While still a niche sport in the eyes of the mainstream sports media, mixed martial arts (MMA) led by the top US based fighting promotion, the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is becoming an increasingly popular sport to bet on.  Most sportsbooks in Nevada and offshore now offer odds for major MMA events, and it offers excellent value opportunities for the astute handicapper.

In this post we’ll talk about the basics of how to place a MMA bet.  In a subsequent post, we’ll address some fundamental handicapping concepts to keep you in the black betting on the ‘black and blue’.

The basics of MMA wagering is fairly simple:  the bookmaker offers moneyline odds on each competitor in a fight and you pick the winner.  If your fighter wins, you cash the bet.  For example, here are some odds for the recent UFC 104 main event between Lyoto Machida and Shogun Rua:

Lyoto Machida -400
Shogun Rua +340

If you want to bet on Machida, you have to lay $400 to win $100.  To bet on the underdog Rua, you’ll bet $100 and receive $340 back should he prevail.  As many of you are aware, the outcome of this fight went to a very controversial decision with Machida winning.  Many bettors and MMA observers felt that Rua deserved the verdict, but for purposes of basic moneyline bets how the winner is determined is unimportant.  If the fighter you bet on wins by KO, TKO, submission, decision or DQ you’re a winner.  In a basic straight wager such as the one above, bets are returned in the event of a ‘no contest’ or draw both of which happen very rarely in the sport.

A growing number of sportsbooks are diversifying from the basic straight wager described above and offering proposition bets on MMA.  Most of these wagers will be very familiar to anyone who has bet on boxing.   One type of MMA proposition is the over/under round bet, where the bettor picks whether or not a fight will go a specified distance.  Alternately, sportsbooks may offer a prop simply on whether or not a fight will go the distance with the bettor choosing ‘yes’ or ‘no’.

Another type of MMA prop bet allows the bettor to select both the winner of the fight and how the fight will end at higher payouts than the straight ‘to win’ bet.  For example, a book will quote prices on each fighter winning by submission, knockout or decision.  Some books will offer bets on whether a fighter will win ‘inside the distance’ by KO or submission or not.  Finally, books will offer a big payout of 20/1 or more if a fight ends in a draw.

In the next installment, we’ll go over some basic winning strategies for MMA betting.