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Mixed martial arts have come a long way since the 1990s when Senator John McCain led a campaign to ban the sport. Luckily for fighters and fans alike, UFC, now partnered with ESPN, has become mainstream and is a popular social sport for friends to gather and watch the fights. Odds Shark’s Ultimate Fighting Championship pages are full of UFC tips, odds, predictions, and more to give you a better understanding of how to win on UFC.

A Brief History Of The UFC

The first-ever UFC event (a pay-per-view affair) was held at the McNichols Sports Arena in Denver, Colorado. It was in 1993 and the Sportsbook was Royce Gracie of the legendary Gracie family – they’re like the Kardashians of MMA. After UFC 1, the sport began to generate interest from sponsors and its fan base began to grow. Fighting for a place in the professional sports landscape, UFC expanded from just pay-per-view and created The Ultimate Fighter, a reality television show for Spike TV about up-and-coming MMA fighters. Due to the UFC’s mainstream exposure, fighters like Georges St-Pierre became household names.

Dana White, who has held the position of UFC president since 2001, has contributed to the sport’s mainstream appeal by ensuring cards feature prominent fighters and events are heavily promoted, like UFC 264 and UFC 265. As of 2018, there had been over 400 events and female stars like Ronda Rousey and Cris Cyborg have become just as popular as their male counterparts. Names like Conor McGregor, Daniel Cormier, T.J. Dillashaw and Rose Namajunas have become as popular as other stars of the sports world like Tom Brady, LeBron James, Serena Williams and Sidney Crosby.

UFC: Odds Shark Betting Approach

When it comes to betting on UFC, there are two main types of bets you can make. Both betting options give you a chance to place smart wagers on the matchups and fighters of your choice.

Moneyline

A moneyline bet is a wager you place on the fighter you believe will win the fight. Each fighter is given the label of underdog or favorite depending on if they are predicted to win or lose the match. For this example, we’ll use made-up fighters.

Frankie “Frankenstein” Frankowitz is listed at -600 and his opponent Manny “Manners” McManus is listed at +450. In this scenario, Frankenstein is the favorite and Manners is the underdog. In order to win $100 on Frankenstein, you’d have to bet $600. But if you bet $100 on Manners, you’d net $450 if he wins. FYI, he’s called Manners because he’s super polite.

OVER/UNDER

UFC fight odds will be provided for OVER/UNDER round betting wagers. This is a bet you can make on how many rounds a bout will last. For a three-round contest, a bet will usually be OVER/UNDER 1.5 rounds. For five-round matchups, the OVER/UNDER is typically 2.5 rounds. An example would be if M. Bison and Colonel William F. Guile from Street Fighter were squaring off for a five-round contest.

The UFC odds for this pretend fight are +120 if the match goes over 2.5 rounds, and -140 if the match goes under 2.5 rounds. If you think it’ll be a quick fight, you would take the UNDER and have to wager $140 to make $100. If you think the fight will last more than 2.5 rounds, you would take the OVER and you’d have to wager $100 to win $120. If Colonel Guile KOs Bison in the middle of the second round, if you bet the UNDER, you’d win your wager. Sonic Boom!

For a more in-depth “how to bet on the UFC” page, check out our Best UFC Betting Sites.

What Is The Difference Between UFC And MMA?

The difference between mixed martial arts and the Ultimate Fighting Championship is that MMA is the sport and UFC is an organization. Mixed martial arts is the style of fighting used in the UFC. It’s the same as how the NFL is a league and football is the sport. MMA is a combination of different styles of fighting like wrestling, boxing, jiu-jitsu and kickboxing.

Mixed martial arts has been around since the early 1900s but it wasn’t until the 1980s that it gained steam. In 1993, upon the formation of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, MMA became the powerhouse it is today. The UFC is headquartered in Las Vegas. John Wick would probably be the face of the UFC if he was a real person because he knows how to fight and would probably win all his fights. Don’t touch his dog. He'll mess you up more than Manny Pacquiao.

Odds Shark UFC And MMA Resources

    Odds Shark General Betting Guides

    UFC Terminology

    When learning about the UFC at Odds Shark, you should familiarize yourself with the terminology.

    • Cage: The ring where the competition takes place. This eight-sided enclosure is officially called the Octagon.
    • Card: The card is the list of matches that are taking place for a particular event. The main event is called the Main Event. A fight between Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov or Cory Sandhagen vs T.J. Dillashaw would qualify as a Main Event.
    • Disqualification: When a fighter uses an intentional illegal move, ending the match. The other fighter is then declared the Sportsbook by default.
    • Forfeit: When a fighter prematurely ends the fight or fails to compete in the first place, they are guaranteeing their opponent’s victory. Although forfeitures are quite rare, they may occur due to medical or personal issues. They most commonly happen when a fighter is hospitalized after the weigh-ins if they had a bad weight cut.
    • Knockout: When a fighter is sent into a state of unconsciousness from their opponent’s legal strike.
    • No Contest: If a fighter performs an accidental illegal move leaving their opponent unable to continue, the match will be declared NC.
    • Rounds: Rounds are five minutes, with a one-minute break between each. All fights are scheduled for three, five-minute rounds except for main events and title fights, which are five-round bouts.
    • Submission: This occurs when a fighter taps the mat, his opponent or verbally communicates that he/she is in too much distress or pain to continue the match.
    • Technical Knockout: When a fighter can’t continue with the bout. There are three types of TKOs:
    1. Referee stoppage: When the ref stops the fight because one of the participants cannot defend themselves anymore
    2. Doctor stoppage: When the ringside doctor deems that it is unsafe for a fighter to continue with the match
    3. Corner stoppage: When a fighter’s cornerman – you know, Mickey from Rocky – signals for the fight to end because his own fighter cannot continue

    UFC Weight Classes Explained

    Rankings are broken down into the official UFC weight classes. In order for a fight to take place in the United States, in a state-sanctioned venue, the fighters must fall within one of the designated weight classes. All weights are expressed in pounds. Since 2017, these have been the classes:

    Men’s Weight Classes
    • Heavyweight: 206-265 lbs.
    • Light Heavyweight: 186-205 lbs.
    • Middleweight: 171-185 lbs.
    • Welterweight: 156-170 lbs.
    • Lightweight: 146-155 lbs.
    • Featherweight: 136-145 lbs.
    • Bantamweight: 126-135 lbs.
    • Flyweight: 116-125 lbs.
    Women’s Weight Classes
    • Featherweight: 136-145 lbs.
    • Bantamweight: 126-135 lbs.
    • Flyweight: 116-125 lbs.
    • Strawweight: 106-115 lbs.
    UFC Strategies And Tips
    • Choose a reputable sportsbook like any of the ones we champion on Odds Shark UFC
    • Line shopping can be advantageous when you’re trying to determine your bet for a UFC event because UFC lines can vary from sportsbook to sportsbook
    • Don’t sleep on underdogs because they could net you some nice coin

    For more on underdog betting, check out our Underdogs vs Favorites page.

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