MMA Betting sites

Best sites for MMA betting by category

The history of MMA

In recent history the first time that the phrase “mixed martial arts” was used was in a review of UFC by television critic Howard Rosenberg back in 1993. A few years later UFC official Jeff Blatnick was responsible for the Ultimate Fighting Championship officially adopting the name mixed martial arts in 1995.

The UFC bagan to become mainstream around 2006, and this was cemented by their 2007 merger with Pride FC and later purchases of rivals WEC and Strikeforce. They have gone from strength to strength and are today by far the most recognised MMA promotion company in the world. They are not alone in promoting MMA though and there are many active companies with their own competitors, competitions, and title belts. The main three branches of MMA are:

• Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Based in Las Vegas, United States.
• Professional Fighters League (PFL). Based in McLean, Virginia.
• Bellator MMA. Based in Santa Monica, California

How we Evaluate and Rank MMA Betting Sites

To properly review a betting site there are a lot of different things to consider. Because everyone is different and will have different preferences, and be gambling for different reasons, using different strategies (or even no strategy) there is no “best” site as such. Everyone will have a different “best” depending on what suits them. There are several things that everyone should value to some extent though, and these are the things that we take into consideration:

• Generous Welcome Bonus
• Ongoing Promotions and Free bet bonuses
• Great odds
• A good amount of betting markets for each bout
• In-play betting and Live streaming
• A dedicated betting App
• Do they support all the main payment methods
• The quality of the customer support

Our top MMA betting sites

#1 22Bet

A very well liked site with more than its fair share of fans, 22Bet offers its customers a large number of MMA betting leagues from around the world. They price up bouts and offer odds well ahead of fight night, and often in advance of the competition. The odds are competitive and the large fights, for example title matches, have a large range of markets to bet on. They have bonuses and promotions for new and existing customers which are compatible with MMA bets. There is live streaming and in-play betting for some, but not all, of the fights that they offer odds on. It will depend on the region you are in and the importance of the fight.

#2 Megapari

Megapari provides you with odds on a vast, almost every, MMA competition that takes place. There are limited statistics for the fight but you do get basic info and a countdown timer to the scheduled fight time. There are no specific MMA bonuses or promotions that we could see but you will find the general offers that are available are compatible with MMA bets. Megapari offers a more than satisfactory betting experience and this is evidenced by their good online reputation.

#3 20Bet

20Bet are UFC betting specialists, focusing on this brand of MMA competitions. You’ll find a larger amount of betting options per bout than is standard elsewhere, including not just the winner market but total rounds and methods of victory too. The odds are good and they switch almost all matches “in-play” so you can bet during as well as before the action starts.  They have decent existing user promotions and redeposit bonus offers which are not exclusively for but can be used with MMA bets.

#4 1xbet

1xbet is known for the wide range of sports and events that they offer and this includes a great MMA product. Notably, they include not just bets on the upcoming fights but also special proposition bets, for example, will a certain fighter win the title this year. Live streaming is available on certain fights and the amount of coverage will depend on where you are based. All major bouts are covered in-play and have good odds which frequently update.

#5 Rabona

Rabona is another great MMA betting site for you to consider. They offer a great range of MMA fights, focusing on UFC bouts. They have some of the best odds and are only let down by not having a huge number of betting markets to choose from, simply who will win. They are an all-round solid choice accepting many payment methods, a good customer service team, and an attractive welcome bonus for new users.

Is MMA betting legal?

Like all sports in order to gamble online you must be above the minimum age limit for the jurisdiction that you are in. Usually this will be 18+ years old but it is your responsibility to confirm the laws that are applicable to you.  It is also true that you must always be gambling with your own funds and that all transactions go both to and from your own accounts. The reason for this is to comply with international AML (Anti Money Laundering) regulations. The bookmakers that we promote all accept international players and are licenced to do so.

