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Just in case you are one of those who know what a rear naked choke or an arm bar is but have absolutely no clue regarding betting on MMA, stop derailing; simply go through our all-time MMA betting guide. This ultimate guide will take you through the process of placing bets on your favorite mixed martial artists in the biggest promotions such as UFC and Bellator.

We also offer advice to punters looking for top MMA gambling sites, valuable tips that can be used by them during wagering and other things.

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A Beginner’s Guide to MMA Betting

Bet on mixed martial arts, whether you’re a seasoned gambler or just starting out in online sports betting.

Already one of the most fascinating sports to watch, MMA sees fighters from all over the globe engage in hand-to-hand combat within a cage with no assistance or breaks.

The stakes for every MMA fighter are consistently raised by each fight, and that’s why there is a growing number of fans in the UFC, Bellator, and other promotions.

We love sports because they are exciting and unpredictable, but mixed martial arts is probably the most unpredictable and exciting of all sports. A similar fight can end at any time just like in boxing. It only takes one devastating liver shot, a spinning backfist to the temple or a rear naked choke, which ends fights in seconds. That is why betting on mixed martial arts is considered as a profitable venture by MMA enthusiasts due to its excitement.

Bookies have not been able to use predictive models as they do for basketball or football games ,which is the reason why they have not yet resolved on mixed martial arts and closed the market. Consequently, this is why we bet on mixed martial arts.

How to Bet on MMA Online

Wanting to start betting on MMA but you don’t know how and where? Don’t be concerned, since it is no sweat. For ultimate satisfaction, simply stick to the given instructions below for betting on MMA fights online.

Step 1

Open a Betting Account

Initial step is to sign up for one of the top MMA betting website, choose a site from those displayed on this page and press ‘visit site’ button to go to your favorite option. From there, you will go to the preferred site that you have clicked on after which, click on “register” then finish the process by typing in your name, date of birth and phone number.

Step 2

Make Your First Deposit

Then, you must deposit some money onto your account. Locate the banking area and see the list of accepted deposit methods. Choose your desired method, and key in your payment particulars alongside the amount you would like to deposit. After that, press ‘confirm’ button on the screen to proceed with your transaction. Your funds will be instantly credited into it.

Step 3

Find MMA Betting Markets

Now, let’s navigate to the section of betting for MMA fights. This step is usually made easy by most sites with an alphabetical list of sports. You will then be presented with a list of upcoming events and the promotions hosting them. By choosing desired promotion and event, you will be able to review the fight card.

Step 4

Bet on Your Favourite Fighters

You found the right MMA fight to bet on, now it is time to pick your bets. You may add fighters (alternatively total rounds) to your bet slip and then enter a stake. Let’s watch how your fighter goes into the cage and be at the edge of our sits waiting for every punch that lands.

A boxer's glove visible through two ropes

Choosing the Best MMA Betting Sites

It is highly important for the process of choosing a bookmaker to bet on mixed martial arts.

Most sports gambling websites, in essence, offer MMA betting opportunities though not all of them are the same. One page may provide knockout promotions with low odds while another could have the best banking options only to perform poorly in customer service.

Fortunately for you, we have been reviewing the best betting websites since 2011 and we have already done the groundwork, so now here are our top MMA betting sites.

One of our top-rated sites for mixed martial arts betting will have the following:

Generous Bonuses

One of the top reasons to wager via online platforms on mixed martial arts with our best rated bookies in the market is they all have substantial welcome promotions for new clients. It’s a public secret that every sports bookmaker wants your business. Luckily this results in lavish welcome bonuses and loyalty schemes because each site aims to outdo others’ offers.

Competitive Odds

If you deal with a poor and lowly-rated bookmaker, it will hurt your profitability in the end through low odds. We have discovered that many of the favorite betting websites are able to get away with putting out MMA odds that are 5-10% lower than what is available elsewhere. You may be amongst the best MMA bettors globally; however if you are not betting through a site that maximizes on every bet, you will find yourself losing money in the long run.

Stellar Reputation

Would you gamble with a bookie who doesn’t have a proven history of good customer service, prompt and dependable payouts, and safety? No, we will not. We only bet with websites that have the best reputation in the market and no negativity associated with them at all. With so many bookmakers offering great services today there is no way we can gamble with one looking for another chance.

Safety and Security

Take security lightly and nothing else will matter to a cyber bookmaker. Each serious bookmaker must prioritize the protection of your cash, data, and personal details. There are too many punters who put their funds in danger by using a betting platform without top encryption with SSL Technology or complete documentation outlining their security measures.

