Best Online UFC & MMA Betting Sites 2023

Before you begin studying the fighters and the odds posted at UFC gambling sites, there is one thing every bettor must do—register for an account with their sportsbook of choice. The process will vary from one book to the next, but they are essentially all the same:

• 1
  MMA betting odds will be competitive no matter which MMA betting sites you select. So, instead of comparing them you want to compare the sign-up/welcome bonus each MMA betting sites offers. Pick the site with the bonus you think you can get the most out of. You can compare these with our list of the 10 best UFC betting sites above
• 2
  Register for an account at the best website for betting on UFC you can find. This is rarely a lengthy process and usually just entails providing a little personal information and entering the welcome bonus promo code (make sure you review the terms and conditions).
• 3
  Make a deposit into your account.
• 4
  Decide on which market you want to put money on and place your bet.

If you are not familiar with MMA betting odds posted on UFC gambling sites, then trying to figure out what to bet on and how can be a bit confusing. The odds and how to read them can be best explained by reviewing an example.

Let’s say you want to bet on the main event of a UFC: Fight Night. The bout features Marina Rodriguez and Michelle Waterson. If you just want to pick the winner, you are going to want to bet the moneyline:

Favourites are represented with a minus sign and the underdog the plus sign. In this case Rodriguez is the favourite and you would need to bet $215 to win $100. However, if you want to back the underdog, a $100 bet will win you $175.

But maybe you are not sure who will win but you are confident you know how long the fight will last. You would want to take the over or under for ‘total rounds:’

The odds are read the same way.

Like every sport, UFC/MMA events come with an assortment of prop bets from how someone wins the fight to whether it is won by decision, will go the distance, or which round the fight is won in (etc.). MMA betting odds posted at a UFC betting site will be presented in the form of a moneyline.

But there may not be a strong favourite, so two or more options could both be considered good. In that case, the one with the smallest (+) odds is the favourite.

Now the odds will be presented in one of three ways for online betting for UFC fights —American, Fractional, or Decimal. The MMA betting odds above are in American form. Fractional is presented just like it sounds, as a fraction:

Here, the figure before the slash is how much you will win for every amount of the figure after the slash that you bet. So if you are betting on Rodriguez and Waterson to go the distance, you will win $43 for every $100 you bet, plus your stake back.

Decimal odds would present as follows:

They work by simply multiplying your stake, so you would get 1.43 times your stake for betting the fight to go the distance, or 2.65 times your stake by betting that it won’t.

So, you have watched a few UFC events and know the difference between an arm bar and a rear-naked choke. Now that you know a little about the sport, you feel like it is time to throw your hat in the ring and place a few bets at your favourite UFC betting site.

We are here to help you do better than your average beginner betting on UFC fights at the best MMA betting sites.

MMA stands for mixed martial arts. It’s a full-contact combat sport where participants use various methods to defeat the other in unarmed combat. What method/technique a fighter uses is up to the fighter.

Fighters are classified according to weight and fight others within their class.

There are several different promoters that organize MMA events, but the most popular and successful is the UFC, or Ultimate Fighting Championship. It began in 1993 as a one-off event pitting fighters of different skills/styles against each other.

The success of that event led to other UFC events being held and led to MMA becoming one of the most popular sports in the world. It is safe to say the prevalence of MMA in society is directly related to the success of the UFC.

The UFC began as an eight-man, single elimination tournament featuring fighters of different styles. While it was intended to be a one-off event, the success of the pay-per-view led to additional events being held.

Initially, the fights were billed as having no rules. There were no weight classes, but the belief was that technique could overcome a size/strength disadvantage. But in time, rules were added and fighters were divided into weight classes to help level the playing field a little.

The brutality led to many states making MMA events illegal. This forced the UFC to work with state athletic commissions to revamp the rules. Rather than win by physically dominating, it became more important to utilize technique and skill.

But the company did not start to thrive until Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta, along with their partner Dana White, purchased the struggling company.

However, while the UFC did better under their guidance, it was still struggling financially. Since fights were on pay-per-view, many people simply did not know much about it.

The turnaround began with the creation of the hit reality series The Ultimate Fighter. The access helped get viewers invested in fighters and more interested in watching pay-per-view events.

While the UFC may be the premier MMA promoter in the world, it is not the only one. There are hundreds around the world, many of which operate on a regional or local level. Some of the more well-known ones include Bellator, Fight Nights Global, ONE Championship, Rizin Fighting Federation and Invicta.

