How Does Betting on UFC Work?

When it comes to sports betting in the USA, many people instantly think about the NBA or the NFL. However, there is growing interest in betting on the UFC. Even though it’s still not as popular as some other sports in terms of betting, it can be highly fun and rewarding to understand the odds in UFC and then bet on fights.

If you’re interested in betting on the fights and learning how the odds work, this guide is the perfect place to start.

UFC Sportsbooks

Betting on the UFC can be done both online and offline. Some states in the US will offer online betting sportsbooks while some will offer land-based establishments where you can place a bet. Some will also offer both, giving you the best of both worlds.

Online betting comes with various conveniences. For one, you don’t have to leave your home and can do everything from your living room. You will most likely also get access to very generous bonuses and loyalty programs to increase your winnings. Live betting is also instant as opposed to waiting in a line at a physical location.

You can also withdraw your winnings quickly and easily directly to your account. The process is the same as for online PaySafe casinos that help you manage your winnings without any hassle using vouchers. You are welcome to benefit from other payment methods: Neosurf, Skrill, Neteller, Poli, bank transfer and others. Some of the best betting apps and sportsbooks you can check out for betting on UFC matches are:

• BetMGM
• FanDuel
• BetRivers
• PointsBet
• Caesars.

Understanding UFC Odds

To start betting on a UFC fight, you need to be well prepared and informed first. Unlike playing some luck-based casino games where you will have a demo mode to try it out, betting on a fight instantly requires some knowledge. You need to feel comfortable with reading UFC odds because it can help you make an informed decision. But if these odds schemes seem too difficult to master you’d better find another way to wager, for example, playing in a highly rated roulette online Australia from the list of the best reviewed gambling platforms.

So, how do UFC odds work? Here are the key types of odds you will see in a UFC fight:

American Odds

American odds are normally written in the form of positive and negative numbers. The positive number is given to the underdog in a fight while the negative number is given to the favorite. The higher the positive number, the less likely the underdog is to win. The lower the negative number, the more likely the favorite is to win.

If you bet on the underdog to win, then the positive number represents how much money you will win if you bet $100. Conversely, if you are betting on the favorite, then the negative number represents how much you would have to wager in order to win $100.

Decimal Odds

Decimal odds are much more common in European countries. To calculate your possible winnings, you can do some simple math by multiplying the odds with your stake and then subtracting your stake from the result.

For example, if a wager has odds of 9.0 and your stake is $10, then you will calculate it like this:

9.0 x 10 = 90

90 – 10 = $80 in winnings.

Fractional Odds

You’ll probably hate this if you didn’t enjoy fractions in school but it’s pretty easy to understand how fractional odds work. The first to know is that a number like 5/1 means that the fighter has a five-to-one chance of winning the fight. On the other hand, a number of 1/5 means that the fighter has a one in five chance of winning.

To calculate the fighters’ probability of winning, you can use this simple formula:

B/(A+B) where A is the numerator and B is the denominator.

For example, if someone has a 1/6 chance of winning, then the probability of their win is:

6/(1+6) = 0.85 or 85%

As for winnings, it is very simple to understand these odds. For odds of 1/9, you will win $1 for every $9 wagered. For odds of 9/1, you will win $9 for every $1 wagered.

Image source: https://pixabay.com/photos/muay-thai-boxer-referee-fight-7028711/

Wager Types

Now that we understand how odds look and work, it’s time to know what kind of bets you can place. Understanding this is crucial because placing wagers can actually become quite a lucrative sports betting business if you do it right. To help you be successful, here are the main kinds of bets that can be placed on a UFC fight before the rounds are up:

Over/Unders

In this type, you’ll be betting on whether the fight will go longer than the specified time or end earlier. For example, if the over/under betting line is said to be 3, then you need to predict whether the match will last for more than 3 rounds or less. The number ‘3’ in the betting line demonstrates the number of rounds. This is perhaps the easiest kind of bet you can make on a UFC match.

Moneyline

Moneyline bets are one of the easiest kinds you can make if you want to make money from one of the most popular sports for gambling. In this type, you just need to predict the winner of the match. If your fighter wins, you make money according to the wager.

Winning Method

In this bet, you will predict the way in which a fight will end. If it does end how you’ve predicted, you win. Here are the ways in which a UFC match can end:

• Judge’s decision
• Submission
• Knockout
• Disqualification
• Draw.

Parlays

You can combine different wagers into one larger bet to win more money. This is known as a parlay. This is a high-risk-high-reward type of gamble so it’s important to understand the sport well before jumping into it. To win a parlay, you have to win all individual wagers.

Props

The term ‘props’ is short for proposition betting. This involves predicting a variety of things that can happen during a match. For example, you could gamble on how many punches one player will land or how many types they will get tackled.

Futures

A futures bet is one that will end in the future, as the name suggests. You will predict things like who will win the UFC title at the end of this season or who will make the most tackles, etc. This kind of gambling does not resolve itself in a day or a week but can take months of waiting.

Image source: https://unsplash.com/photos/5QIPyaDT1V0

Other Factors to Consider

Now that you know how gambling on a UFC fight works, here are some other factors you should consider when starting to wager your money:

• Don’t rely only on your player knocking out the other. Study their playing style and determine what the most likely outcome of the match will be. There are many ways a match can end other than a knockout.
• Don’t always trust injury reports on the media. These fighters get injured in every match they play and even during training. So, just because you hear someone is injured before a match doesn’t mean they’ll lose. Do some research into the player and the injury and then make a decision.
• Don’t take a player’s trash-talking as any form of an idea that they are going to win. As stated before, place more weight on each player’s fighting style and other factors like physiology, etc.

Conclusion

And with that, you should know just how you can start betting on UFC matches. Even though it is still a new sport compared to others like American football and basketball, UFC is becoming more and more popular across the world. So, if you’ve wanted to enjoy watching the fights but also to add a little spice to it by putting up some money, this guide should come in handy.