Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) is one of the world’s fastest growing sports in the world, so it’s no surprise that betting on MMA, and especially the UFC, is also growing in popularity. Now all the major Australian sportsbooks offer a variety of markets for every UFC pay-per-view card. Part of what makes MMA such an exciting sport to watch is the unpredictability and how the entire complexion of a fight can change with just one well-placed punch or a crazy submission. However this can make betting a little tricky as well, so to increase both the value and the likelihood of success, it is important to take advantage of the many prop bets available for MMA betting. Below are a few of the main markets offered by major sports books on UFC fights.
MMA & UFC Betting Types
Head to Head –The most straightforward bet type, a punter needs to pick the winner of the fight. The vast majority of fights result in a winner with only about 1.5% of bouts ending in a draw or no contest.
Method of Victory – The punter must predict the winner and if whether it’s won via decision, KO or submission.
Double Chance – Similar to method of victory, however the punter has to predict the winner and then has two chances at predicting the method (i.e. fighter x to win by KO or by decision). This is quite useful when a fighter has very little submission skills and therefore is only likely to win a decision or by KO (and vice versa for a fighter with very little KO power).
Total Rounds – The punter must predict whether the fight will go over or under a certain amount of time. For example, if the line is set at 1.5 rounds, the punter must predict if the fight will be finished in the first round, or continue into the second round and beyond.
Generally fights at lower weight classes, and women’s fights, tend to go longer (and are more likely to go to decision) due to less knockout power. Also fights with a big skill discrepancy (i.e. a high level grappler vs a high level kickboxer) are more likely to result in a finish than fights with evenly matched combatants.
Will the Fight Go The Distance? – The punter must predict whether the fight will go to a decision or be finished early (by submission or KO).
Live Betting – Live betting can be a very useful tool in MMA. There are a lot of questions about a fighter’s physical condition or mentality that are impossible to know prior to a fight but can be answered shortly after the bout has started. Live bets are generally restricted to the head to head bet type.
Before You Bet provides regular UFC betting tips
