The UFC is a wild sport that features a lot of variance for anyone looking to place wagers. There are many ways to be in each bout beyond the winner and loser. Making UFC fight night predictions will allow some bettors to see sometimes the safest way to make money on mixed martial arts is by not choosing a side.
When it comes to betting on props, sometimes they can provide more value than the typical bets. Here’s a look at different ways to bet on MMA.
Decision/Finish Only
Betting on the moneyline with a decision or finish only is similar to playing a tie/no-bet wager in soccer. This protects bettors from having to worry about the method by which a fight finishes. If you bet on a fighter to win by decision only, the bet would be void if either fighter wins inside the distance. This would give you your money back.
If you bet on a finish only, you would get your money back in the fight went the distance. This moneyline bet would only be settled if one fighter won by knockout/technical knockout/disqualification or decision.
Method of Victory
When betting on your favorite fighter, sometimes the moneyline can be too high to just place down a single bet. One way to get the price down is to bet exactly how the fight is going to end. Bettors can wager on their fight to win by KO/TKO/DQ, submission, decision, or a draw.
The benefit to betting on a specific ending to a fight is the payout usually offers a higher number than just betting on the fighter to win outright.
However, with the higher payout comes a higher risk for loss. If you bet on a fighter to win by knockout and the bout goes to the card, it results in a loss for the bettor.
Double Chance
Much like method of victory, betting a double chance revolves around choosing how a fighter will win. The big difference between method of victory and double chance is that bettors will go with two of the three options for how a fighter could win. You could bet on a fighter to win by knockout or decision, which means as long as your fighter wins and it isn’t by submission, the bet will be paid out.
This is a safer method, but it still opens up a chance your fighter could win, but you could lose.
Over/Under
It is important when betting on the UFC to make sure you read the house rules for over/unders. Typically, MMA fights are either three or five rounds. When betting an over/under, when a fight reaches the 2:29 mark of a round, that means the over has been hit. However, there is a chance a fight could be stopped at the 2:30 mark.
When this happens, how the bet is paid out is based on the sportsbook. Some sportsbooks will grade it as a push and return your money. Others have said 2:30 is considered the over, and it will be paid out as such, while under bettors will take a loss.
Winning Round Combinations
A way to get around any controversy with betting over/unders is by doing an alternate winning group of rounds. With this bet, bettors can group rounds together where they believe the fight will end. With this bet, you can bet the fight to end in either rounds 1 or 2 or round 3 of the fight to go to a decision.
This gives the bettor a little leeway in case a fighter closes strong in one round but doesn’t finish the fight. It gives them another opportunity to win their bets.
Three-Way Moneyline
One way to get a better price on a moneyline is to lay money on a fighter on a three-way moneyline. When betting on a regular moneyline, the bet is void when a fight ends in a draw. The three-way moneyline also introduces a draw and an option to bet on.
The danger in betting on a three-way moneyline is that if the fight ends in a draw, the bet only pays out if the bettor wagered on the fight to end in a draw specifically. While draws aren’t especially common in mixed martial arts, you don’t want to be on the wrong end of one.