Banking Methods

A shady bookie can make you perform many complicated acts before you can withdraw your money, which makes winning it somehow uninteresting. All our best bookies allow the gamers to deposit and withdraw their money in various ways that are fast and free. We don’t wish to pay cash for taking out our winnings, and as we think there shouldn’t be any reason for this problem to arise at all from the very first place. We’re glad to have bookies who prioritize their members because banking should be easy too.

Mobile Compatibility

Every online betting site should prioritize mobile use when it comes to their design and functionality, not that long ago we placed our bets on the desktop, then we realized how easy it was to bet through our laptops whilst sitting on a couch. Nonetheless, today what differentiates top-rated MMA betting sites from average ones is having highly effective and superfast sports gambling platforms for mobile phones or tablets.

Two fighters sparring

Types of MMA Bets

There is an option for everyone who wants to bet on mixed martial arts.

Would you like to choose a winner? Do it. What about selecting the specific method of winning? Even a market for that exists. You may even place a wager on the exact method of victory and time of stoppage, if you want to get better odds.

Here are the most popular MMA betting markets:

Fight Winner (Moneyline)

There are some people who argue that the easiest and perhaps best method of betting on mixed martial arts is just to pick out a winner.

There are many reasons why the fight winner market is the top choice for bettors. Majority of users are inclined to log into their number one MMA betting site and put a stake on who they believe will triumph in the match. In case you do not care about how they will win, whether by KO/TKO, submission or decision, this is your market.

Consider this as a case in point of the way fight winner market looks like on our best MMA betting sites.

Khabib Nurmagomedov v Conor McGregor

  • Khabib Nurmagomedov: 1.71
  • Conor McGregor: 2.50

The “winner market” in the fight bets gives odds for each participant to win a combat regardless of how he will achieve victory. In that case, Conor McGregor is the outsider while Khabib Nurmagomedov would walk into the bout as the favourite.

One of the things I like most about this market is that, unlike in betting on football, you get a refund if there is a draw or no contest and even thus you do not lose.

Let us start by looking at the fight winner market for every UFC bout (regardless of whether it’s on the UFC Fight Pass Prelims or the main card of a pay-per-view), the main card of each Bellator card, and for significant fights in other high-level promotions.

Remember, the only thing that is important here is that your fighter wins the fight.

Total Rounds (Over/Under)

It is also another good way to bet on UFC, Bellator and other MMA promotions around the world.

This time around, you won’t have to back a fighter as in the outright winner market. Instead, you will be able to predict if a fight will either go beyond or remain shorter than a period determined by the bookmaker.

Here’s an example of the total rounds market:

Khabib Nurmagomedov v Conor McGregor

  • Over 2.5 Rounds: 2.20
  • Under 2.5 Rounds: 1.83

The bookie has put the rounds total at 2.5 and will now allow bets on whether or not there will be a fight time that goes above or below the middle of the third round. When a fight ends before three minutes and thirty seconds in the third round, it is counted as being under while anything further is considered over.

Punters in this market are given a chance to predict the speed of the fight and potential stoppages. If two heavyweight fighters who hit hardest are to face each other, then you will probably bet on a short lived fight. Alternatively, most female fights (especially those involving strawweight category) tend to go all the way.

The total rounds market is a great way to bet on mixed martial arts, just like the outright winner market.

Method of Victory

This is the stage where MMA betting becomes very thrilling indeed.

When using the method of victory betting option, a gambler can foretell how a fight will come to an end. Will one fighter make another submit? Otherwise, will that winner through decisions do it again?

In turn, punters can predict many ways of winning and will be rewarded with higher odds.

This is a case of the method of victory betting market.

  • Khabib Nurmagomedov to win by KO/TKO: 4.85
  • Khabib Nurmagomedov to win by submission: 4.00
  • Khabib Nurmagomedov to win by decision: 5.23
  • Conor McGregor to win by KO/TKO: 2.775
  • Conor McGregor to win by submission: 27.50
  • Conor McGregor to win by decision: 15.75

It is noticeable that method of victory odds for both fighters and all possible outcomes will be published by the bookies. The less likely a result is to occur, the higher the odds will be. However, it is intriguing that Conor McGregor is the outsider in the outright winner market but he has got the lowest odds to win by KO/TKO as compared to any other way in which one can win.

Khabib Nurmagomedov’s chances in the outright winner market were not nearly as good as they are in the KO/KO market. Punters that placed £100 on Khabib Nurmagomedov to win the fight outright would have won only £71.43, in contrast, if someone bet correctly on his method of winning he/she would make over £300.

A punter with a good grasp of both boxers and mixed martial arts can find this as one of the most profitable wagers.

Additionally, in case you feel you are not that skilled yet, probably you will require to reanalyze what makes a KO/TKO or submission finish.

  • A KO/TKO occurs when a referee stops the contest (while standing or on the canvas), a doctor stops the fight, a corner stops the fight, or when a fighter retires as a result of an injury.
  • A submission is the result of a referee stopping the fight due to tap out or technical submission. A fighter can also submit to strikes or submit verbally.

