How to bet on MMA

If you've ever wondered how to bet on MMA, this guide is for you. One remarkable thing about betting on fights held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and other mixed martial arts (MMA) promotions is there's never an off-season, unlike other sports such as football, basketball, and hockey.

This guide on how to bet on UFC and other MMA fight cards will cover everything you need to know about:

✔ Where to bet on UFC and other MMA events in 2025

✔ What makes betting on MMA so thrilling

✔ How to bet on fight winners, how long fights last, and other prop bets

✔ How to get started on PlayNow Sports

Ready to dive into MMA betting in 2025? Let's get started.

Where can I bet on MMA in Canada?

If you’re looking to add some extra excitement to the fights and start betting on MMA and the UFC, you may be asking where you should bet. PlayNow Sports is Manitoba's home for local, legal and secure betting.

Plus, when you sign up and place your bets at PlayNow Sports, the revenue generated from online gambling stays right here in the province, supporting many provincial and community organizations, including education and health care.

Everything you should know about how to bet on MMA explained

Betting on MMA fights can be intimidating if you're still learning the sport's basics. While mixed martial arts is one of the most popular sports around today, it's also one of the newest. The first UFC event was held in 1993, and it took almost two decades before the sport started getting mainstream recognition.

Mixed martial arts is the closest thing to real fighting in combat sports today. While combat sports like boxing restrict contestants to only their hands, MMA allows punches, kicks, knees, elbows, clinches, takedowns, ground strikes, and submissions.

MMA also has many unique terms that aren't commonly used in other combat sports. These include:

Submissions: This refers to joint locks and chokes designed to force an opponent to give up the fight.
Tap out: This is the act of acknowledging that a submission has been secured and admitting defeat. It can be done verbally or by tapping part of an opponent's body or the ground.
Takedowns: This refers to one fighter using wrestling techniques to grapple their opponent to the canvas.
Ground-and-pound: This is the popular term for strikes thrown from ground grappling positions in MMA.
Control time: This refers to how much time one fighter has the other pinned against the cage or in bottom ground positions. It is one of the criteria MMA judges use to score fights.

MMA vs. UFC: What's the difference?

Things you should know before betting on MMA

You can place many different types of bets on mixed martial arts events. Some of the most popular types of bets include:

Fight winner

Also known as "money line" bets, these are the most straightforward wagers you can place on mixed martial arts. You simply pick one fighter over the other. If the fighter you pick wins, you get paid. If they don't, you lose your wager. If the fight is declared a draw, your bet "pushes," meaning you get your money back.

The same thing occurs if the fight is ruled a no-contest. A no-contest occurs in mixed martial arts when a fight ends prematurely, typically because an unintentional infraction occurs and the fighter on the receiving end can't continue fighting.

Other important things you should know about how money line bets work include:

The lower number on a money line bet represents the favourite, while the higher number represents the underdog. For example, the Ultimate Fighting Championship's light-heavyweight champion Alex Pereira was a 1.23 favourite against Khalil Rountree Jr. heading into their UFC 307 title showdown, meaning a $10 bet on him would have paid out $2.30 plus your original bet amount. Rountree was a 4.50 underdog, meaning a bet on him would have paid out a $35 profit plus your original bet of $10.
To figure out how much a bet would earn you based on the odds, multiply your bet amount by the odds. For our Pereira example, that's $10 x 1.23, which equals $12.30: your bet amount plus a $2.30 gain.
The favourite represents the fighter expected to win, so you earn less than you wager. The underdog represents the fighter expected to lose, so you win more than you wager if they emerge victorious.

*Names and odds shown are for illustration only

Over/under rounds

These bets are based on how long a fight goes on. You bet on whether the fight will last longer or not as long as the mark set by oddsmakers.

For example, an over/under line for fighters A and B could be listed at 0.5. MMA matches consist of five-minute rounds (three rounds for regular matches and five for title fights), so you're betting on whether the fight will end before or after the first two and a half minutes of the first round or longer.
If the line were 1.5, you would be betting on if the fight would last longer than one and a half rounds.
The over/under for any given fight is set at the halfway point of the round selected by odd makers, meaning it can be anywhere from 0.5 to 4.5. The latter means you're betting on the fight lasting over or under four and a half rounds.

*Names and odds shown are for illustration only

Parlays

A parlay is a type of wager where you link multiple bets together for a chance at a higher payment. The more selections you have on a parlay, the greater the potential payout.

Every pick on your parlay must win for you to get the promised payout. If one pick loses, you lose the wager.
If a pick pushes (for example, with a tie), your parlay remains intact, but it's shortened by one selection. For example, a five-pick parlay becomes a four-pick parlay if a selection pushes. You get the payout of a four-team parlay if your remaining picks win.

PlayNow Sports tip: PlayNow Sports allows players to parlay multiple fights from the same fight card.

