Betting on MMA can be fun and exciting, but it’s important to understand the risk involved in this type of wager. Unlike betting on regular sports, MMA betting requires careful research and analysis, not just emotion and bias. A disciplined approach can help you make informed decisions, while minimizing your losses and increasing your profits.
MMA betting offers a number of options for wagering, but the most basic is the money line bet. This bet simply involves placing a bet on which fighter you think will win the fight, with odds that determine your potential payout. In addition to money lines, MMA betting also includes prop bets, or special bets on specific outcomes in the fight. These bets often reward riskier bets with higher payouts, and can be combined into parlay bets for even greater rewards.
Another popular wagering option is the Over/Under, or total, bet. This bet is based on the total number of rounds a fight will last, or other specific elements such as punches/kicks, knockdowns, or submissions. The sportsbook will set a number, and you can bet on whether the total will be over or under that number. This bet is easy to place, but its accuracy depends on the overall quality of the fight and the individual fighters’ styles and strengths.
A third type of bet is the method of victory, which can be broken down into three categories; a KO/TKO or technical knockout, a submission, or a judges’ decision. In a KO/TKO or technical KO, a fighter wins by striking and the referee stops the fight immediately. A submission win is when a fighter taps out or loses control of their own body, usually in the form of a choke or joint lock. A judges’ decision is when all three judges award a fighter with a unanimous or split decision.
Lastly, a round betting bet is based on how many rounds a fight will last. This can be broken down further into a round-by-round bet, where you are predicting which particular rounds the fight will end in, or a round-by-round accumulator bet, which is a cumulative total of all the rounds in the fight. This bet rewards riskier bets with higher payouts, but must be correct to win.