While putting down a wager on an MMA fight might seem simple, there’s a difference between just making a bet and betting smart. Fortunately, there are many things a well-rounded bettor can do to increase their chances of success and reduce the amount of money they might lose. Among these, doing their research and understanding how the sport works are paramount. But there are also specific pitfalls when betting on mma, which can lead to a loss if not avoided.
The most common form of MMA betting is the moneyline bet, which is essentially placing a bet on which fighter will win their fight. The odds of a moneyline bet are determined by how likely the bookmakers consider a fighter to win, with the favorite being considered more likely and carrying a minus symbol in front of their odds, while the underdog is considered less likely and carries a plus symbol in front of their odds. There are also a number of other types of bets, including predicting how a fight will end and a number of different round props.
Another popular type of MMA betting is on the Over/Under for round totals, which allows bettors to place a bet on how many rounds a particular match will last. Typically, a championship or main event fight will have five rounds, while standard MMA fights only have three. Betting on the Over means you think the fight will last longer than 3.5 rounds, while betting on the Under means you believe it will be over before that mark.
Method of victory bets are a more specific way to bet on an MMA fight, and they allow you to choose which kind of finish the fighter will have. There are a few ways that a fight can end: knockout/technical knockout, submission, and decision. A knockout is when a fighter falls to the ground through strikes and cannot rise by the referee’s count of 10. Submission is when a fighter taps out or gives up to submit to a choke or joint lock. A decision is when the judges at ringside declare one fighter the winner.
When placing these bets, it’s important to take into account the injury history of each fighter. A fighter with a history of injuries might struggle to recover and will affect their performance. Additionally, the style of each fighter’s fighting can have a big impact on how a fight ends, with strikers having a much harder time winning by submission than grapplers. This is why researching each fighter’s style, strengths, and weaknesses is so important.