MMA UFC Betting Sites
If you were to ask around, all of the old-school MMA purists will tell you that the Mixed Martial Arts lost part of its soul once it hit the mainstream. Long before the sport became sanctioned and regulated and with all kinds of rules and such, spectators could expect more ferocity and bloodshed!
That said, the mass-popularity actually has come with a silver lining for the everyday gambler.
More convenient betting opportunities!
MMA and UFC betting sites, while relatively commonplace today, were pretty much all but unimaginable way back in the old days.
Don’t get me wrong! I’ll talk smack all the day long but the reality is, I’m not getting into a cage with any of these guys!
Maybe you’re a long time UFC fan who is just now getting interested in putting money down on your favorite fighters and you need a quick guide to get started. Maybe you’ve already dabbled with some MMA betting and you’re looking for a few tips to improve your results. Maybe you’re brand spanking new to the world on online gambling and you are looking to get started there! Whatever the case is, this page will give you the information you need to not only bet on UFC fights, but to do so with confidence at a safe, trusted site.
First, I will start off with an overview that will help you get the most out of your bets. You will also learn about the types of wagers you can place at the Top MMA / UFC Sportsbooks. Toward the bottom of the page, I will explain why most bettors lose their money on the bouts so that you are aware of which mistakes to avoid.
If you want to just immediately get into it and you are wondering where the best places are to bet on mixed martial arts, here are my favorites for the bettors located in the US.
Fight Betting Site Bonus Offers
BetOnline
- UFC Split DecisionChampionship Refund
- Win Double On Fight Night
Bovada
BookMaker
Not only is BetOnline one of the top choices for the American punter with some great bonuses for the new and returning players alike, but if you were to dig around in their promos you will see that they also have some MMA specific promotions to keep you in the game longer. First off, there is the
This promotion makes it so that if a UFC Championship fight ends in a split decision, any bets on the losing fighter will be refunded up to $50!
And then there is also the
With this promo you will Double Your Money if there is a knockout on the BetOnline logo in any of their sponsored events. Obviously, this is a BetOnline Exclusive promotion here that you absolutely cannot find anywhere else!
Naturally, these 2 bonuses will come with their own Terms and Conditions, stuff you have to follow to make these work and take advantage of them. To see these terms and check out any other bonuses that are available to you, click on this link right here.
There’s some pretty awesome MMA specific promotion going on over at BetOnline!
Bovada is usually my number one choice for my personal betting for events other than MMA, such as football, or baseball.
Right now you can get yourself a pretty nice $750 Welcome Bonus if you are a new player and using crypto to fund your account. If you are not using crypto you can still get a $250 Welcome Bonus!
If you want to take advantage of the $750 Welcome Bonus you will need the code BTCSWB750 and for the $250 Welcome Bonus you actually don’t need a code! To see any of the other awesome promotions you can grab, click on this link here.
When you decide to go to Bovada and check out their lines on the UFC / MMA, you will find them listed under “All Sports” and then they’re both listed together toward the bottom of that menu. They are obviously not pushing the MMA as much as say, BetOnline, but they’re still going to make this list as they are by far one of the best choices for gamblers.
So what if you have to hunt for the lines over there. They are really not that hard to find, just check out the following image!
Finding the UFC action over at Bovada puts it toward the bottom of this menu!
Another one of the favorites of the American punter is BookMaker. BookMaker is like the aforementioned Bovada in that they do not really push the MMA action over that way, but this doesn’t make them less amazing either.
When you want to see their lines and the upcoming fights that they are showing off, you will just have to click the “Sportsbook” button which will open up a menu on the left-hand side of your screen and then you will find “Martial Arts“. Clicking on that will bring up a sub-menu with all of the MMA and UFC action available.
Once you have been there and gotten your account all set up, make sure that you check out their “Reload Bonuses” which work on a tier system. Once you have been a returning customer long enough, you can start getting yourself Reload Bonuses of up to 20% Cash to do whatever you want with! For all of the other bonuses you can peruse, click here.
Once you’re at the BookMaker sportsbook you will find all of the MMA action by looking at the menu to your left.
Beyond that, we have a lot we need to cover, so let’s get started on that!
How To Bet On MMA Fights – The Bird’s Eye
Just like any other type of sports betting, whether it’s on baseball, football, basketball, anything really, there are 3 basic rules you should be following. All 3 of these are critical, but they’re also intuitive which is going to cause a lot of folks to dismiss them!
- Learn About The Fighters On The Card You Are Betting On
- Familiarize Yourself With How Odds Work
- Learn To Control Your Bankroll
It’s foolish to get into a fight (with your money) without having a grasp of how the other fighters’ styles match up against one another.
Has one of them continually dominated the other in past matches? Does one of them have a unique edge over the other? Things like this, you should know before placing a wager and spending your hard earned money.
This is something that if you don’t learn, you will be betting blind!
I am going to shed some more light on this topic in the next section. One of the most important things to remember is that the odds are chosen by the UFC and MMA sportsbooks. THis means that you are going to find different odds at different books.
