How to bet on MMA: The ultimate guide to MMA betting

What is MMA? MMA rules explained

MMA is a same-sex full contact combat sport in which two fighters face off in organised fights, which are sometimes referred to as bouts. In MMA, fighters are allowed to attack with their full arms and legs, meaning they can punch, kick, elbow, knee, or grapple their way to victory across a number of different fighting styles and strategies.

MMA fights are comprised of five-minute rounds. The majority of MMA bouts feature three rounds (for a potential total duration of 15 minutes), while title and headlining fights often feature five, and can thus last for up to 25 minutes.

While MMA fights can take place in a ring similar to those used in boxing, they are most commonly held in a cage or octagon. These are octagonal-shaped stages that are 25 to 30 feet in length and bordered by six-foot high mesh netting.

There are five methods by which the winner of a MMA fight can be decided:

How are MMA fights organised?

Tough Guy Contest, the first regulated MMA league in the US, was created in 1980. Today, there are several different MMA organisations that host globally watched events and competitions situated around the world, of which the most popular is Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Other notable MMA fighting leagues include Bellator, Absolute Championship Berkut (ACB), Fight Nights Global (FNG), and ONE Championship.

Many of these typically hold their flagship events (which are often listed as the name of the organisation followed by a number, e.g. UFC 260), headlined by a title or other significant bout once every three or four weeks, with smaller events (such as UFC Fight Night or UFC on ESPN) taking place weekly or fortnightly.

Similarly to other combat sports such as boxing, professional MMA bouts are split into men’s and women’s divisions spanning several weight classes. Divisions typically list a ranking of their best combatants, such as in UFC, where the divisional rankings are comprised of the champion (the title holder) and the 15 next best fighters.

Different MMA fighting organisations award titles for differing division classes, but for reference, listed below are those used by UFC:

UFC Men’s divisions	Weight bracket	UFC Women’s divisions	Weight bracket
Strawweight	Up to 115lb (52.2kg)	Strawweight	Up to 115lb (52.2kg)
Flyweight	116 - 125lb (52.6 - 56.7kg)	Flyweight	116 - 125lb (52.6 - 56.7kg)
Bantamweight	126 - 135lb (57.2 - 61.2kg)	Bantamweight	126 - 135lb (57.2 - 61.2kg)
Featherweight	136 - 145lb (61.7 - 65.8kg)	Featherweight	136 - 145lb (61.7 - 65.8kg)
Lightweight	146 - 155lb (66.2 - 70.3kg)
Welterweight	156 - 170lb (70.7 - 77.6kg)
Middleweight	171 - 185lb (77.6 - 83.9kg)
Light Heavyweight	186 - 205lb (84.4 - 93.0kg)
Heavyweight	206 - 265lb (93.4 - 120.2kg)

Occasionally, catchweight MMA bouts are also held. These occur when two fighters agree to contest a bout at a specified and pre-determined weight, or a fighter misses the cut for their weight class but their opponent agrees to commence with the fight anyway.

MMA betting markets

Pinnacle lists odds for every bout at every event hosted by numerous MMA fighting organisations, including UFC, Bellator, and several others. Pinnacle offers two main markets for every MMA fight:

Other popular MMA betting markets include method of victory and whether or not the fight will last the duration (which may be covered by the Over/Under Rounds market). Certain bookmakers may also allow you to place a bet featuring a combination of these markets, e.g. Conor McGregor to win by KO or TKO in under 3.5 rounds.

How to find value in MMA odds

As per betting on any other sport, when it comes to MMA betting your priority should be establishing not only who you think will win a bout, but also whether a fighter’s given odds for it represent good value.

There are a multitude of reasons why a combatant might be listed as the favourite or underdog for a MMA fight, which should also inform your comparisons between them and their opponent. These include (but are not restricted to) their form and recent performances, fighting style and strategy, divisional ranking, and physical attributes.

On the latter point, this should be comprised of more information than simply who is taller, weighs more, or possesses the longer reach. Making weight can be an arduous process for MMA fighters – particularly if they are switching divisions for a bout – that is more than capable of adversely affecting their preparations.

One of the most notable examples of this occurred when Conor McGregor switched from Featherweight to Welterweight ahead of his first fight against Nate Diaz at UFC 196 in March 2016. McGregor struggled to adapt his fighting style to compensate for his recent increase in weight, which ultimately contributed to his second round and first ever UFC defeat.

It can be useful to preview bouts by trying to predict what tactics both fighters will deploy on the night.

This illustrates the point that bouts are not merely decided in the octagon. Exterior factors may play a role in determining the outcome, such as whether one fighter possesses home advantage for the bout, when and if the fighters are required to travel (given MMA fights take place across the globe), injury records, and any recent changes among either combatant’s training and coaching staff.

It is worth noting that certain fighters upload public videos of their training sessions that you can utilise to gauge their potential approach ahead of an upcoming fight.

This is particularly useful as if you’re new to MMA betting, an effective strategy to preview a bout is to try and predict what tactics both fighters will use on the night and how their respective styles will fare against each other. For instance, in a fight between an aggressive fighter who strives for early knockouts and a more passive opponent who seeks to craft victories over the distance, the victor will likely be who gains the upper hand in the opening couple of rounds.

This is where physical comparisons between the fighters may come into play. If the aggressive fighter possesses a greater reach than their opponent, they will likely be undeterred from their habitual approach and aim for a swift knockout from the outset. If the more passive fighter boasts the lengthier reach, they may be well-placed to fend off their opponent’s initial attacks and prime themselves to win the bout in the later rounds.

Depending on what you think might happen, at this stage you can also inform your predictions for other markets, such as the method of victory and duration of the fight.

To assist you in all of these tasks, there is a myriad of online data to hand capable of helping you to build a profile for a fighter. For instance, on the UFC’s official website you can compare fighters’ physical attributes, win methods, and significant strike and grappling stats ahead of every bout at every UFC event.

If you’re looking to get into or simply inform your MMA betting, don’t forget that Betting Resources has detailed previews on every UFC title bout, plus expert insight from Adam Catterall on each fight at UFC’s flagship events.

You can also check out the latest MMA odds for upcoming fights at Pinnacle.