How to Make a UFC Moneyline Bet at a Sportsbook

With UFC propelling itself into the mainstream sports narrative over the past two years, nearly every week of the year offers a great card of action, whether it be pay-per-view or for free on ESPN and its family of networks. With the increased viewership, betting has become the norm as bettors across the spectrum are looking for ways to get in on the action.

Today, let’s look at the most common UFC wager: the UFC moneyline bet.

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What is a UFC Moneyline Bet?

Just like traditional sports that offer moneyline bets to pick a given side, the UFC moneyline bet is no different. Also identical to traditional sports, when oddsmakers decide that two fighters are on equal footing from a betting perspective, both will be -110.

For those unfamiliar with moneyline bets in general, -110 simply means a bettor must risk $110 to win $100, $11 to win $10, and so on down the line. In the UFC, however, the moneyline is rarely -110 on both sides, as several factors make one fighter typically favored over another. For title fights, more often than not, the champion (favorite) will be priced at -200 or higher, making a bet on them heavy with juice.

Strategy for Making UFC Moneyline Bets

Betting on UFC nearly every weekend, there are a few strategies I’ve employed over the years that I’ve found success in checking into when starting to handicap a given fight. First, recent fight history always comes into play, examining not just the win/loss results but how fights ended (unanimous decision, split decision, TKO, submission, etc.). If a fighter has had a long layoff, a term called ring rust must be considered, which simply means a fighter might not be as crisp compared to if they’ve been actively fighting over the past 6-18 months.

Another aspect of fights I always take a look at is fight metrics. Some of the most important to consider are significant strikes landed per 15 minutes, significant strikes accuracy, average takedowns per 15 minutes, takedown accuracy, and submission average per 15 minutes. While there are many more available to look at, I have found these are the most critical when looking at two fighters and their chances vs. one another.

No matter your strategy, UFC moneyline bets are the most straightforward way to get in on the UFC betting action.

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Whether you’re new to sports betting or a betting pro, our How To Bet and Sports Betting Strategy and Advice pages are for you. You can get started with our 101 section - including How to Bet on Sports - or head to more advanced strategy - like 10 Tips to Become a Sharper Sports Bettor - to learn more.

Johnny is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Johnny, check out his archive and follow him @JohnnyCovers.