How to Start Betting on MMA

Betting on Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) is absolutely exploding in popularity all over the world. As a relatively new sport to mainstream betting, MMA presents some unique opportunities for sharp bettors like you to make big profits. That is of course if you know what you’re doing.

Unlike other major sports, MMA requires a unique and systematic approach to making your predictions. With so many fighters and different organizations, it can be tough to stay up to speed with all of the fighters and make smart picks.

How To Bet On MMA Fights Online

Everything begins with you picking the right MMA sports betting site. There are lots of options out there, but a few sites are a lot more trustworthy than others. Selecting a top-tier sportsbook is important to make sure you get paid if you win.

If you are new to mixed martial arts betting, follow this quick step by step guide and you will be ready to bet on the next UFC fight night.

1. Choose A Sportsbook– Some sites are scams that you should avoid altogether. There are many reviews of trusted MMA betting websites. Also, if you’re heavily into betting MMA props and markets other than which fighter will win or the number of rounds, be sure to check out their selection of odds and props.
2. Signup Bonuses– You will get bonuses for your deposit. Use your MMA/UFC bets to rollover the bonus and keep growing your bankroll. You need to make a set amount of wagers to take full advantage of these signup bonuses.
3. Making A Deposit– Once you have chosen your UFC sports betting site, make a deposit. There are a variety of options, including credit card deposits, debit cards, or deposit using Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies.
4. MMA/UFC Line Shopping– Shop odds at other sportsbooks. Be sure to always look around at multiple sportsbooks for the best price available.
5. Placing Your MMA/UFC Bet– Review your bet and selection, making sure the amount is correct and that you have placed a bet on the correct selection and fighter. Then, sit back and relax and enjoy the fight!

Top MMA Betting Markets

Online bookmakers allow bettors to place wagers on MMA fights easily, but before you start betting on MMA, you need to learn the different types of MMA bets. Everyone knows that they can bet on who they think is going to win a fight, but there are lots of other ways to bet on MMA.

Moneyline Bet / Match Bet

• Fighter A -300 vs. Fighter B +200

A moneyline bet or match bet is when you select one fighter to win a fight by whatever means necessary. It doesn’t matter how the fighter wins the fight as long as they end up winning.

This is the most popular bet in MMA, as everyone has a prediction as to who should win all of the big MMA fights.

Parlay Bet / Accumulator Bet / Multiplier Bet

Depending on where you live a parlay, accumulator or multiplier is a wager with multiple sections.

For instance, if you think three fighters will win you could bet on all three with a parlay bet to increase the payout odds. The only way you’ll win the parlay is if you end up winning all of the selections you make on the bet.

Even if just one of the fight’s lost the parlay will be a loser, and you won’t win anything. Parlays are great when betting on a couple of favorites since the odds are increased but so is the risk.

Open Parlay

An open parlay is when you decide to make a bet, and you use the option to leave spots open. You don’t have to select them right away but the number of spots you leave open need to be filled before the bet is complete.

These are fun if you want to bet on many fights or events, but you’re not sure on your selections yet. 5 Dimes offer this option, and you can have up to 25 open spots.

Over/Under Bet

• Fighter A vs. Fighter B – Over 2.5 Round -115 / Under 2.5 Rounds +105

One of the easiest ways to bet on an MMA fight is by betting the over/under. In an over/under bet the bookie will post a round total, and you need to bet on whether the fight will last longer or shorter than the round total.

Over under odds are posted to the bookies desecration. But they are fairly standard across the board.

Here are some examples of the Over Under listings.

• Over Under 1.5 Rounds – Usually found when two aggressive fighters fight.

To win the over bet, the bout must pass 2.5mins of the second round.

To win the under the fight needs to end before 2.5mins of round two.

• Over Under 2.5 Rounds – This is what you will see offered the most.

To win the over bet, the bout must pass 2.5mins of the third round.

To win the under the fight needs to end before 2.5mins of round three.

• Over Under 3.5 rounds – You will see the option in most championship fights, fights that have five rounds.

To win the over bet, the bout must pass 2.5mins of the fourth round.

To win the under the fight needs to end before 2.5mins of round four.

Round Betting

Several MMA sportsbooks allow bettors to bet on what round they think the fight will finish in, and the payout odds are much better when betting this way.

You can also bet on a fighter to win the fight during a certain round as well, which is another great MMA bet with excellent payout odds.

Method of Victory

There are three ways to win a fight in MMA including KO, Submission, and Points. If you think you know how a fight is going to end and want to make some money, you can bet on the method of victory at several bookmakers.

