MMA: What is it and how do you bet on it
MMA stands for 'Mixed Martial Arts' and means the same in English. Not looking far into history, we can still say that MMA is a relatively new sport, formed in its modern form in the early 90s and received professional status in the mid-90s. In this material, we talk about the most important things that you need to know for those who make or want to bet on fights in bookmakers.
The young sport began to develop at a frantic pace with the emergence of organizations such as UFC, Pride and Bellator. What is the UFC? The Ultimate Fighting Championship is a sports organization based in Las Vegas, USA. It is the UFC that is most actively promoting mixed martial arts in our time, and among those who bet on the sport, UFC tournaments are in the top 10 in its popularity.
Together with the development of mixed martial arts bookmakers began to offer bets on MMA fights more and more often. At first, it was ill-considered odds, low wins, small amounts of bets, but gradually bets on mixed martial arts began to win their audience of players. The spectacle of this sport only adds adrenaline when betting on it.
Types of MMA bets
To the end. As with boxing, bookmakers rarely manage to offer players more than bets on the outcome of MMA fights. That is, it is a bet on the victory of one or another fighter.
Draws are rare in MMA, so bookmakers may not offer odds for a draw (Paris Match, Winline, Betting League) or give very high quotes for a draw (from 50.00). If there is no draw in the line, it is better to refer to the rules of the bookmaker - how it will calculate the bet in case the fight ends in a draw.
On total rounds. If the fighters are roughly equal in terms of fighting ability, the bookmakers can offer another type of bet - on the totals of rounds.
Please note that a normal MMA fight lasts three rounds of five minutes each. But title fights (fights for the title of champion) usually last five rounds of five minutes each. This is the most important detail when betting on total rounds in MMA.
The strategy when betting on total rounds can be as follows: if the fighters are brute knockout types, the meeting often ends before the third or fifth round. If the fighters are fonder of working with various holds and technical abilities, then there is a great chance that such a fight will last all the rounds allocated for it.
It is also worth reading the bookmaker's rules regarding the exact number of rounds. Usually, for bets on totals of rounds, it is considered to be a fully completed round, but there are exceptions.
For the early outcome of the fight. One type of betting that often falls in the lines of bookmakers. MMA is a cruel sport and often fights end early with the victory of one of the fighters. Such a bet will be won if the fight did not last all the rounds set aside by the rules.
In these bets there is one important feature: not all bookmakers equally assess the early end of the fight because of the injury of one of the fighters. In some offices according to the rules, the player will return the delivered funds (calculation at odds 1.0), and in others, the bet will play/lose.
On the method of victory. According to the rules of such methods, there can be several. Early methods of victory include knockout, technical knockout, voluntary surrender. All rounds of victories include a win/draw by the referee's decision. Usually, a bet on how the judge's decision will be voiced: separate or unanimous, will be added as well. Bookmakers offer a similar kind of bet on title fights or the most high-profile fights of the evening.
How to make good bets on fights
Betting on fights without rules has its own peculiarities. As in any other sport, do not think that the bookmaker somewhere made a mistake and chose the wrong odds. Each quote has a justification.
Rules of the fight
First, the player should find out in which organization the fights are held. Depending on whether he wants to bet on UFC fights or Bellator fights, you will need to understand the different rules and different nuances. The worst thing is to do the correct analysis, but not to take into account some rule of a particular organization and because of this you lose your bet. Pay attention to learning the rules.
History of matchups, a study of the current form
In general, the betting strategy for the UFC, Bellator or ONE FC is about the same. In addition to standard factors such as the number of victories, fights, knockout victories, etc., MMA has its own pitfalls. For example, fighters can own completely different styles of martial arts as a base (usually either drummers or wrestlers), which is sure to make an imprint on the whole fight.
There are uncomfortable styles for specific fighters (someone does not like to fight, someone does not like to work in the rack), and they often lose for this reason. The age of the fighter is also very important - MMA fights are very intense, and with age, endurance becomes lower. At the same time, age means experience, and it can play a positive role in the fight against a young opponent.
Correct assessment of fighters' parameters
In MMA fighters are divided into several weight categories, respectively, there is such a thing as "to make weight", that is to approach the fight with suitable weight for the category. This is a very important point.
If a lighter boxer goes into the category higher for a couple of months, then to bet on such a fighter is very dangerous, because the opponent has long been working in his weight, he is comfortable, he understands the power of his and opponents' punches. Beginner in the weight category risks quickly getting lost in the ring.
In addition to weight, there are such important indicators as height, arm swing. For example, a fighter with strike technique will be easier to fight against the enemy with a smaller arms swing. A taller fighter should not transfer the fight to the ground, where he loses the advantage in growth. There are a lot of such subtleties, and for proper analysis, it is necessary to take into account all of them.
Before major fights in different types of mixed martial arts, Legalbet also publishes free forecasts. You can read the reasoning and recommended bets from experts and handicappers on a separate page.
