The UFC is the premier MMA organization, and MMA fans bet big on UFC Pay-Per-Views every month.
But that’s not all you can bet on. Less-publicized UFC fights are always happening as are cards from smaller MMA organizations like Bellator or PFL. With so much to choose from, you won’t be short on MMA betting odds at any online sportsbook.
Below check out the basics of betting on MMA online including the best UFC betting sites to consider.
Best sportsbooks for UFC betting
A number of regulated online sportsbooks are now available to sign up for in multiple US states. Here are four super solid US sports betting apps that you should consider for your UFC action:
- FanDuel Sportsbook: One of the most popular places to bet on the UFC offers an interesting Decision No Bet wager where the bet is void if the fight goes to a decision. In this betting type, a submission or KO/TKO must occur for any money to be paid out.
- BetMGM Sportsbook: BetMGM has a long history of being associated with betting on fights as part of MGM Resorts. The top of the MMA page in the app may showcase parlays they have already put together for you to consider.
- Caesars Sportsbook: Navigating toward the MMA promotions is about as easy as it gets for a sportsbook app, and you can often find odds boosts heading into a big fight weekend to maximize your potential payout.
- DraftKings Sportsbook: A partner of the UFC, fans of the MMA should be quite familiar with DraftKings. This sportsbook does a great job of not only providing UFC odds, but Bellator and PFL odds can often be listed well before the fight date.
UFC betting apps for live betting
The easiest and most convenient way to bet on the UFC is through a sportsbook app, which you can register for using our links.
It creates a simpler sports betting process and gives bettors opportunities they would not have if they still needed to be located inside a physical sportsbook to place a bet.
For example, live betting has become incredibly popular since online sports betting was legalized in the United States, and it can be an entertaining and profitable way to go about placing bets on sports.
Through a sportsbook app, bettors can pull out their phones and bet on a UFC fight as the event is happening live. Numbers will adjust based on what is happening in the bout, so be sure to get your bet in quickly at the optimal number.
UFC odds boosts & bonuses
The competition among sportsbooks to add new users is incredibly high, and that’s great news for sports bettors. Sportsbooks are willing to offer big odds boosts or sign up bonuses to new or existing users to keep bettors on their platform.
Sportsbooks understand this industry is designed for them to succeed, so they are fine with giving the bettors a slight edge every once in a while because that likely means more money for them in the long run.
This was a bit of an extreme example but one where plenty of bettors could’ve taken advantage.
For UFC 250, DraftKings Sportsbook boosted Amanda Nunes’s odds to +500 from -650 in her title fight against Felicia Spencer. With a difference that extreme, there was a $10 max bet, but you were given a free $50 in this situation.
Be sure to check the promotions page regularly on your preferred sportsbook app and consider whether or not those betting opportunities are worth pulling the trigger on.
When sportsbooks offer you a larger payout on something you may have considered betting anyways, it’s the perfect time to take advantage in your quest to become a long-term profitable sports bettor.
How do UFC odds work
There are many ways to bet on the UFC outside of simply picking which fighter will win, and expect more avenues to wager to be added in the future as online sportsbooks in the US continue to look for new ways to get bettors involved. Below are some of the basic UFC bet types.
- Moneyline: The most straightforward way to bet on the UFC is on the moneyline as you choose which fighter will win the fight.
- To go the distance: Bettors may choose to wager if a fight will go to a decision or whether it will end in a submission/knockout.
- Over/under for rounds: Whether or not a fight will go higher or lower than a specific number of rounds is a popular MMA wagering type.
- Round betting: Round betting refers to any bet on the exact round a fight will end or the total number of rounds it will last.
- To win fight in specific round: If you are looking for a high payout, identifying which fighter will win and in what round correctly could lead to a large return.
- To win fight in range of rounds: Instead of needing to pick the winner and the exact round, bettors can pick the winner and a small range of rounds when the fight will end.
- Winning methods: Bettors may bet on the winner as well as how they won the fight, whether it be via KO/TKO/DQ, submission or decision.
In a moneyline example, here is a look at what you might see posted for an upcoming fight between Tim Means and Max Griffin.
- Tim Means +160
- Max Griffin -190
With a minus sign in front of Griffin’s number, that shows he is the favorite, while the plus sign in front of Means’ number shows him as the underdog. The easiest way to understand the payout is by using $100.
If you want to bet on Griffin at -190, you would need to bet $190 to receive a $100 profit. Meanwhile, a $100 wager on Means at +160 would lead to a $160 return.
As you’d expect, the payout is larger when you correctly bet on the underdog than if you correctly bet on the favorite.
How and why do UFC odds move?
UFC odds can move for a few different reasons, but the most basic scenario for a change in odds is the sportsbooks reacting to what the betting public is doing.
Sportsbooks do well for themselves because they do a good job in doing everything they can to minimize the potential risk if a fight goes against them.
For example, let’s say there is a relatively even bout between the two fighters in terms of odds, but one side is getting 80% of the money bet on that particular fighter. That is not what sportsbooks want because if that fighter wins, the sportsbook is at a big loss.
To combat that, oddsmakers will change the odds to make the other more enticing to bet on to even things out and decrease potential liability.
For prominent fights released weeks in advance, the likelihood of the odds changing in some capacity is very high. You should be looking for the largest possible return and the best chance at picking a winner with each bet you place, and deciding when to place that bet could go a long way in how profitable you are as a sports bettor.
Sportsbook rules for UFC Betting
With any bet you place, it is smart to check over the rules and regulations page that should be readily available to you. If you have any specific questions that were not answered, sportsbooks should help you quickly as transparency and customer support is extremely important in an industry like this.
The house rules could vary by sportsbook, but many will have similar guidelines. If a fight does not take place as scheduled and does not occur at the same date, all bets will be canceled in most cases. When a no contest or technical draw is declared for whatever reason, all bets are likely to be canceled, and everybody would get the money returned into their accounts. A possible exception might be betting types where the outcome had already been determined.
Again, check with your sportsbook or sportsbooks of choice to narrow down the specifics.
Bet on smaller MMA brands
While the UFC developed into the premier MMA brand, many others exist. In an era where sportsbooks do everything possible to produce thousands of betting opportunities, odds are released for some of the lesser-known levels of MMA.
Bellator is considered in the No. 2 spot among the various MMA organizations, and sportsbooks offer a variety of odds on its events. Odds are also available for PFL Challenger Series events, so MMA bettors have plenty of opportunities to get in on the action outside of the UFC.
UFC Vegas odds vs online sportsbook odds
The phrase “Vegas odds” has been used for decades as Las Vegas, Nevada was one of the few places in the United States where people could legally wager on sports. Just about the entire sports betting industry operated there, and that’s why people have previously referred to Vegas when talking about gambling on athletics.
That term is a bit outdated at this point as sportsbooks no longer need to operate in one central location since the repeal of the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) in 2018. It is up to individual states to decide what they want to do with sports betting. Some have been more aggressive than others in getting things rolling, while some may never hop on board.
If you want the best odds for every UFC bet you make, it makes a whole lot of sense to use the line shopping strategy. Sportsbooks are generally similar regarding odds, but they’re often slightly off. By registering for betting accounts on multiple platforms, you would guarantee yourself the best possible payouts possible.
For example, DraftKings Sportsbook might have a fighter as a +150 underdog, while FanDuel Sportsbook could have them at +165. Because you are getting a larger return on FanDuel, you would place your wager on its platform. It may not seem like a lot, but this will add up in the long run and is worth your time.
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