Dating back to the ancient Olympic Games, mixed martial arts is an entertaining sport that combines wrestling with striking. Today, MMA is among the fastest-growing martial sports in the globe with audiences worldwide and also attracting lots of bettors. However, you must understand how MMA works and the right betting strategies to use before you can place a wager. Read on to understand how you can bet on MMA and finding value in the odds. You can also check out our input on the Fightful MMA Podcast weekly!
Understanding The Rules Of The Game
Being among the top martial sports worldwide, MMA allows kicks, punches, knees, elbows, and grappling in different fighting strategies and styles. Each match features five-minute rounds, with most of the bouts lasting for three rounds. However, title fights can last for five rounds. Nonetheless, the outcomes are similar to boxing, except the submission.
While fighters can be disqualified, knocked out, or win through a technical knockout, they also choose to take their fight to the ground. That’s where fighters use techniques that force their opponents to surrender. The opponent can do that by “tapping out” if they think there’s no way out of the current situation.
MMA Betting Markets Available
Similar to boxing, the MMA is typically divided in the following betting markets:
Moneyline
The Moneyline bet refers to the final results in a match when betting on an individual fighter to win. That’s also known as match betting, which is one of the easiest ways of betting combat sports.
Total Rounds
The total rounds market is all about betting on the number of rounds that a fight will last. As such, you can bet on whether a match will last under or over a certain number of rounds. However, the bookmaker sets the figure for the number of rounds that each fight might last, e.g., over/under 2.5. That often means deciding whether the fight might last the distance since the number of MMA rounds is small.
Advanced MMA Betting Strategy
Like any other form of sports betting, what matters most is being profitable when betting on MMA. As such, sharp or successful bettors can avoid betting on a certain fighter, even when he’s most likely to win. Additionally, it might not be very productive to wager on every match on an MMA card since the main card has about four fights with eight more in the undercard. That’s because it’s almost impossible to do in-depth research on every fighter in the MMA.
With insightful knowledge on both the fighting styles and recent athlete performances, it's best to bet on underpriced underdogs to be successful in MMA betting. However, wagering on overwhelming favorites may not be worth it unless you’re staking huge.
Live MMA Betting
Unlike other sports, live MMA betting odds changes quickly. For that, you must be prepared to place your wager before the fight takes a drastic turn, which results in an update in the odds. Different bookies also freeze betting in different stages of the fight to avoid receiving major bets at the last minute. That’s why it’s advisable to avoid overreacting when betting live and stick to your pre-fight picks.