Variations of this bet are available.

• Inside the Distance: A fighter wins by KO or Submission. He finishes the fight one way or another, i.e. Inside the Distance.
• The fight ends by Submission: One fighter wins by submission. It does not matter who, it just needs to end by submission.
• The fight ends by KO: One fighter wins by knockout or TKO. It does not matter who, just one person has to stop the other using strikes.

Handicap Betting

One of the lesser known bets is the handicap bet. It’s where the book offers odds giving a fighter a (+) or (-) points amount before the fight.

The odds with this bet are lower than the odds for a moneyline bet, but used smartly and in Parlays can be profitable.

Examples of Handicap Bets

3 Round fight, fighter A is the favorite.

• Fighter A -3.5
• Fighter B +3.5

If either fighter wins by KO, TKO, or DQ, that fighter wins the handicap regardless of the scoring at the time of the stoppage.

The fight completes all scheduled rounds, and the judges score the fight.

• Scores of Fighter A 30-27, Fighter A 29-28, Fighter A 29-28

Fighter A wins a unanimous decision based on these scores.

• The cumulative score for Fighter A is 30+29+29 = 88
• The cumulative score for Fighter B is 27+28+28 = 83

So now we use the handicap scores to get our result.

• Fighter A has a total of 88 – 3.5 = 84.5
• Fighter B has a total of 83 + 3.5 = 86.5

Despite losing the fight, Fighter B would win the handicap bet based on this outcome.

Let’s do a five round fight, and again Fighter A is the favorite.

• Fighter A -5.5
• Fighter B +5.5

Scores of Fighter A 50-45, Fighter A 50-45, Fighter A 48-47.

Fighter A wins a unanimous decision based on these scores, and one judge did give Fighter B one round.

• The cumulative score for Fighter A is 50+50+49 = 148
• The cumulative score for Fighter B is 45+45+46 = 136

So now we use the handicap scores to get our result.

• Fighter A has a total of 149 – 5.5 = 143.5
• Fighter B has a total of 136 + 5.5 = 141.5

Fighter A would win the handicap bet on this fight. This bet is excellent, and you can use it if you think a guy has a great chance to win the fight, but the moneyline odds are not too appealing. The odds will be slightly higher. You can also use these bets in Parlays. There one of the best bets you can do if you pick them smartly.

A rule of thumb is, if a fighter wins a round on all three judges scorecards, he will usually win the handicap. But don’t forget about 10-8 rounds, there are occasions where a fighter clearly wins a round but loses the handicap.

This bet can only be found on 5 Dimes. If you like betting on the UFC it’s highly recommended to make an account there.

Decision Victories

You can bet on decision victories too. You can bet this a few ways the most popular one would be Fighter A wins by decision. Can be any decision it just needs to go to points.

There are more creative decision bets available too.

1. A fighter wins by “Unanimous Decision” when all three judges score him as the winner.
2. A fighter wins by “Split-Decision” when two judges score him as the winner and one judge scores the other fighter as the winner.
3. A fighter wins by “Majority Decision” when two judges score him as the winner and one judge scores the fight a draw.

Live UFC Betting

Betting live on fights is a lot of fun and a good way to make money if you carefully select spots. Generally, there are two types of live betting sites. One is sites that let you bet in between rounds and the other is live betting throughout the fight.

Prop Bets

Bettors can wager on a few prop bets in MMA including several very popular UFC prop bets. If you watch the UFC, you may know that they have awards for Performance of the Night and Fight of the Night. The odds on these bets are usually high.

MMA Online Betting Tips

Betting on MMA fights is a lot of fun, but it is always more fun when you are winning your bets. Here are a few general MMA betting tips that you can add to your MMA betting strategy to hopefully up your profit betting on the next big MMA event.

