The sport of MMA has grown tremendously in recent years. The entertainment value of the fighters and different fighting styles attract many fans to watch and wager on a fight. The popularity of the sport has led to a growing number of online sportsbooks offering mma betting.
Like boxing and hockey, MMA odds are displayed as money lines with the plus (plus) signifying the underdog and the minus (-) signifying the favorite. In MMA betting, the money line displays a multiplier of the actual risk that the player must lay to win $100. For example, Floyd Mayweather is a -165 favorite which means the player must lay $165 to win $100.
In a decision match, the judges score each fighter and determine who won each round. A fighter must win two or more rounds to receive a majority decision, while one judge must rule for the winner in order to receive a split decision. In a tie, the judges will combine their scores to determine a winner. If the score is a draw, all bets on who will win are refunded.
Unlike most sports, MMA has numerous different types of wagers that can be placed on the outcome of a fight. These include a wide variety of prop bets, parlays (accumulators), over/under and round betting. These wagers offer the opportunity to make a profit in many ways, from correctly picking how a fighter will win the fight to the total number of rounds the fight will go.
A popular MMA bet is on the Method of Victory, where you are betting on which fighter will win the fight by KO/TKO or Submission and which round it will happen in. This type of bet can be very profitable as it often pays out huge sums if made correctly. Fighters who use grappling and wrestling techniques to control their opponents will be more likely to win by submission, whereas fighters that utilize more direct fighting styles will be more likely to win by KO or TKO.
Another popular type of MMA betting is on the first blood bet, which is a bet on which fighter will win the first round. The odds for this bet are usually quite long and it is important to research the fighters’ strengths and weaknesses in this area to make a sound prediction. This type of bet is available at most online sportsbooks.