MMA Betting Tips
MMA fights are high adrenaline affairs, for both the fighters and the audience. The action is constant and fighters usually have little time to catch their breath during each round. It is highly enthralling to watch and fans can make the fights even more interesting with some MMA fight bets.
There are a number of bets that punters can choose from, allowing fans to develop advanced betting strategies.
Moneyline
The moneyline full time bet is the most commonly placed bet as it is the simplest bet. It is a two way bet where punters can place money on either of the fighters to win. It does not matter how the fighter wins, or whether the fight finishes early, so long as the chosen fighter wins. Odds will be offered for both fighters, with the shorter odds offered on the favourite to win and the longer odds offered on the underdog.
Totals
There may be totals bets offered for fights, where punters can bet on how many rounds the fight will last. The bets here will depend on whether the fight is a three round fight or a five round fight. For three round fights, bettors can place wagers on whether the fight will last over 1.5 rounds or under 1.5 rounds. These bets come with long odds as the over will require the fight to last at least 2 rounds, whereas the under means that a fight will only last one round.
Five round fights are a bit more flexible, there may be a totals bet such as over or under 2.5 rounds. Effectively the bettor is betting on the fight to last 3, 4 or the full 5 rounds with the over bet, and 1 or 2 rounds with the under bet. Though the under bets in this category feature 1 less round than the over bets, they are not always going to come at longer odds. It has to be remembered that fighters are full of energy in the first rounds and anything can happen, even amongst the top professionals who have the stamina to last a full 5 rounds.
How Will the Fight Be Won
This is an exclusive bet for MMA fights, where punters can bet on how they think the fight will be won. When it is available, the odds are tremendous and are definitely worth looking through, though they are difficult bets to predict. MMA fights can end through a fighter's submission, a knockout, a technical knockout or by the judge's decision. This bet pays out as long as the fight finishes in the chosen way, regardless of which fighter wins.
Winner And Method Of Victory Bets
This is a combination of the two aforementioned bets, where the punter needs to pick which fighter they think will win as well as the way they will win the fight. This is a difficult bet to try and predict, which is why this bet can come with some massive odds. Even if this bet is used as a side bet with a small stake, a win can return a sizable profit.
Many More Bets
Some of the bigger events in MMA will have even more types of bets available. These may include the distance bets, where the punters need to bet whether the fight will last the full duration, and a number of prop bets. Prop bets include very specific bets such as will someone land a takedown or not, who will throw the first clean strike, who will bleed first, who will get more points for heavy strikes and so on. These bets are some of the hardest to predict but they can certainly make the fights very exciting to watch. A bet on who will land the first strike can be won in seconds, so bettors will be on the edge of their seats as soon as the fight starts.
Live Betting
As well as all of the bets that are available before each fight, MMA fans can also bet during a fight. Live bets feature odds that are updated in real time. The odds may change very quickly, so if a punter wants to place a bet they need to be sharp and make sure they place their bet before the odds change. Any small piece of action can change the odds, such as a takedown or a well landed strike.
That being said, live bets are a great option for punters who want to see some of the action before they place their money. It can be useful to try and wait to place a bet after the first few minutes or the first round finishes.
Bets can also be cashed out during a fight. This allows punters who think that their chosen fighter will lose the fight to cash out their money to cut their losses. Punters whose chosen fighters have scored more points may choose to cash out when they are given the option. In MMA, it is difficult to say whether a fighter is ahead or not. There are fights when one fighter has complete dominance and then is taken down at the end with a fluke strike or move that comes completely unexpected. This is why some punters use the cash out option as soon as they see that they are offered a good amount or they feel like they have to cut their losses.
How To Research Bets
Watching a lot of MMA fights and checking out fighters' styles and their statistics in previous fights is a good way for punters to have an idea what they are up against when trying to place a bet on MMA. Some fighters are better at finishing the fights off quickly, and will start with some direct attacking strikes to try and bring down their opponent. These fighters are dangerous and can end the fights prematurely.
There are other fighters who can soak up all of the strikes from an attacking fighter and tire them out. These fighters will try to frustrate and exhaust their opponents before unleashing their own barrage of strikes. There may be more defensive fighters who use elements of wrestling in their MMA fights. These fighters do not provide a gory spectacle of spinning kicks and fast jumping punches but instead try to use locks and grapples to overcome their opponents. While this does not please all MMA fans, it is certainly an effective technique and these fighters can win the fights without landing many major blows.
It is important to try and find out what style each fighter uses, and also how they fare against fighters who use different methods. With these points in mind, punters may have a better idea on how likely the fights are to last the full three or five rounds, and they may even find out which fighter will be better suited to the fight.
Of course, all the research in the world cannot guarantee that you will place a winning bet, but it will certainly increase your chances of doing so.