Popular MMA Betting Markets

• Win Market - The simplest bet that you can place is this one, it is just who will be declared winner of the bout.
• Total Rounds - This is a bet on how many rounds there will be and the most common is over/under 1.5 rounds but championship and title matches can have five rounds which means over/under 2.5 and 3.5 are also possible.
• Round Group Betting - Similar to the above you can bet on the number of rounds that will take place and also who will win by betting on either Fighter A in rounds 1-2, Fighter A in round 3, and the same for Fighter B. For title fights the groups are 1-2, 3-4, or 5 and again you can pick Fighter A or B.
• Method of victory - This bet is usually on who will win and how they will do it, for example it might be “Figher A by TKO”, or “Fighter B by Decision”, etc, etc.
• Method and Round Combination - Here you will find the highest odds when betting on an MMA fight, you must accurately predict who will win, how they will win, and precisely in what rould they would do it. An example would be “Fighter A by submission in Round 2”.

What are the most popular types of MMA bets?

There are technically three, but more realistically two types of bets that can placed on MMA fights. These are Single, Multiple, and Live bets, and we will explain them below:

We’re going to focus on the first two types, Single and Multiples, because these are the ones that you will most likely to be using. These bet types have been an option at every MMA betting site we have ever reviewed. There are Pros and Cons to both and we will look at this now.

• Single bets - This is the simplest and also the most common type of bet, you simply bet on if one thing will happen. If it does you win your stake multiplied by the odds. If it does not then you lose your stake amount.
• Multiple bets (Also known as Accumulators) - This is a bet where you are predicting that several things will all happen. With MMA it is most likely that you would go through the fight card of the night and bet on several of the fighters to win. This has two effects, firstly you will win a lot more if you are correct, because your winnings from the first correct prediction are added to the next bet, and that repeats. The negative to this is that there is a higher risk of losing because you may make 5 predictions and get 4 correct but if just one of your selections loses then you lose the entire bet.
• Live bets - These are bets that are placed after the bout has begun, and therefore you can bet on how you think the fight is going and who is gaining the upper hand. Due to the very fast paced nature of MMA fights and the fact that one punch can end things at any moment, you will find that In-play betting is not commonly available and if it is you will experience many suspended bets and a wait period for each bet to be accepted.

MMA Bonuses and Promotions

It is possible to find MMA specific bonuses but this is the exception rather than the rule. What is more likely to happen is that there will be general bonuses that can be taken advantage of with MMA bets.

What are the best MMA Welcome Offers?

Some of the most common Welcome Offers available at the present time are:

• No Deposit Bonuses - These are pretty hard to find these days but they do exist and should you find one you have nothing to lose by joining and taking advantage of this type of offer. You will be required to open a new account and usually provide ID documents before the bonus is added. You will definitely need to provide these before they will pay you any winnings.
• Deposit Bonuses - As an incentive to join and deposit real money bookmakers sometimes add a bonus to the amount you put in. It is often linked as a percentage, and is designed to increase the amount you put in so as to maximise the bonus amount. You can not then simply withdraw, you will be required to wager the deposit and the bonus money a certain number of times and sometimes at specific odds and even on specific sports. The exact terms and conditions will be made clear to you and will vary from bookmaker to bookmaker. There are two forms of deposit bonus, those that are added immediately after you deposit and those that are added as cash once wagering is completed. The ones that are added immediately once you have deposited are generally of better value.
• Free Bets - Free bets are something that you will often see advertised, and the standard way it works is that you register and deposit, place a bet, then when that bet settles you are awarded a Free bet to use. Each offer will have different terms and conditions when it comes to the amount to bet and any minimum odds requirements, which can also apply to the Free bet, so check the terms carefully to see if the offer is right for you. Free bet credits do not usually last forever and will have an expiry date (usually 48 hours or 7 days after being credited) so do not wait too long to place it. The specific process to place the Free bet will vary between each site but it is likely that you will have to place the bet as normal up to and including adding the stake amount, then at the last moment on the bet slip tick a small box to indicate that you want to use the Free bet rather than the real funds in your account. If your bet loses then it has no effect on your balance but if it should win then your winnings will be paid to your cash balance.
• Refunded losses - Some welcome offers involve attempting to make the first bet risk-free for the new players. The general idea will be that at the end of a particular amount of time which could be just your first bet, or your first day, week, or month of betting, your full amount or a % of the losses will be refunded. The refund may be paid as cash but it is much more likely to be in the form of a Free bet.
• Profit Boost - These Welcome offers are usually paired with specific sporting events and the bookmaker will pick a popular bet, for example, the national team to win the tournament, and then whatever the market rate is offer new users odds well above this. The exact bet is not always up to the bookmaker, sometimes you can have your winnings from your first bet boosted and you can pick what you want but this is not so common.