The method of triumph market implies that it is accessible in every UFC fight, and it gets released a few days before each event. Significant battles from other promotions will also have method of winning odds at our top rated MMA betting sites.

Bet on Major MMA Events

Hardcore fight fans who are always following notable competitions know that they barely have free weekends when two mixed martial artists don’t clash in the cage simply because there are no seasons and every week is full of highly reputed fights.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is the top organization for mixed martial arts worldwide, but there are other options for MMA enthusiasts. Today, people can support different promotions such as Bellator, Cage Warriors and ONE Championships among others; this means that almost every weekend there is a chance to place bets on major mixed martial arts events.

These are some of the top MMA promotions that you can bet on:

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)

At present, the world’s foremost Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) promotion is The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). On average, the UFC holds around 2-3 regular events and one major pay-per-view (PPV) event monthly. The biggest names in the sport like Conor McGregor and Jon Jones fight on PPV events, but their free-to-air events still have a lot of good fighters who make for attractive betting options.

Read our UFC betting guide to learn more.

Bellator

For people seeking to bet on mixed martial arts, bellator can as well be opted for. Bellator has been recruiting talents for years now and it has become almost impossible to overlook them. Some of the notable fighters include Lyoto Machida, Ryan Bader and Yoel Romero who are former UFC veterans. The year 2018 marked the beginning of a series of grand prix tournaments by Bellator. These tournaments have been very popular with many followers of MMA fans.

Read our Bellator betting guide to learn more.

Cage Warriors

Europe’s foremost and oldest mixed martial arts organization, Cage Warriors, was founded in 2001. The promotion has become a fertile ground for producing top-class practitioners of mixed martial arts and UFC fighters. At CW51, Conor McGregor became the first two-weight Cage Warriors champion (featherweight and lightweight), before doing the impossible by becoming the first ever ‘Champ Champ’ in UFC history holding both the featherweight and lightweight titles simultaneously.

ONE Championship

Europe’s foremost and oldest mixed martial arts organization, Cage Warriors, was founded in 2001. The promotion has become a fertile ground for producing top-class practitioners of mixed martial arts and UFC fighters. At CW51, Conor McGregor became the first two-weight Cage Warriors champion (featherweight and lightweight), before doing the impossible by becoming the first ever ‘Champ Champ’ in UFC history holding both the featherweight and lightweight titles simultaneously.

Understanding and Finding the Best MMA Betting Odds

It is obligatory to be taught and comprehend betting odds if you have just started gambling in sports.

You can comprehend the determination of betting odds quickly by comparing it with the stock market or common casino games. The more exposed a gambler is to risk, the higher the odds and potential payout he or she will get. In this regard, a bet on the outright winner market will not pay nearly as much as a bet that picks that fighter to win by a particular outcome at a chosen time. When each option’s probability increases, odds decrease.

Obviously, this is intentional. The bottom line for all betting companies is to make money, therefore they will never increase the odds of winning readily.

MMA fighter in mount position punching opponent

An Overview of Different Odds Formats

These are the ways that the MMA betting odds can be shown:

  • European format (decimal odds, e.g., 2.50)
  • UK format (fractional odds, e.g., 6/4)
  • American format (moneyline odds, e.g., +150)

In the UK, you’ll get used to seeing MMA betting sites in fractional format. If you’re over in Australia, you will be using decimal odds when making a bet. American punters would generally use moneyline odds while placing their bets.

What’s the difference?

  • Decimal odds show the ratio of the entire payout in accordance with the stake. A successful £100 bet at odds of 2.50 will return £250 in total and profit of £150.
  • Fractional odds show the ratio of the amount won from the stake. A successful £100 bet at odds of 6/4 will pay out £250 and a profit of £150.
  • Moneyline odds change depending on whether the odds are positive or negative. Positive odds show the amount that a punter will profit if they bet £100, and negative odds reflect the required stake to make a profit of £100.

Luckily, you don’t have to get used to every single one of these styles. All bookmakers selected as best MMA betting sites will let players switch their preferred type of odds.

The Importance of Understanding Implied Probability

In mixed martial arts betting, one must have knowledge of the odds to be successful. For you to overcome bookmakers, it’s important to familiarize yourself with implied probability. The odds are not only a way of determining how much you will be paid if your bet is correct but also represent the chance in which that outcome will occur according to bookmakers.

There is a reason why you win less money by betting on the better fighter than you do by betting on the underdog.

Determining the probability of each outcome and comparing it to odds can help you find good bets.