Method of victory

A method of victory bet means you're selecting how the fight will end. You can bet on how the victorious fighter will win or the overall outcome of the fight. The different ways to win a fight include:

Knockout: A fight is declared a knockout when one fighter leaves the other unconscious due to strikes or slams.
Technical knockout: A technical knockout occurs when the referee is forced to step in and save a fighter due to an inability to defend themselves, typically due to being overwhelmed with strikes.
Submission: A fight is won by submission when a fighter taps out or is left unconscious due to a submission hold. In rare cases, a technical submission is called when a fighter cannot continue fighting due to a submission hold or is in danger of grave bodily injury.
Disqualification: A fighter wins a bout via disqualification if their opponent commits a significant infraction like kicking a downed opponent, strikes behind the back of the head, or low blows. Warnings are typically given out before disqualifications are handed out, but a disqualification can be automatic if the recipient cannot continue fighting.
Decision: An MMA fight goes to a decision when neither fighter can score a finish, and the time allocated for the contest is over. The three judges assigned to the fight determine the winner using a 10-point scoring system that prioritizes effective striking, fighting area control, and effective aggression. The scores on each judge's card are tallied to determine the winner. A fighter wins via "unanimous decision" when all three judges rule in their favour. A fighter wins via "split decision" if only two judges score the fight in their favour. A fight is ruled a draw when at least two judges have it even, or if one judge sees it as a draw and the other two judges have different fighters winning.

Method of victory bets typically involve choosing between decisions, submissions, and knockouts. A decision means the fight goes on for the entire duration scheduled, and the judges decide its outcome. Some method of victory bets also allow you to choose who wins, how, and which round the contest will end for considerable odds.

Point spread

You can also bet on the point spread of MMA fights. The spread is the number of rounds the fight's favourite is expected to win. Points spreads usually have a "+" or "- "as a prefix to a numerical value to denote the underdog and favourite, respectively.

For example, Alex Pereira had a -3.5-point spread against Rountree, meaning oddsmakers expected him to win by at least three and a half points on two judges' scorecards if the fight went to a decision. The fight ended up not going the distance, but it still cashed since Pereira scored a knockout in the fourth round.
Conversely, Rountree had a point +3.5 spread, which means you would have won the wager if the fight went the distance and he won the decision or didn't lose by more than three and a half points on the scorecards. The wager would have won if Rountree finished Pereira.
Point spreads typically have decimal odds attached to indicate how much a bet would earn. For instance, you might see 1.9 odds written below a point spread, which means a $10 bet would return $19 if it cashes. When it comes to point spreads, the odds difference between the favourite and the underdog is typically small.

*Names and odds shown are for illustration only

Props and specials

Many prop bets can be placed on mixed martial arts events, particularly those hosted by the Ultimate Fighting Championship, the biggest name in the sport. Some of the more popular props for MMA could include:

Fight of the Night winner
Knockout of the Night winner
Over/under total number of knockouts
Over/under total number of decisions
Over/under total number of submissions
Over/under on submissions/knockouts/decisions for main cards
Special wagers, such as if any main card fights go the decision

PlayNow Sports tip: There’s typically a more comprehensive range of prop bets for major mixed martial arts events than smaller Fight Night events. For example, some of the unique props offered for the recent UFC 309 card headlined by Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic include:

Jones to win via any type of stoppage at 1.55
Stipe Miocic and Michael Chandler both win at 18.50
Over/under 1.5 submissions on the main card at over (2.10) and under (1.65)
All of the main card fights go to decision at 8.61
Jon Jones to retire at UFC 309 at yes (3.00) and no (1.35)
Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic to end within the first 60 seconds of round one at 14.75

Key factors to consider when betting on UFC and other MMA events

Some of the things you should consider when betting on mixed martial arts fights include:

Fighter style

Mixed martial arts allows fighters from various martial arts to compete against each other, leading to entertaining contests. While countless martial arts have been developed worldwide over the years, fighting styles in mixed martial arts can be broken down into three main categories: strikers, wrestlers, and submission specialists.

Understanding these styles' differences will give you a better picture of how fights play out. Some trends that have emerged in MMA over the years include:

Wrestlers tend to have an easier time getting fights to the ground than strikers do at keeping fights standing up.
Submission specialists (typically trained in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu) often struggle to take wrestlers down.
Wrestlers and BJJ fighters frequently struggle against opponents they can't take down.

MMA fighters are typically trained in all three aspects, so the outcomes of bouts often come down to who's better in more of these areas. For example, let's say fighters A and B are both equally good at striking, while fighter A has incredible takedowns, and fighter B is known for poor takedown defence. Fighter A might be the favourite for such a matchup, but anything can happen inside the cage. Past performances don’t always indicate future results.

Recent fight history

A fighter's last few fights could also give you insights on what to expect from them. For example, UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones is technically undefeated since his only loss came via disqualification. Jones would be a massive favourite over an imaginary opponent who had lost his last ten fights.

PlayNow gives users access to the UFC Fight Calendar, which provides statistics on fighters and insights into their past fights. While fighter trends and statistics can be interesting to follow, always remember that past performances aren’t predictors of future events.

Event location and geography

The location where an MMA event will be held is also factored in when oddsmakers create their lines. As is the case with most athletes, MMA fighters perform better when competing in familiar territory for various reasons. It could come from the emotional support they get from fans who identify with them or being acclimated to the climate. For example, fighters from high-altitude environments tend to perform better in such locations than those who train at sea level.

Fighter conditioning

A fighter's physical and mental conditioning can significantly impact the outcome of a fight. Pay attention to news of any problems with a fighter's training camp heading into an event, as it can affect their performance. Fighters taking fights on short notice is quite common in MMA, which can lead to them getting fatigued early on due to not having full training camps.