As a side note, all of the sites that I have recommended above tend to have great odds on the fights!
One of the most common problems I see with new bettors is that they are just too aggressive with their wagers. They may end up putting up too much money on a single event.
You wouldn’t put up half of your 401k on a hot stock tip, right? So, why would you want to risk half of your bankroll on the outcome of a fight? Good money management is essential on the mixed martial arts betting sites!
UFC / MMA Betting: Moneyline Bets, Props, and More
- Moneyline Bets
Either this is all new to you or you already know, bets made on football, basketball, and other sports all have Spreads. These are essentially a handicap to help even things out.
MMA events don’t have spreads. Instead, each fight has a moneyline. This line represents the odds which the sportsbook establishes to help even out the betting activity on both sides of the event. Here’s what a moneyline bet for a hypothetical bout could look like:
- Ramon Taveras +151
- Serhiy Sidey -176
The fighter with the negative number, (in this case, Sidey) is the favorite. The fighter with the positive number, (Taveras) is the underdog. The numbers reveal how much money you need to bet in order to win a certain amount. If you wanted to back Sidey, you would need to wager $176 to win $100. Backing and betting on Taveras, you would wager $100 to win $151.
This would be your basic moneyline bet. It may seem confusing at first for those that are new to the world of online gambling, but with time this will become second nature.
- Prop Bets
Besides moneyline bets, you can place Prop Bets, or Proposition Bets.
Many people look for these as their favorite type of bet. These are wagers on whether or not a specific occurrence happens during a match.
As an example, let’s say that Taveras and Sidey are in the cage. You may be able to place a prop bet on whether or not Taveras will beat Sidey into submission. Depending on the sportsbook, prop bets may be available on whether or not a fight reaches the 5th round, whether it ends in a knockout, or whether the winner is chosen by decision.
Prop bets can be very lucrative, especially if you know a lot about the fighters. But you are also going to want to be careful not to waste your bankroll in impulse betting that amounts to really nothing more than guesses.
- Parlay Bets
If you happen to be feeling particularly lucky, you can place Parlay Bets. These are bets where you will pick the winner of 2 or more matches at once.
Pick them all correctly and you will win a major payout that is measured as a percentage of your wager. However, if you get even one choice wrong, you will lose the bet.
Parlay bets are available in other sports as well, but they are seldom as appealing as they are in UFC bouts. The reason for this is because many MMA events are heavily favored toward one fighter or the other. As was described earlier, the sportsbook will set a moneyline that attempts to even things out for individual events, but that imbalance can often make it easier to pick winners across an entire card.
“Say uncle! Say it! Say it you turd-burglar! Say uncle“
Tips To Leverage At MMA / UFC Betting Sites
You now know about the main types of wagers that you are going to see listed at the top-rated sportsbook, so let’s talk about how to get the most out of them!
When you are first getting started out with UFC betting you are going to be tempted to place best on just about every bout. It’s natural since the fights are so exciting and the idea of making a profit on the outcomes is almost irresistible! But just like the mariners in Greek mythology were lured to their doom by the songs of the sirens, so too are the new bettors pulled in so you need to resist the temptation here!
Pick events for which you have an edge, such as knowledge about the fighters going along with fantastic odds.
Also, you do not want to shy away from putting your money on underdogs. If you are like most people, you will be inclined to bet on the favorites. But, counterintuitively, that is no way to turn a consistent profit on MMA betting sites. The odds usually allow for much better results betting on fighters who are expected to lose. There’s a lot of money in calling upsets!
And one last tip:
Do not assume that a particular sportsbook has the best odds for any event. You probably noted earlier that odds on UFC events vary between the books. Get used to “shopping around” before you actually make any bets. This is the reason I strongly encourage you to register accounts at a few different sites. I strongly recommend at least 3, myself. Anytime you are considering a bout, invest at least a couple of minutes to check out the odds at all of your favorite sites.
It’s really just silly not to!
Why UFC Bettors Lose Money
Two men enter, one man leaves…
Okay, that’s not really true but this doesn’t make it any less exciting!
Frankly, there are many reasons folks will lose money while betting on martial arts. But one of the biggest among them is just bad money management. Yes, I have already mentioned this, but it’s so important that it bears repeating!
If you learn to control your cash, you can weather a series of bad bets. If you fail to manage your cash, even a series of correct picks will not save you in the long run.
Limit each of your wagers to a small percentage of your bankroll even if you’re certain of the outcome of a fight. And it should also go without saying that you should not try to recoup any losses by doubling up, (this is a mistake that is way more common than you might think).
The Bottom Line
You need to learn about these fighters and gladiators before putting your money on them.
You need to learn exactly how the odds work.
You need to learn to manage your bankroll.
Keep on those 3 things and you’re going to have an excellent shot at making a consistent profit on your bets. When you are ready to jump in and place a few nets, check out the UFC and MMA Betting Sites that I have recommended above.
As always, good luck with all of your betting!
