Mixed Martial Arts has been one of the fastest-growing sports since its inception in the early 1990s. At the turn of the century, prominent MMA promotions such as the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and Pride FC have revolutionized the sport in practice and scale. With title fights getting more prestigious, and the amount of money being made by the promotion and prizefighters increasing on a yearly basis, the odds for a combat sport like MMA differ from other sports such as boxing or bare-knuckle.
Contents
When using sites such as DraftKings, the ‘MMA Fantasy League’ structure offers more variability in approach as you are allocated $50,000 in a fixed salary cap used to draft a team of five fighters. DraftKings UFC is a fantasy sports league that allows you to draft your own roster of fighters and compete against other players for cash prizes. To get the best results, knowing how to bet and where to get the proper information before fight night will be crucial to long-term success for UFC betting online. For more information on how to get the most out of your MMA betting, read our FAQ to help get you started on your UFC betting journey.
Virtual UFC Betting – All you need to know for virtual & real betting on MMA
In most versions of virtual UFC betting, the fantasy league format is often followed in order to simulate the team aspect of other sports. Obviously, the one-on-one competitive aspect of MMA detracts from the tenants of common team sports betting, but the methods used by sites like DraftKings and others allow for each bettor to enjoy a variety of options en route to a payout rather than a single pigeonholed option. When choosing your roster on any given fight night, paying attention to all aspects of your roster’s capabilities will be a defining factor in their matchups.
The scoring for virtual MMA betting differs from scoring in the actual sport of MMA as well. In a typical DraftKings MMA Contest, points are given to fighters for things that occur during the fight and the results of the fight. A fighter can earn points in any given fight through a number of different methods: such as landing significant strikes, achieving positional advances while grappling. Achieving takedowns and knockdowns grant the most points, so finding those fighters that can achieve small advantages at a moment’s notice is a beneficial tactic when choosing your roster.
What is UFC Betting?
Traditional UFC betting before the virtual era revolved around bookmakers assigning a certain fighter to win each bout. One combatant is considered the favorite to win the fight, and the other fighter is the underdog according to the oddsmaker. For example, if a bookmaker has listed a fighter as a -150 favorite and the underdog as +180, that means a bettor would have to place a bet of $150 on fighter A to win $100 on the favorite. Meanwhile, another bettor has an opportunity to win $180 as the underdog by placing a $100 dollar bet at the disadvantage.
While the math seems straightforward on paper, MMA betting is very rarely a calculated game with the volatility of violence in the sport a constant reminder that any end to a result is possible with just one strike. To further insulate yourself from the surprise factor of fighters and/or the incompetence of judges, familiarizing yourself with all the high impact fighters from the top of the card to the bottom is always a good omen for success.
Certain fighters such as Colby Covington, Sean O’ Malley, Justin Gaethje and Max Holloway have a knack for constantly keeping a high pace and forcing their opponent’s hand by establishing forward pressure. These are the type of fighters that will score well in their Fantasy League matchups regardless of their opponent due to their inherent style.
The difference from real UFC betting to virtual UFC in a nutshell
As previously mentioned, traditional MMA betting differs from virtual MMA betting in the sense that traditional MMA betting is focused on singular matchups with singular outcomes regardless of win or loss. With traditional UFC betting odds, the deciding factors on favorite and underdog can sway for a variety of reasons, but that doesn’t mean one fighter is inherently destined to win just because he’s favored by Vegas, this is where research becomes crucial.
Luckily, MMA is a highly sought after sport with a plethora of analysts across social media that deliver weekly picks and breakdowns on which fighters to pick, and which ones to avoid, on certain fight night. Assessing bias when looking at fighter picks will also minimize your chances of an upset when looking at UFC betting lines.
For example, if fighter A trains with fighter B on a regular basis and gives a biased opinion that his training partner will win his upcoming bout despite the statistical or stylistic differences not being in their favor, it would be wise to take that suggestion with a grain of salt.
Where to find UFC betting odds
When it comes to UFC betting odds, there is no shortage of options to start making your virtual UFC betting a reality, but doing the proper due diligence before making a commitment is always a great move. If you’re opting for the MMA Fantasy League approach, something like DraftKings might fit your wheelhouse as you’re able to make a few roster decisions on your way to a payout instead of focusing on a single fight.
Using all your sources to stay informed on the best overall picks for your salary capped roster is important! Let the research build your foundation for a strong payday as you reap the rewards later. With a multitude of tools at your disposal, there’s plenty of reasons to stay ahead of the curve before fight night to make the best picks to lock-in.
Virtual reality fighting gaming betting in Nevada?
The future of UFC betting and video game betting, in general, could be going through big changes in the decades to come. Virtual reality fighting gaming is a newly tested idea that is being worked around various arcades in the Nevada area as they workshop a new possible form of entertainment.
With each new industry to compete in, the bookmaking for such an event in Nevada will surely be next to follow. Multiple arcades are being restocked with the capability for virtual reality gaming and virtual reality fighting could become a new form of entertainment that sweeps the gaming and betting scene in the near future.
