How to bet on UFC fights
UFC
fights are suddenly becoming the most bet on events in sports, and most
bettors really don’t have any idea of how to bet on UFC fights. In this
piece, I’ll explain where to bet on UFC, how to bet on UFC and how UFC
and Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) odds work and what sportsbooks have MMA betting lines.
Odds Explained
The odds on fights will often change
with the amount of money coming in on each side. If a bunch of money is
coming in on one side, the sportsbook will adjust the odds to even out
the action and get bettors betting on the other fighter. With that
said, whatever the odds are when you place your bet, is the odds you
get. They don’t change like in horse racing.
The sports odds, or price, on a given event can be rendered by an online sportsbook in one of three ways.
American:
Unlike football as basketball where there are point spreads (ex. -7,
+13.5) UFC fights have odds which are called moneylines. A moneyline is
basically a way for the sportsbooks to even out the betting public. So
for example if Chuck Liddell was fighting a no name guy in his first
fight, Liddell would be a HUGE favorite, probably around -4400 or so
(44 to 1). If there was no moneyline, you could just bet on the
favorite everytime, and become a millionaire pretty quickly.
So here is an actual example from a UFC fight, that will explain the odds a bit better.
Tito Ortiz (-140)
Rashad Evans (+120)
In this matchup, Tito is the favorite at -140. This means that for
every $1.40 you bet, you win $1. So if you were to bet $140 on Tito,
you’d win $100 (profit) if he is victorious. Rashad is the underdog in
this match at +120. This means that for every $1 you bet, you will win
$1.20. So if you bet $100 on Rashad, and he wins, you will win $120
(profit).
The moneylines on UFC fights will often change with the amount of
money coming in on each side. If a bunch of money is coming in on one
side, the sportsbook will adjust the moneyline to even out the action
and get bettors betting on the other fighter. With that said, whatever
the odds are when you place your bet, is the odds you get. They don’t
change like in horse racing.
Fractional:
A price listed at 8/1 means that the event
will return $800 for every $100 wagered, plus the original stake. 5/1
means that the event will return $500 for every $100 wagered, plus the
original stake.
Decimal:
A price listed at 8.00 means that the bet will
return $800 for every $100 wagered. A price listed at 5.00 means that
the bet will return $500 for every $100 wagered.
|
