MMA Betting Tactics You Should Try

Juan Archuleta

The advent of mixed martial arts has been a boon for sports bettors who like the opportunity to wager on various exciting and excitingly unpredictable fights. But there are always fantastic MMA cards coming up, especially in the most significant MMA organization on the planet—the UFC—while only a handful of major boxing matches each year are worth putting some action on.

In addition, a normal MMA/UFC program features several fights worth betting on in addition to the main event, unlike its boxing equivalent.

In this way, savvy gamblers can pick and choose only the games where their money is best spent. This means that individuals who are prepared to put in the time and effort have a good chance of winning their bets on several fights about twice a month.

In only the past fifteen years, MMA has undergone a remarkable transformation. Combatants before then tended to have more niche skill sets.

Generally speaking, the grapplers were green when standing, and the strikers were equally helpless when taking the fight to the floor. Therefore the outcomes of their bouts were easy to foresee.

Every modern fighter has a wide range of skills, yet they still have individual preferences and areas of expertise within that broader repertoire.

We’ll look at the venues, which may vary in terms of the size of the ring, cage, or city that hosts the bouts.

Reach, preferred fighting distance, range, and age will be considered.

Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a hazardous activity. Because even when a fight is precisely handicapped, huge upsets still occur, and no technique can guarantee a right prediction 100% of the time.

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As per the Outplayed matched betting experts, betting on this potentially lucrative sport can be a massive moneymaker. Still, your chances of winning will greatly improve if you focus on the most important aspects and learn to disregard the irrelevant ones.

Keep a Careful Eye on the Weight-Ins

During mixed martial arts events, the weigh-ins typically occur the day before the fight. Most bets will be placed on the Ultimate Fighting Championships, or UFC, which currently have their fighters weigh in the morning of the day of the event.

Watching the weigh-ins can tell us a lot about how a fighter will do the next night because there isn’t enough time to rehydrate after a drastic weight loss.

Which is Better, Ring or Cage?

These days, a cage of some sort is standard equipment for most major MMA events. The ring is still used in Japan for amateur and regional competitions like Rizin.

Different settings are optimal for certain fighting styles.

A ring has four right angles, an octagon has eight at 135 degrees, and some round cages have none.

As a further distinction, the ropes surrounding a boxing ring are not present in a fight against a wall of chain-link fence.

Rings are more advantageous for stand-up or striking combatants for the above reasons. At a 90-degree corner, a stand-up fighter can walk down and trap their opponent in front of them, pressing their advantage on the feet.

Because the striker cannot press the standing opponent into the wall in a series of takedown attempts, it is more difficult to take them down.

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As a result of the preceding, the cage environment favors grapplers specializing in wrestling and submissions. The grappler has more room to move into the corners and avoid getting surrounded, and the walls provide tremendous support for takedowns.

Nowadays, a double-leg takedown in the center of the cage is a rare sight.

As an opponent sprawls, a wrestler will push them until their back is on the barrier. Now that they can’t fully sprawl and stuff the takedown, the ground expert can press them into the surface while landing short punches or regroup for another takedown.

If you’re betting on UFC, the fights will always be held within the Octagon, but that doesn’t mean you don’t have to do your homework.

Cage Size

It’s surprising how few MMA handicappers consider the actual dimensions of the cage or ring where the fight will take place.

The standard cage measures 746 square feet, while the smaller one is only 518 square feet.

With less room to move, fighters who rely on movement have a harder time in the smaller cage, which has historically led to more knockouts. 

There will be further verbal exchanges between the warring parties. Bettors interested in the match’s outcome based on the number of rounds or the result of a decision will find this information useful if the fighters engage in many exchanges early on.

It also makes upsets more likely for certain types of fighters.

Never Bet on the Favorites

Many college football gamblers follow a technique that involves betting thousands of dollars on the money line on teams who are 20-30 point favorites.

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While the rewards to players are pitiful, the teams win over 97% of the time, meaning that a high roller with a sizable bankroll can make a profit of 12.5% throughout the season.

When applied to mixed martial arts, this strategy fails miserably. Upsets are commonplace in a sport where every part of the body is fair game and where infinite techniques and possibilities exist across a wide range of fighting styles.

Fighters’ Age

Age is one of the most crucial elements when determining who will win a competition. Mixed martial arts (MMA) pay is much lower than in other top-tier sports. Thus many fighters keep competing much past their peak to make ends meet.

While this is not ideal for anyone involved, it allows bettors to find extra value.

Chins that seem invincible at the start of a fighter’s career might crack under the weight of repeated blows and become their worst weakness before long.

Chuck Liddell is a good example; he was able to keep going for a long time, taking punishment so that he could dish it out. It was a huge success for years, but eventually, he started losing by knockout.

This knowledge is useful in any battle, not just when an older fighter faces a younger opponent. Promoters typically pair up boxers of similar ages to create competitive matches.

A gambler’s age might not help them pick a winner, but it could help them bet on the fewest possible rounds or wager against a decision being made.