What are the best MMA existing user bonuses?

The majority of offers that you will find available to existing users will be smaller versions of Welcome bonus offers. The main ones that you may find are:

• Reload Bonuses - Much like new user deposit bonuses these offers match your deposit with a set amount of bonus money. It can be any amount and we have seen from 5% to 200% in the past. What is the same for all is that before withdrawing the bonus you must make a certain number of bets and those bets must be at a certain odds level.
• Free bets (Bet and Get) - Sometimes specific to MMA bouts but more commonly awarded for any bets, you will sometimes see betting sites offer Free bets as a reward for betting either a certain amount, or a certain amount on a certain sport. These offers are sometimes visible on the site itself but in our experience it is more common to be made aware of them by Email, so make sure you opt into receiving promotional material from betting sites that you join.
• Acca Boosts - These are very common to find at bookmakers and can almost always be used on any sport, including MMA. They require you to place an accumulator bet, adding more and more legs to your betslip. As you do so, the more bets that you include the greater the percentage boost to your winnings there will be. Boosts begin at around 3 or 4 legs to give a 5% boost and boosts can be 100% once you have added 15-20 bets. The exact boost tables will vary for each betting site but that is the sort of range you can expect.
• Price Boosts - To drum up interest in an upcoming event, including bouts in the MMA, you will sometimes find specific bets with very good value odds promoted by the bookmakers. These bets have had their odds (also known as “prices”) increased as a way to either reward existing customer's loyalty or get them interested in betting on new or different sports. The odds usually represent very good value and so there will be a relatively low cap on how much you can wager.

Are there any MMA betting Apps?

It is very common these days for a betting site to offer their own App for you to download to your smartphone. Doing this will allow you to bet much more easily, anytime you want and importantly anywhere (with a WiFi signal). Some Apps will include live streaming allowing you to watch the match as it takes place but this will depend on the broadcasting rights for the region that you are in, not all bouts will be available. It is standard for Apps to offer all the functionality of the regular desktop site so if you can cash out bets there then you also can on the App, essentially you can do everything, just using a more convenient lay out.

What are the major MMA events or tournaments for betting on?

There are no scheduled “major” events in MMA, instead there are specific titles and belts that are competed for, but these are done periodically and not at specific events. The main titles that can be won are split by weight division, and also by the various promotion companies.

Womens MMA betting

Female MMA fighters have almost as large a following as the male fighters and the two sexes compete at the same events on the same fight cards. They do not fight each other, but there is mutual respect between the two and an understanding that both are just as good as the other. Recent female stars have included the likes of Ronda Rousey, Holly Holm, and Miesha Tate. There is the same betting coverage of men's and women's fights, with no noticeable differences.

MMA Betting Strategies

• Take your time - If you are new to a sport, there is no need to start making huge bets straight away. Try just using small stakes to start and track your progress. If you are betting on entirely new markets then you can even paper trade (write down your bets without actually placing them) and see how you would have got on had you placed them. When you are confident that you know what you are doing and happy with your results you can consider raising the stakes.
• Do your Research - There is a lot of information about fighters available, both official statistics from their fights and also you can gain insights from social media accounts and other such sources. You can also easily access and watch all of the fighter's recent fights. There are lots of little things that can be picked up if you look hard enough and every so often you might notice something important that gives you an edge.
• Use a staking strategy - What bets to place is of course important, but do not overlook how much to place on each bet. Flat betting level stakes is of course an option but more advanced methods will place larger bets when there is thought to be greater value in the bet. Consider reading about the Kelly Criterion and seeing if that is something suitable for you.
• Only bet on value - If you are betting purely for fun, for example on the team you support to win, then the odds are not so important. If you are betting not for fun as such but in order to win more than you lose, then all that matters is the value. You will never win every bet, because nobody is psychic, but if you can estimate the odds on something happening better than the bookmakers, and only bet on things they have got wrong, you will profit in the long run.