But since the best fighters tend to gravitate to the UFC, the quality of competition in other promotions is often lacking. That does not mean odds cannot be found for other promotions. It does mean, however, that bettors may have to look to smaller sportsbooks for odds on local/regional MMA fights. Major sportsbooks will post odds on the more well-known organizations (such as Bellator), but possibly without as many markets as UFC events.

In the UFC’s early days, it was not unusual to see fighters with dramatically different weights facing off. But when competition rules were revamped, fighters were divided into different classes according to weight.

The idea was to help level the playing field from a physical standpoint. Each class will have a single male champion and female champion.

The purpose behind the UFC was to give fighters of one style the chance to compete with fighters that use a different one. Can a boxer defeat a wrestler? Will a Muay Thai fighter prevail over a judo fighter?

Before betting on UFC fights, it may be worth looking into different fighting styles. The following are some of the more common styles fighters like to use in UFC, although by no means the only options:

The following are some common terms you will hear while watching a UFC/MMA event. Many terms are self-explanatory, but there are many more that you will hear that are not.

• Arm Bar

  A submission move where the attacker uses their legs to hold an opponent’s arm and then by pulling on the wrist and exerting pressure with the hips the arm is bent backwards.

• Clinch

  Method of controlling the body of your opponent with the intent of slowing down or stopping them from attacking; often associated with Muay Thai fighters and wrestlers.

• Guard

  A defence used when a fighter’s back is on the map; that fighter will wrap their legs around the waist of their opponent to control how the opponent can move.

• Guillotine

  A submission move where the attacker will wrap his/her arms around their opponent’s neck (while facing each other). To complete the move, the attacker will then wrap their legs around the opponent, sink down, and apply pressure.

• Kimura

  A hold where the attacker bends their opponent’s arm in a way it should not bend by applying pressure at the elbow or shoulder.

• Knee Bar

  A submission move where a fighter hyperextends the leg of their opponent at the knee.

• Leg Lock

  A type of submission move where an attacker applies pressure on the knees, ankle, or toes by isolating the leg or foot.

• Rear Naked Choke

  A submission move where the attacker chokes out their opponent from behind.

• Sprawl

  A common method of defence against various takedown techniques; the defender will basically shove the attackers head down, throw their own legs back, and then push their pelvis towards the floor.

• Tap Out

  How a fighter lets the referee and opponent know that they are giving in to a submission hold with the knowledge they will lose the fight; typically entails a fighter tapping on the mat, themselves, or their opponent.

• Triangle

  A submission move where an attacker chokes their opponent with their legs.

When betting, there is nothing quite like getting a bonus from the online sportsbook you are using just for making a bet. The following are some of the more common ones you will see (keep in mind that terms and conditions will always apply):

• No Deposit Bonus

  Wish you had a little more money so you could put something down on another fight? Some sportsbooks will credit your account with a free bet (typically of relatively low value) just for signing up.

• Sign-up/Welcome Bonus

  But what if you wish you had a lot more money so that you could put some down on Fight Night this week and then on the next UFC event as well? Many books will double your first deposit (up to a given max value), giving you just that.

• Parlay Insurance

  There is nothing more frustrating than losing a five-leg parlay because you got one fight wrong. With parlay insurance, you will not get all your money back, but you will get a free bet credited to your account of a given value.

• Parlay Odds Boost

  Bettors like to create parlays to win more money when they bet. With a parlay odds boost, a sportsbook will boost the odds of a given parlay giving you the chance to win even more (if the parlay pays off).

• Risk-Free Bets

  Feeling good about your bet but not 100 per cent sure your fighter is going to win? Then open a new account with a sportsbook offering a risk-free bet to new customers. That way, if your fighter loses, you will receive a free bet with the same value as your wager. There is still risk involved because you must use the credit and make another bet before you can cash out, but at least you get a second chance.

Anyone that visited their favourite UFC betting site and put money down on the underdog in these matches was certainly glad they did:

As fun as it is to bet on UFC fights, it is even more fun to bet on them while watching them with your buddies at your favourite bar or someone’s house. Does this mean you need to take your laptop to your buddy’s place or hope the bar has public Wi-Fi? Of course not!

Almost all sportsbooks have mobile-friendly websites you can view on your phone or tablet’s web browser. But most will also have an app you can download. Sportsbooks typically design their mobile apps to make the process of betting as seamless and easy as possible.

So, whether it is via the app or the web browser, you can bet on the next UFC fight from just about anywhere!