The origin of MMA is an interesting debate where the answer lies within the complexity of the sport itself. To start, MMA has very few rules for the fighters to follow: things like orifice-gouging and hair-pulling are obvious, but generally, these aren’t considered an honorable way of fighting for any sport. Some rules have been created recently, as the sport has modernized, additional rules were also created like weight classes and timed rounds.

Most people designate the true birth of MMA all the way back to Leitai fighting in Ancient China or Pankration in Ancient Greece. Many other cultures have had organized associations of MMA throughout their history as well. Japan is well known to be an avid combat country and have very loyal fan bases around the world for organizations like PRIDE and Rizin.

The International Mixed Martial Arts Federation recognizes that there are hundreds of official MMA Promotions on every continent around the world. The popularity of the sport and its rise into our mainstream sports culture can be attributed to the success of the UFC which is the most successful MMA organization. As of now, the UFC roster accounts for fighters from over 50 different countries, spanning nearly every continent.

Interesting Facts About MMA

1) There are different rings depending on the promotion. The most famous ring of course is the Octagon in the UFC.

2) The UFC Title belt is made of real gold.

3) There have been many UFC fighters that appear on WWE television including Brock Lesnar, Ronda Rousey, and Nate Diaz.

4) At UFC 1, the company planned to have live alligators in a moat surrounding the ring.

5) The oldest MMA promotion is Shooto from Japan, established in 1986.

Are you ready to start making bets on real live MMA events at your favorite online sportsbook? Before you dive in, we know you are using your hard-earned money to bet on these fights so why not learn some of the tips of the trade before running blindly into betting on MMA.

While we cannot provide actual betting advice in this guide, we have accumulated some of our favorite tips to help you get your online boxing betting off to a fun and hopefully profitable start!

Tip#1: Know your betting limits – This is the single most important lesson for new sports bettors to learn and stay committed to. We get it, it’s easy to get excited when you start placing bets, especially if you win, which usually leads to bettors over betting from their bankrolls.  Set a limit on how much you can afford to lose in a given week or month and stick to that rule. You should find that you are able to maintain your bankroll a lot easier just by instituting a bit of control.

Using systems like proportional betting definitely helps in the long run and new bettors should always try to avoid placing bets with low odds and higher payouts like parlay bets. If you are able to stick to single-game bets and while using proportional betting, wager a percentage of your bankroll each time.

Tip#2: Learn the Odds Systems: Sometimes the posted odds or fighter that is favored may not match what your read is on the fight. It is these edges that will give you an advantage in the long run when betting on MMA. If according to your system or calculations, Khabib Nurmagomedov should not be an underdog, then you should bet on Khabib to win, using your own system.

Remember that the posted odds are merely a guideline set by the bookmakers to get the most amount of action on both sides of the fight, not necessarily an indication of how good each fighter is compared to each other.

Tip#3: Learn the rules of the sport – This goes for any you want to start betting, not just MMA. It definitely pays dividends to learn the rules and the nuances of the game so that you can get a better understanding of what you are betting on. Try and watch some MMA events that you want to bet on and realize which parts of it can help you in your betting.

Like boxing, MMA is a one on one combative sport and learning fighter styles and how they score points can be crucial in how you choose to bet on fights. The rules can be complex, but the basics are not impossible to pick up after watching a few fights.

Tip#4: Find which bet types you understand and stick to them: This seems straightforward but learning which types of bets you succeed at more often can be a good indicator of which facets of MMA fights you understand more. If you are good at betting on the outright fight winners then bet on the fight winners. If you are bad with total rounds, then don’t bet on total rounds!

Watching the live MMA events rather than just reading the recaps the morning after can give you a huge advantage in understanding how odds and lines are made by sportsbooks as well.

Most reputable online sportsbooks will accept all of the usual forms of digital payments that we are so used to seeing on any website. Credit cards, direct bank transfers, and PayPal are almost universally accepted now across any e-Commerce platform you use.

There are other newer options that have been gaining popularity such as eWallets and Cryptocurrencies, but they are far from being the standard and are less common than the big three options below:

1. Credit Cards: This is still the most common way that players can deposit right into their online sportsbook accounts. Most of the major companies are accepted including Visa, Mastercard, and Discover. Make note that some credit card companies do not allow the cardholder to make purchases on sports betting or gambling sites, so look into the rules of your credit card before trying to use it with your online sportsbook.
2. Direct Bank Transfer: A direct bank transfer is a debit from your personal bank account and is just as fast as paying by credit card and generally has a higher success rate for transactions than credit cards as well. You may need to enter your bank account details so have that information handy as you sign up for your online sportsbook account.
3. PayPal: Paypal.com is the premier site for transferring money online but you do need to sign up for an account and link it to your bank account before using it at any onlines sportsbook. It is safe, trustworthy, and easy to use and has become increasingly used at online websites as a method of payment. PayPal is great if you need to use different currencies as well.

