UFC and MMA betting has been spreading wildly over the past few years, and with a bevy of UFC betting sites and apps to choose from, it can be overwhelming, which is why we’ve put together a guide for bettors to figure out which sites and apps are the best for them, what UFC betting trends there are, and their UFC betting preferences.
MMA is one of the fastest-growing sports in the world and specifically Canada when it comes to popularity, and that has obviously spilled over into the betting realm as well. When it comes to Mixed Martial Arts, the only promotion you really need to know is the UFC, the Ultimate Fighting Championship. The UFC is the pinnacle of the sport where the best of the best compete, featuring eight men’s weight classes from flyweight to heavyweight and four women’s divisions from strawweight to featherweight. There are other promotions such as Bellator, but the athletes in those secondary promotions are often pushing to make it to the UFC in the end. Each UFC division features a current champion as well as 15 ranked contenders who rise or fall based on their performances and results against similarly ranked fighters. Fights between ranked fighters usually offer more betting markets, but the lesser-known fighters often offer a lot more UFC betting value because of how little the sports betting sites know about them. |
Choosing which betting sites or betting apps you’re going to be doing your UFC wagering with is an important decision for any punter. And be sure to take which sport you’re wagering on into account because the best betting sites for the UFC are not always the best for other sports. If you’re looking for a reliable, trustworthy, legit UFC betting site, you’ve come to the right place. Below we will breakdown five of the best UFC betting sites to help you make your choice:
Betting on the UFC and MMA is like betting on any other sport or other market that might interest you: you’ve got to stay abreast with the developments. This way, you can stay aware of betting trends that can help you pinpoint mismatches which can reward you with big time betting value. To make sure newcomers and beginner bettors know exactly what they’re getting into, we’ve put together a little guide with the most important terms that they’re likely to come across when betting on the UFC: Odds → There are several ways to display betting odds. You will see a lot of fractional and decimal betting odds in the UK and across the continent of Europe, but across the pond here in North America, we use American odds (-100, +400 etc.) for the most part. If a market has negative odds, whatever number you see next to the minus (-) symbol is how much you’ll need to bet to earn returns of $100 bucks. If your market has positive odds, whatever you see next to the plus (+) symbol is how much you’ll win if you put down $100. Markets → Markets are the different types of bets you can make on any given sporting event. When it comes to UFC and MMA betting, there are a lot less markets to deal with, which is good for people just getting into the hobby. Moneyline → One of the most popular betting markets in UFC betting as with any sport is the money line bet where a punter simply chooses a man or woman to win the bout. If that person does emerge victorious, whether by KO, TKO, decision or otherwise, your bet’s a winner, if not, you’re a loser. Round Betting → Most UFC fights are scheduled for three rounds, five rounds if they’re the main event or it’s a title fight. A fun wager to make on the UFC is to bet on how long you think the fight will last. Will it go more or less than two rounds? Will it go the distance? The nice thing here is that you don’t need to choose a fighter to win, just how long you think the fight will last. Prop Betting → There aren’t too many prop bets to be had when it comes to betting on the UFC, but a very popular one is method of victory betting. This kind of prop bet allows you to bet not only on who you think will win, but also how they will win, whether it be KO, TKO, submission, decision, or other. You can also bet on which round a specific fighter will win the fight, and because of the specificity of that bet, this is a market that always offers very high odds. Futures → Futures bets are common in most other sports where they have a set season start and season end date, but that’s not so with the UFC, which makes futures bets very tough. You would be hard-pressed to find any, but long-term bets on up-and-coming fighters to eventually become the champ could be out there. Parlays → Another popular way to bet on the UFC is to do so with the use of parlays. Parlays are a great way to bundle together several markets you feel confident about to raise the overall odds on the parlay bet. Parlays are a great way to build value bets but beware, you need to win every single one of the bets in your parlay to win the parlay bet: If you get 7 of 8 markets right on a parlay, you still lose the parlay bet the same as you would if you had missed all 8 markets. It can be cruel, but the feeling you get after hitting a big fat parlay is almost as good as the winnings—almost. Betting Tips → Just knowing the numbers and the jargon isn’t enough, though, so we’re also going to provide you with a few quick UFC and MMA betting tips to help make sure you start your betting career off well: Become A Fan → The UFC is easy to keep track of because they mostly only have one event every week on Saturday night. There are also the midweek Dana White Contender Series and Fight Night bouts, but those are far less commonplace. It’s not tough to stay up to date with the sport, and doing so will give you a huge advantage in UFC betting. The UFC’s popularity is still relatively new, so there are lots of people who are still unsure on how to handicap a lot of these bouts, which means there’s almost always lots of value to be had for those that have been paying attention. The UFC is great about posting on social media in the lead-up to big events to give real fans the inside scoop too. Make Note Of Mismatches → When you watch a card and see that a particular fighter was unable to deal with a certain type of fighting (bad on their feet, bad takedown defence) it’s smart to keep that in mind when they return to the octagon later. Did they work on improving that hole in their game? And will their next opponent have the necessary weapons to take advantage if not? Every fighter has their strengths, and knowing how those strengths stack up against one another can be a key factor in deciding a bout. Avoid Heavy Favorites → Upsets happen in mixed martial arts and the UFC especially at a much higher clip than most other sports, which is why there’s just not much value in betting on heavy favourites. There are definitely some fighters that are sure things (think Valentina Shevchenko, Amanda Nunes) but apart from that, there’s always more value to be found by betting on method of victory or round of victory markets instead. If you do insist on betting on heavy money line favorites, you would do well to mix it up and include them in a more adventurous parlay instead of betting it solo and coming away with truly meager winnings. Who doesn’t love cheering for an underdog anyway?
Sports Interaction → The No. 1 UFC betting site in Canada. Betway → Widest range of UFC markets and props. Tonybet → Offers live betting and thousands of markets. Neo.Bet → Best, easiest to use website and app interface. 888Sport → Top choice for beginner UFC bettors from Canada. BetVictor → Easy-to-use streamlined accounts include sports betting and casino. Betsafe → Best and most competitive odds with an enormous variety of markets. Casumo → Most flexible for deposits and withdrawals. PowerPlay → Live betting for Canadian bettors on thousands of sporting events.
No matter what sports betting site Canadians choose to go with for their betting journey, they’re almost certain to receive some sort of signup bonus or free bet to kick start their account and get them betting early and often. There are differing levels of value for each sportsbook’s promotions, however, so we’ve listed a couple of the best ones here. One of our favorites is Sports Interaction’s promotional offer to newcomers. We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again, this is the class of Canadian online sports betting sites. Unlike nearly all of their competitors, Sports Interaction doesn’t require any kind of rollover on their free bets, which means free bets and winnings from free bets are paid out normally in cash. An initial deposit will earn you an additional $ in free bets, so don’t miss out on this offer! Get Sports Interaction Welcome bonus 👇| ||
The UFC is one of the easiest sports to get into and bet on because there are so few rules. It’s basically two people in the octagon for 15 (or 25 for a main event or championship bout) minutes and whoever beats up on the other one more comes out victorious. There are a few rules that are worth noting, however. There are such things as illegal strikes, such as elbows to the back of the head, eye pokes, low-blows, and knees to the head of a downed opponent, the latter of which often results in immediate disqualification. If a fighter is unable to continue due to an illegal strike that was deemed intentional, the offending fighter will be disqualified, their opponent will win and bets on the latter will cash out. Disqualification, or DQ, is classified along with TKO, KO, and Submission in most ‘method of victory’ markets, though sometimes submissions receive their own odds. Different sportsbooks and betting sites will usually have some of their own unique rules, caveats, or limitations, so it’s important to get to know your limitations with each book you use. Most oddsmakers are generally very similar, but those small little quirks can make all the difference once in a while, so to help keep you informed we‘ve put together a shortlist of some of the most common rules for betting UFC on top sportsbooks such as Tonybet and Betway. If a fight results in a draw, the fight result will be deemed void and all betting stakes returned to respective bettors unless that market offers a draw option. The result as declared by the official announcer will be used for settlements of all bets and any subsequent alterations to that decision will not be taken into account. If the announcer does not make an official announcement, the result displayed on that organization’s official website will be used. Fights deemed ‘No Contest’ or ‘No Decision’ result in the market being void and all stakes being returned. If a fight doesn’t take place within 48 hours of the given date and time, all bets will be void as well. For round betting where there are half-rounds involved, two and a half minutes will define the half of that round. For example, for a bet on a fight to go over 1.5 rounds, the fight will need to last past the two-and-a-half-minute mark of the second round to payout. If a fighter fails to come out for the next round, bets will be settled on his opponent getting the win in the previous round. ‘Win by Finish’ bets mean a fighter must win by KO, TKO, submission, or DQ. Doctor’s stoppages will count as a TKO. If about ends in a technical draw (draw decision before the end of the scheduled number of rounds) then ‘Fight to go the distance’ bets will stand.
Whether you’re a beginner UFC bettor or a veteran of many UFC wagers, it’s always smart to come into things with a strategy of some sort rather than throwing your money at random markets willy nilly. Here are a few strategies to help you find UFC betting success. UFC Parlay Betting – Parlay betting is when you combine bets on several different fights to combine the payouts, resulting in a much higher payout than if you make each bet separately. While you do get much better odds, the downside of the parlay is that you have to get all the bets right to win, so if you get three out of four correct in your parlay, you still lose. A popular way to parlay bet is by combining a couple of big favorites with one or two underdogs that you feel really good about to raise your parlay odds without giving yourself too much risk. Know The Fighters – Like with any sport, bettors will have the most success placing wagers on fights that feature fighters they know and are familiar with. Studying the fighters competing in the bout you’re betting on is crucial, because you never know where you might find a mismatch in terms of technique. For example, an underdog who’s an elite wrestler is a good bet against a favorite who doesn’t have great wrestling chops. It’s also important to look past a fighter’s record and instead at the fighters they beat and how they beat them, and the fighters they lost to and why they lost. Another caveat to note is whether or not one of the fighters is a Southpaw (lefty) because the rarity of left-handed fighters gives them an advantage over their opponents more often than not. It’s also important to follow a fighter’s journey to fight night, including when they traveled, how their weight cut went, and whether they’ve been working back from an injury. Line Shopping – This is one of the most underrated betting strategies not only for UFC betting but for any sport you can think of. Different sportsbooks will often post different odds and lines for different markets at different times, which allows line-shoppers tons of chances to grab the massive value. Line shopping is like going out shop to shop to try to find the best deal on the item you’re looking to buy, but in this case, the shops are sportsbooks and the item is a specific UFC market. Different sportsbooks will get different amounts of money put down on different fighters in a particular card, and checking up on several different books in the days or weeks leading up to the fight to see how the lines move allows you to pull the trigger on your bet at the ideal time to allow yourself maximum value on that bet. For example, one book might have a fighter as a -500 favorite, odds so low they’re not even worth considering, but another book might have that same fighter with -180 odds, which offers a lot more value for the bet you’re trying to make. Choose The Right Bookmaker – Shopping for lines is also a great way to familiarize yourself with several different sportsbooks and betting sites and the various advantages and disadvantages each one offers when it comes to UFC betting. Because MMA is still a relatively new sport in a lot of places around the world, many sportsbooks offer only simple Moneyline bets for many of the big-time UFC bouts while offering no markets on the smaller undercard fights. Prop bets and smaller fights are where sharp UFC bettors make the most money, so ensure you use a sportsbook that offers a wide range of prop bets on main card fights as well as those on the preliminary cards. For those that volume bet with significant amounts of money, it’s important to find a betting site that allows you to bet with as much money as you like as well because many sites will put limits on bets, deposits, and withdrawals. Thankfully for you, you’re already at Betting Top 10, where we’ve gathered all of the top markets and odds from the best sportsbooks for UFC all in one place
We’ve tried to answer as many questions as possible about the MMA, the sport’s flagship promotion, the UFC, and how to bet on this burgeoning sport, but obviously, we can’t answer everything, so we’ve compiled a few FAQs to further inform our punters! ❔ What is a No Contest or NC in MMA and the UFC? A no contest is a result that occurs when an accidental illegal strike causes the offender’s opponent to be unable to continue. This decision is usually made by the referee, doctor, fighter, or his corner team. When the illegal strike is deemed intentional, the fighter is DQ’d and takes the loss. ❔ What happens to my bet if a fight finishes in a No Contest? If you bet on a fight that ended in a NC, all reputable sports betting sites and sportsbooks will void the bets and return all stakes. Both fighters receive ‘NC’ on their records, adding neither a win nor a loss to their fighting numbers. ❔ What happens to my round betting wager if a fight ends between rounds? If a fighter withdraws or a referee calls a fight between rounds, the fight will be deemed to have finished in the previous round for any round betting wagers. ❔ Can I bet on MMA other than UFC events? Yes, you can. They are much harder markets to find, but sports betting sites such as Betway, 888, and SIA will usually post moneyline odds at the least for big Bellator events and DWCS episodes.