For instance, a punter may calculate the implied probability of both options in the total rounds market for Khabib Nurmagomedov v Conor McGregor:

  • Over 2.5 Rounds: 2.20 (Implied probability = 45.5%)
  • Under 2.5 Rounds: 1.83 (Implied probability = 54.5%)

This is evidenced by the fact that bookmakers are certain that the bout will last under 2.5 rounds, a reason they are not giving punters much money for betting on this outcome.

If you understand inferred possibility, you can easily get ahead of the bookies and make sensible and regular wagers on MMA.

MMA fighter on top of opponent during fight

Our Top Tips/Strategies for Betting on MMA

The betting on mixed martial arts can be very lucrative for those who know what they are doing and who have been in the game for a while but it takes a lot of discipline and skill.

You will not get rich in the long run by betting on your favourite fighter. Instead, you must use multiple advanced betting systems to beat MMA bookmakers online and start making money from sports gambling on the Internet.

Find Value, Not Winners

The initial blunder is that MMA bettors in losing their stakes only select the fighting party they expect to win.

By only betting on the expected winners, you will lose more than you win. Like we said before, mixed martial arts is very unpredictable and for this reason some major underdogs can cause upsets that lead to big wins for bettors.

Each bet should aim at selecting the high-value pick rather than just picking the winner. Now that you know what implied probability is, you should be able to identify value by searching for scenarios where your perspective of the fight differs from that of a bookmaker.

Let’s take the potential UFC Featherweight Championship bout between Max Holloway and Edson Barboza for instance.

  • Max Holloway to win: 1.67
  • Edson Barboza to win: 2.50

For this fight, the odds suggest that Max Holloway has a 60% probability of winning while Edson Barboza has a 40% probability of winning.

Would you place your bet on Max Holloway if you believe that he will win? Not at all.

What is your true thinking on the fight? A scale of 1-100, how certain are you that Max Holloway will win? Do you think Holloway has a 70% or 55% chance of winning? Just consider it that way and choose who to bet on.

If you set up a great deal of confidence for Max Holloway’s victory (this is 70% chance), then betting on Holloway to win would be the proper thing because computed probability exceeds the implied probability that is reflected by odds.

Conversely, you might consider that Holloway is not a complete dead cert to win and that the bout is a close one (55% chance of winning), so you should back Edson Barboza, because you think he has a better chance of victory than the market thinks (45%) or 40% depending on how you look at it.

Backing against the fighter you think will win is sometimes a correct betting decision, and this example demonstrates that.

Research, Research, Research!

Conducting a lot of research is the only way to outdo bookmakers.

Before they place a bet on mixed martial arts contests, our MMA analysts do their homework by checking out the fighters’ records on Tapology, viewing matches against similar styled opponents and also latest fights in general.

Tapology is a wonderful site for all fight fans on the internet. Here we have one of the most loved sites by professionals and analysts in this field – Tapology. This is where anyone can get to know almost every professional fighter in the world.

For instance, if we want to investigate how a karate-styled combatant fares against a wrestler, we can trace this in their record and then Google search for this fight.

It is the best way to know if a striker has an exceptional takedown defense (like Jose Aldo) or he is susceptible to takedowns (such as Francis Ngannou).

There’s no better way to gain an insight into the temperaments, power and fragility of each boxer than by watching recent fights.

Set Your Odds

To identify value betting odds, set your own and look at the markets on an MMA odds website.

The odds can sometimes create a bias on the mind of the researcher throughout his / her entire research process, at times even before he / she has formulated what is called as an informed opinion or prediction.

We strongly advise you to jot down your odds of winning before logging in and visiting the betting site to check your chances.

Ready to Bet on Your Favourite MMA Fighters?

One of the most thrilling aspects of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) gambling is that, if approached with precision, it can be quite lucrative.

All of the advanced strategies and techniques that we use to beat bookies have been described, now it’s your turn to make use of this information by placing a bet on your favourite MMA fighters at one of our recommended sites.

FAQ

Is MMA betting profitable?

The following is a key point: betting on any given sport is not for everyone. It takes much discipline and skill to make money from gambling in any game. We have explained three of our sophisticated strategies that you can use to defeat the bookies plus make a profit out of betting on mixed martial arts.

Can I bet on Bellator fights?

Yes. Many of the top-rated betting sites for MMA will release odds for Bellator fights, as well as UFC, Cage Warriors, ONE Championship and other major promotions across the globe.

Is MMA betting too risky?

Punting on mixed martial arts is not overly dangerous for any sensible gambler. Yes, a well-placed punch or submission can finish off a fighter in seconds, but that’s exactly the reason why wagering on MMA is such a big rush.

Q.What is an underdog in MMA?

A.The underdogs are the fighters who are seen as having lower implied probabilities of winning the fight. The odds will be higher for those who bet on the underdogs and punters place a stake in which, if it wins, they receive more money than when they bet on the favorites.

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