Need some assistance or have some questions or concerns well don’t worry because you are not the only one!

Every reputable online sportsbook provides their customers with 24-hour around the clock customer service. Because online sportsbooks and online casinos are open 24 hours a day and seven days per week, there is always some form of customer service available via email, toll-free telephone number, or an instant chat function.

These customer service representatives can assist you with anything from deposit or withdrawal issues to questions about specific MMA related bets you have placed.

MMA is a one-on-one combative sport where the two fighters square off inside of a ring and can fight with any style that they have trained in. There are very few rules in MMA as far as illegal moves, so it truly is a skilled and controlled fight between two opponents. MMA fights vary on length depending on the promotion and the actual fight. For example, UFC fights are generally three rounds of five minutes, but main events and title defenses are usually five rounds each. Fighters can win a match by technical decision, knockout, or submission.

MMA fighters have many different fighting styles depending on where they trained and who they were trained by. Depending on these fighting styles and how well they mesh with their opponents, bettors can start to learn where there may be an edge that they can find when betting on specific matches. MMA is truly a global sport with most countries having a history of organized fighting. It is a sport that is at the intersection of culture and history, and it is incredible to watch as so many international fighters gain fame using the fighting styles that have been developed and perfected in their home countries for centuries.

When you are finally set up with your online sportsbook and ready to start placing some bets on some real live MMA events, it is crucial that you learn the different types of bets that you can make. MMA is a bit more simplistic than other sports as there are only a few specific types of bets you can make on each fight.

Let’s go over the basic bets for MMA betting:

THE OUTRIGHT WINNER

You can think of this as the moneyline for an MMA match. Quite literally, the simplest bet you can make on a fight, you can bet on whether or not a certain fighter will win outright, no matter how they end up winning. There are never draws in MMA, so you are selecting which fighter will be declared the winner.

FIGHT OUTCOME or METHOD OF VICTORY

This is a way of betting on how you believe the fight will finish. Depending on the styles of each fighter you will get different odds for each outcome. Obviously if it is two brawlers, then a match ending by submission is going to a rare occurrence.

ROUND BETTING/TOTAL ROUNDS

Like with boxing you can place bets on how many rounds you think the fight will go. Since there are fewer rounds than in boxing, MMA bettors can find edges based on fighter history and how long they tend to last during fights against particular styles.

WHICH ODDS DO YOU PREFER?

There are a few different types of betting odds that players can use and it is completely up to personal preference and has no effect on the bets or the outcome of the bets.

1. Decimal odds: These are easy to understand and make complete mathematical sense as they are directly proportionate to the amount you wager. If you bet $100 at 1.50 odds you will win $150. \
2. American odds: These are slightly less clear to read but once you learn how the numbers work it makes sense.. You will notice American odds use (-) or (+) symbols before their numbers with the (-) indicating a favorite and the (+) the underdog in the matchup.
3. Fractional odds: Again, similar to decimal odds mathematically but using fractions instead of decimals.

These can all be used depending on the bettor’s preference. Keep in mind that they are not interchangeable as 2.00 in Decimal odds does not equal +200 in American odds and vice versa.

Of course, when we think of MMA now, we automatically associate it to the UFC, which is the biggest promotion in the world. There are tons of other promotions that have very loyal fan bases as well including Bellator, Strikeforce, Pride, and Invicta. MMA fighters are able to fight in cross-promotional fights, but the big stars are generally signed to exclusive contracts with each promotion.

Once those contracts have ended, which is usually by number of fights, they are free to explore other promotions as they please. Currently, MMA is not recognized as an Olympic sport so fighters do have to train and stick to the promotions.

Pick the Sport you want to bet on, learn the dynamics of the games, and tap into the best betting strategies developed over the years. Can you build that elusive hot streak? There’s only one way to find out. Always remember, Bet Responsibly, Bet Greatly:

Wondering how the different U.S. States approach sports betting? the KGB team has provided in-depth guides on how various State or County laws stack up on sports betting. Check out the guides below, where we’ll investigate each state and help you in your quest to start Sports Betting: