The UFC.
The UFC or Ultimate Fighting Championship is the biggest and most popular test of physical strength around today. MMA is one of the fastest rising sports globally in terms of popularity, and the UFC is the ringleader of this, miles ahead of their competition.
People do not only love watching the UFC, but they also love betting on it. Betting on the UFC is so easy now, with so much online betting and online gambling having taken hold, anyone, anywhere can bet on a UFC match and earn winnings on whichever fight they want. Of course, you may want to know more info on UFC betting, which we will cover briefly later.
While football, soccer, basketball, and baseball rake in quite the crowd when it comes to live events, the UFC has the biggest attendances in the MMA sporting world.
How popular is the UFC?
The UFC is popular all over the world thanks to how entertaining it is to watch. It is a loved sport where the underdog only needs to get one lucky spot against their opponent, meaning it can be all to play for. You find yourself on the edge of your seat, and it's not only about the fights, either. The UFC has a whole culture around it.
Which fights have had the biggest attendances?
Measured in fan attendance the three largest events known to date are the UFC 124, UFC 97, and UFC 83, all of which were held outside the United States, as well as being in the same venue in Montreal Quebec, Canada’s Bell Center.
But if we look at total attendance, there have been some astounding numbers of total attendance over the years, and the third-highest attendance was only this year (2021)
Highest attendance to date- Joshua Vs Klitschko (29th April 2017).
Total attendance- 90,000. The highest attendance to date.
Second-highest attendance to date- Froch Vs Groves 2 (31st May 2014).
Total attendance- 80,000.
Third-highest attendance to date- Canelo Vs Saunders (8th May 2021).
Total attendance- 73,126.
The match with the lowest attendance to date is noted as being the Victory MMA 3 held on the 8th October 2011, with a total attendance of 125.
The match with the highest live attendance known as of July 2020 was the Whittaker Vs Adesanya UFC 243 which had a record live attendance of 57,127.
Most popular UFC fighters and their fans.
The most popular fighter known to date is Max “Blessed” Holloway. He is a mixed martial artist in the featherweight division of the UFC. He has a fantastic Pro MMA record with 22 wins, 6 losses, and 0 draws. He has an Instagram following of 2.6 million, showing just a portion of his fan base!
The second most popular fighter known to date is Dustin “The Diamond” Poirier. He is a mixed martial artist in the lightweight class. His Pro MMA record is also brilliant with 28 Wins, 6 losses, 0 draws, and 1 NC. As of fall 2021 his current win streak is 3. He has an Instagram following of 3.7 million!
Betting on the UFC
The most popular way to bet on the UFC is to bet on the money line. This is to simply bet the outcome of the fight. It is not encountered much in bookmakers, however, it is possible that there are cases when the odds for victory of one of the fighters are lower than 1.01.
Draws are also very rare in UFC fights, so if you do manage to guess the bet, you will get some decent winnings in return.
Over and under bets are also very popular. This is usually placed on how many rounds the fight will continue before the winner is determined. In a 3 round fight, the over and under are usually set at 1.5 and 2.5.