1. Check out the prop bets. You shouldn’t overlook the prop bets when looking at the betting options for an MMA fight. If you understand MMA well you may have a good idea how a fight could go based on each fighters strengths and weaknesses. Betting on a certain fighter to win by submission could be a sharp fight if you expect the majority of the fight to take place on the mat.
2. Steer clear of heavy favorites. There are a couple reasons why you should steer clear of heavy favorites when betting on MMA fights. First of all, as we all know, in MMA each fighter has a fighting chance of winning the fight. One mistake by the favorite or one lucky punch by the underdog and you could be out a large chunk of your bankroll, while hoping for only a small return. Another reason to stay away from the huge favourites is because the line is almost always swayed by the general public to make it even longer (less return on favorite) than it realistically should be. This is because the average bettor loves to win, regardless of the amount, and betting on favourites allows him to win more often than he loses, even though it hurts his bankroll overall. Betting on big favorites is almost always a negative expected value bet.
3. Underdogs lose less over the long run. This tip is true in all sports and it is mainly because of the reasoning outlined above. The general public loves a favorite. In order to win betting on sports, including MMA, you need to bet against the general public to be successful.
4. Pick your fights. If you are trying to make money betting on MMA then you should not be betting on every fight on a UFC card. The oddsmaker will be spot on for a lot of fights, which means that there will be no edge that you can take advantage of. If the odds look to be accurate, stay away from betting on the fight. If you are just betting for entertainment purposes by all means bet on every fight, but keep your bets small so as not to bankrupt yourself.
5. Shop for the best line. That being said the two sportsbooks will not always offer the same odds for each fighter. In fact, MMA is one sport where you can almost always find big differences in the odds at different sportsbooks. If you want to be a winning MMA bettor you need to get the best return possible on every bet you make. To do this you have to line shop until you find the best odds for your fighter.

Top MMA Circuits to Bet On

1. The granddad of them all. The largest MMA promotion company in the world that features some of the highest-level fighters in the sport on its roster with every fight being eligible for MMA betting.
2. One of the largest combat sport promotions in the world and the second largest in the United States. Has lots of elite fighters and big names and every main card has MMA betting options.
3. A Japanese mixed martial arts organization created in 2015 and seen as the spiritual successor to Pride Fighting Championships.
4. ONE Championship. A Singapore-based MMA, Muay Thai, and kickboxing promotion. Asia’s largest MMA promotion.
5. An American mixed martial arts league founded in 2018. The first major MMA organization in which individual athletes compete in a regular season, post-season, and championship, rather than on a year-round basis.
6. Widely considered to be the premiere mixed martial arts organization in Poland and one of the leading in Europe.
7. American professional MMA promotion for female fighters based in the United States that is primarily a feeder league to the UFC.

Where to Bet on MMA Online

The internet is so overcrowded with online sportsbooks that MMA fans who are new to sports betting frequently make the mistake of going for the websites that offer them the biggest sign-up bonuses. While bonus redemption is important in itself, there are several other essential features an MMA sportsbook must possess in order to deliver a worthwhile experience to fans of this sport.

To start with, high-quality MMA betting sites tend to run on stable software. They offer a well-designed interface that is easy to use and navigate. All the information you need to make an intelligent bet is right there at your fingertips.

You get to see the results of events that took place during the last days, week, or month. The upcoming events are also listed along with the starting time and the bet types offered for each fight. Stats are available for those interested in comparing the form and performance of different MMA fighters.

A decent betting site boasts a solid line-up of MMA markets for all Bellator and UFC fights, including match betting lines, method of victory, round betting, double chance, and point deduction. The best MMA sportsbooks out there would allow you to wager on the main event match as well as on the undercards and smaller events such as the UFC Fight Night.

Early lines and in-play betting are also very handy features since these may increase the value of your bets. Often there are live streaming services you can take advantage of. The bookmakers would move the lines for the in-play markets frequently, giving punters have the chance to accept or decline the updated odds.

The online bet slip works the same way as those in landbased bookmaking shops, only it is more convenient since there is no need to leave the comfort of your home. You can add one or more single bets and the software would have your winnings calculated depending on the odds and the sum you have staked.

Building parlays with multiple selections is also an option. The bet slip enables you to track all your betting activity since it contains information on your open bets, parlays, and settled bets. Pretty much everything you need to stay in control of your MMA wagers is right there, in one place.

Some MMA betting sites even support the so-called “group bet” feature where you can create a group and invite other fans of the sport to join you. The people you have invited to the group can help you build your parlay by adding new selections. You select the market and specify the number of selections each group member can add.

MMA fans who take their betting activities on the web will also benefit from the cash-out feature. This is a very important functionality offered by premium betting sites since it enables you to secure a profit or cut down on your losses before a fight is resolved.

This is usually the best course of action if you feel like the tables have turned during a live fight and the chances of you winning have significantly dropped. You can normally find the button for the early cash-out in your bet slip – it is displayed right next to the qualifying unsettled wagers. There is the option to accept an early payout at adjusted odds or cash out only some of your pending wager and leave the rest run.

MMA mavens who like to bet online are catered to with different odds formats – fractional, decimal, and moneyline. You can switch the default format from the drop-down menu that is normally positioned either next to the bet slip or below the available MMA markets.