters. Generally, top-ranking athletes have near-perfect records in the organization. Also, there’s an overall ranking for all fighters known as “Pound for Pound ranking.”
You don’t have to know every fighter in the UFC. Learn about the top athletes in every major division. And focus on them during betting.
Conduct Research for Every Fight Card
Generally speaking, most people get into MMA betting after weeks of watching the sport. So, stream a few fight cards to get a feel of the sport. It will help you learn more about how the fights work, how victories are decided and the playing styles.
Once you decide to place your first MMA bet, conduct plenty of research. Learn the histories of the two fighters involved. Discover if they have beefs, if they have fought together in the past and who won.
Usually, fights can be lopsided or pretty competitive. The one-sided competitions are easier to predict but attract less money. As a result, you want to focus on the competitive bouts to increase your returns.
Learn How to Read Odds
Many US-based sportsbooks provide odds using the Vegas style. To expound more, this style is based on betting or winning $100. It also depends on whether you’re backing the underdog or the favorite.
If you spend $100 on Justin Gaethje (underdog) to beat Charles Oliveira (favorite) at +150 odds, you stand to win $150. By comparison, the favorite has -180 odds. This means you need to spend $180 to win $100 if Charles wins. In both cases, you also get your stake back.
International sportsbooks tend to use decimals and fractions to display odds. But you can switch to whichever format you believe is best for you. For clarity, decimals and fractional odds are based on spending $1.
Let’s say Rose Namajunas has 1.5 odds to beat Carla Esparza (3.5). If you back Rose with $1, you will win $1.5. If you think Esparza will win, you’ll earn $3.5 for every $1 you bet on her.
Form Trumps Ranking
Sometimes good fighters can take a break from the sport. When they come back, they might have to face off a lower-ranked athlete in excellent form. Although it might seem the better ranked player will win, this is not always the case.
A fighter in great form is more dangerous than an athlete ranked better by the promotion. To be clear, great form means being on a winning streak, especially one that involves quick knockouts.
Of course, form is not the only thing you need to consider. You should also consider the fighters an athlete has been defeating. If they’re strong opponents, then they are worth betting on.
Consider the Underdogs
The UFC has a history of underdogs defeating the favorites regularly. This mainly happens because of how the promotion organizes bouts. In many cases, CEO Dana White looks at a fight’s ability to attract viewers.
Due to that, Dana sometimes pit together out of form athletes like Connor McGregor and Nate Diaz with in-form opponents. But since these athletes are famous, they can be ranked as the favorites by bookmakers.
How do you tell an underdog will win? Look at the fights they’ve won in the past. Look at their form, weight class and fighting styles.
Your Turn
There you have it—how to bet on the MMA. The sport is growing incredibly fast. That means there are plenty of channels to watch fights. It also means you can bet on MMA fights at multiple sites and you can find betting information on multiple sites.
If you want to be consistent about winning MMA bets, become a fan of the sport. Watch fights regularly. Read analyses on sports sites. Join MMA forums and practice betting regularly.