Betting on Mixed Martial Arts fights may appear daunting to those unfamiliar with it, but with just a little understanding it can become easy and profitable. Although much of what makes betting on MMA fights different is similar to betting on other team sports such as basketball or volleyball.
First and foremost, MMA bettors need to understand how to read odds for each fight. Odds are typically listed in American, decimal and fractional formats and can fluctuate dramatically during an encounter as fighter abilities change or performance does. Bettors should always perform an analysis on any given odds before placing their bet.
Contrary to football or baseball games, MMA bets rely more on the performance of all fighters than on individual skills when handicapping a fight – this makes the sport harder to handicap than others but can prove immensely rewarding when done well. When handicapping an MMA match successfully bettors need to use fight film footage, examine styles of each fighter and take weight classes into account as part of their assessment of odds for each contestant.
One common misstep made by MMA bettors is comparing records between fighters. This can easily mislead bettors and divert their focus away from studying fight film. Many bettors also attempt to do “MMA math,” thinking that an opponent who lost should win against someone who defeated them; unfortunately this often is not true and leads to poor decisions being made.
Bettors in mixed martial arts (MMA) should pay careful attention to weigh-ins for fights. Fighters who come close to missing their weight cut may need to starve themselves or dehydrate to tip the scales – this could leave them gassed and weak in battle time. Furthermore, fighters travelling from different climates could experience issues related to altitude or heat that hinder performance during battle.
Over/under is a classic bet type in mixed martial arts betting that often yields great returns. Bettor are wagering on how long a fight will go for and its outcome – such as knockout/TKO/submission or points decision. Additionally, depending on their sportsbook they may place method of victory bets where they pick how specific fighters will win their bouts.
MMA bettors may also engage in parlays, which are an accumulation of multiple bets across various events and can yield large payouts if all bets win; bettors may also place futures bets – wagers on events taking place in the future – which although less common can still prove lucrative when placed correctly.