The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is the world’s biggest promotion company for Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) and is based in Las Vegas. Founded by businessman Art Davie and Brazilian martial artist Rorion Gracie in 1993, MMA is a combination of wrestling, judo, taekwondo, boxing, jiu-jitsu and more between two competitors. A range of fighting, striking and grappling techniques and skill are used to beat the opponent by knockout, TKO, submission or go the distance with a decision win based on judges’ scorecards.
UFC has become a popular worldwide event and there are 8 weight divisions for the men and 4 for the women. Many bettors love to place bets on the sport but it can be highly unpredictable and so it is advised that before you place a bet, you do lots of research to ensure you know as much as possible. With its worldwide popularity, UFC betting is available at pretty much every bookmaker on the planet. During the McGregor years, popular Irish sports betting apps offers some frankly ludicrous odds to entice customers. One of the most important factors to consider when betting on the UFC is the form of the fighters. Each fight is unique and whether you are confident on the favourite or love to support an underdog, you must choose wisely.
How to study form
To accurately place bets and be confident in your success, it is essential that you do plenty of research and keep an eye on the fighters you want to back. Their form is a very important aspect as it will help you to make a decision if they have been playing well or not.
Recent Performances
Always check out both of the fighters results in recent performances. Their record in the UFC is the most important bit of data you need to look at. One of them could be having the best fights of their career and the other could be having a dip in form and so it is vital that you consider their recent form to place an educated bet. There will always be a favourite in a match up but that doesn’t mean they will always win as a UFC match can be unpredictable. Keep an eye on the underdogs and their performances.
Head to Head
Some fighters will play the same opposition more than once which gives bettors a good opportunity to study their performance against each other. Head to head results can be beneficial in assessing how the fighters adapt to the other but just because one won before doesn’t mean they will necessarily win again. There is a lot of overlap in the UFC and if one of the fighters lost to an opponent that the other fighter has beaten before, you may think then that this is a sure win but it’s not always the case.
Styles / Techniques
Another way of studying form is to research which techniques the fighters prefer to use in their fights as well as their tactics. Mixed Martial Arts is all about using different styles and the fighters may be completely different but still provide a compelling match up. Research both their attack and defence tactics which may help you to choose which fighter will come out on top and even watch some of their previous matches to gain an insight into how they perform.
Injuries
It is also a good idea to research if the fighters have had any recent injuries that can affect their return to form or may stop them from performing at their best. MMA is a very physical combat sport and injuries are quite common and depending on the extent of the injury, it can stop a fighter from playing for weeks or even months. You can gather your updates on the injuries during training camp reports and media and decide how much the injury may affect them. For example a knee injury may slow down a fighter and the opponent could exploit the injured area for an advantage.
Other Factors to Consider
Not only should you study the form of the fighters to help you make an informed bet on the winner, you should also consider the different bets you can place for the method of victory. These include:
Knockout / TKO / DQ
Knockout means that the fighter is knocked out and unable to carry on. TKO stands for technical knockout which means the fight is stopped by the referee, the corner or the doctor because the fighter is unable to defend himself. DQ stands for disqualification due to a combination of fouls.
Submission
Some fights can be won by submission in which the opponent will ‘tap out’ for immediate defeat after being placed in an inescapable lock.
Decision
If a fight doesn’t end in a KO or submission, the decision is the final result which is determined by the judges’ scorecards when they all agree on the winner.