The sport of MMA has become massively popular and is no longer restricted to the confines of a single arena. As a result, MMA fights are now held on an almost weekly basis and the influx of money has led to increased betting opportunities for fans of the sport. MMA betting involves more than simply picking the winner of a particular match, however, and understanding the types of bets available is key to making informed wagers.
The most basic MMA bet is the money line, which allows you to place a wager on the winning fighter of a given fight. Each fighter is assigned odds that determine your potential payout, with a favorite indicated by a minus sign (-) and an underdog indicated by a plus sign (+). These odds will shift throughout the week as fans make their bets and as new information about the fight comes to light, so it’s important to keep an eye on the odds.
In addition to money lines, mma betting also offers Over/Under bets that allow you to wager on the total number of rounds a fight will last. These bets are set by the sportsbook and a bet on the over wins if the fight goes over the number of rounds, while a bet on the under wins if the fight ends under the number of rounds.
Another popular MMA bet is on the method of victory, which can be placed by predicting whether the fighter will win via submission, knockout, or decision. These bets are more nuanced and require a thorough understanding of each fighter’s styles and strengths. They can also be boosted by taking into account recent performance, fighter history, and even weight class differences that may affect how a fighter performs in a given fight.
Mma is still a relatively young sport, and oddsmakers haven’t had as much time to fine-tune the betting lines as they have with more traditional sports like football, baseball, basketball, and hockey. As a result, some of the MMA betting lines aren’t always as profitable as those on more established sports, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t find some value in the market.
Prop bets, which are a type of exotic bet on an occurrence or non-occurrence that doesn’t directly influence the fight’s outcome, are common in MMA betting and range from predicting how a fight will end (submission, decision, or round) to naming the fighter who will win on two scorecards in a split decision. Mma sportsbooks also offer parlays, which let you place multiple bets in one ticket for a chance at a larger payout, but all bets must be correct to win.