Mixed Martial Arts has been rapidly growing in popularity in recent years. Unsurprisingly, that rise in popularity has coincided with a substantial rise in the amount of money being placed on the sport, as many armchair experts begin to develop a sound knowledge of it.
The unpredictability of Mixed Martial Arts makes it an exciting sport to both watch and bet on, but inevitably, with this unpredictability comes a need to be particularly careful when you bet.
Of course, under the umbrella of MMA comes a variety of different fighting practices, but in general the betting practices remain relatively consistent. For example, across all different forms of MMA, it’s vital that you understand the fighting styles of the two competitors involved, as this can influence a number of the markets.
Perhaps the most notable example of this is in bets relating to how long the fight will last. MMA bouts can be won via a number of different methods, and the method of victory which each fighter tends to look for can usually provide significant hints to how long the fight will last. For example, a fighter who likes to take the fight to the ground – i.e. look for a submission – is generally content to let the fight drag on as long as possible. As a result, in these types of bouts, the over market for total rounds is often the way to go.
Conversely, if one of the two fighters involved is a particularly strong striker, the opposite is most likely to be true. In this scenario, there is a good chance that the opponent of this striker will lose on points if the match goes for the full three rounds, and as a result he or she is likely to look for a knockout early on in the bout.
Following a similar theme, the ‘double chance’ markets can also be particularly profitable if used wisely. These markets ask that the punter selects the winner, and has two chances at selecting the method of victory – so, as an example, you could bet that Demetrious Johnson will win by either KO or by decision. If you know that a given fighter doesn’t have much in the way of submission skills, then if he or she wins the chances are that it will be by one of these two methods. On the other hand, if a fighter rarely wins by KO but you are confident they will win, then betting on them to win by either decision or submission can be an intelligent way to bet.
MMA is also a sport in which live betting can be a good way to bet. Generally, the early stages of a fight can give significant hints as to what is going to later unfold, and as a result the live bet markets can be capitalised on. As always, however, this mode of betting requires a cool head and quick thinking, so make sure you know what you’re doing before you go down this route.
MMA is far from the easiest sport to bet on. There is a great deal of unpredictability involved in it, and many followers of the sport are far less knowledgeable than they make like to believe. Having said that, there are certain markets which can be capitalised on, provided you have the required knowledge to do so. As always it’s pertinent to ensure you’re responsible in the way you gamble on this unpredictable sport, but if you follow a few important rules, there’s certainly scope to bet Mixed Martial Arts intelligently.
