MMA wasn’t always as widespread as it is today, and only recently has it skyrocketed in popularity. The number of MMA fans can be credited to UFC — the largest and the most prestigious MMA organisation. As MMA slowly grew in popularity, bettors have shown more and more interest in betting on this sport.

Today, the whole process of UFC betting is easier than ever as there are countless ways and places for Canadians to bet on UFC.

When it comes to Canada, a person that made MMA even more popular in this country is without a doubt Georges St-Pierre — a Canadian that is one of the finest UFC fighters.

In our article, we will try to cover everything about MMA, such as its history, popularity and everything you need to know about UFC betting. We will also include some small tips and tricks that might end up helping you place a winning bet. First things first, let’s get a bit more familiar with this sport.

What is MMA?

The abbreviation of MMA stands for Mixed Martial Arts. In early years, the sport included events between fighters proficient in only one fighting style who were fighting against opponents of a different style, but as the competition became fiercer, the fighters started adopting techniques from multiple martial arts styles, hence the name of the sport.

As is the case with every other martial art sport, it includes several categories ranging from strawweight (up to 115 pounds) to heavyweight (205 to 265 pounds). In order to make the matches and UFC betting even more exciting, fighters sometimes step into a new division and try to win multiple titles.

The fights are usually held in octagon rings. There are several ways to win, such as submission, knockout or judge’s decision. Naturally, there are a lot more rules to it, but the ones mentioned above mainly cover the essence of this sport.

Is UFC Betting Legal?

One of the first things bettors ask before betting on any UFC match is whether it is legal or not. Luckily for Canadians, betting on sports in Canada is 100% legal. One thing to note is that, while betting itself is legal, running a sportsbook might not be.

There are various provinces across Canada that run their sportsbooks which are available on multiple locations, like the casinos or the corner stores. However, those sportsbooks don’t exactly offer the best possible odds, so if you are interested in UFC betting, chances are you will have better success placing your bet online.

Some of the online sportsbooks even offer you an opportunity to place a bet on fantasy UFC, so if you are impatient to wait for the ‘fight nights’, you can always try this type of betting.

You should also know that you won’t have to pay any taxes when betting in Canada if you have a regular job. Only the people without a stable source of income who are considered professional gamblers pay taxes if they make a profit by betting.

Banking Options

Even though it might be a minor thing to mention, choosing the right payment method is crucial; otherwise, your UFC betting career might end before it has even started. After all, how else are you going to place your bet or, even more importantly, receive a payment? Naturally, the way in which a sportsbook distinguishes itself from the rest on the market is by offering more banking options.

The reason why the offer of banking options is important is their availability, as well as fees included, as certain payment/deposit methods include small fees whenever you deposit funds to your account or withdraw them from it.

In today’s time, the most popular options are credit cards or e-Wallets. However, sportsbooks don’t always include the same options for withdrawing and depositing funds, so make sure to keep an eye on that before choosing your favourite sportsbook.

How Do You Win?

When it comes to UFC betting, there are several different types of bet you can place. The most common one is betting on who’s going to win, and the bet itself doesn’t require much explanation.

You can also bet on the number of rounds in total, the time when a fighter is going to win or the method used to win — it can be by a knock-out, tactical knock-out, submission or disqualification. If the fight goes all the way without an obvious winner, he or she will be chosen by a group of three judges.

UFC Betting — Tips and Tricks

There are a lot of particularities to know about UFC betting, especially if you aim to make a profit out of it. Naturally, the first thing you should do is familiarize yourself with the sport.

The more you know about it, the easier it will be to make a decision and place a winning bet. The second thing is to get to know the fighters better and learn about their training regime, preparations, injuries and even check if they have a history of substance abuse.

One of the most important things to know is how one style fares against the other. Namely, every fighter has their own fighting style which is usually based on their primary martial art. Granted, MMA fighters try to learn as many different fighting styles as possible, but as is the case with every athlete out there, there will always be the things they will excel at, which may depend on their physiology or career.

In order to have a better insight into UFC, you should look at the stats of each fighter and see how favoured they are to win against their opponent’s style of fighting.

The third important part of UFC betting is knowing who’s fighting for what. Fighters that are closer to the title match have better motivation and might prove to be a better choice. If you take all these into consideration, UFC betting becomes a piece of cake.

Conclusion

So, there you have it. A little bit of everything that you need to know about MMA and UFC betting. Hopefully, if you are new to the sport, our little article helped you learn about MMA and showed you the ropes on what to pay attention to when it comes to placing a bet on UFC matches. All that’s left to do now is find your favourite sportsbook and your favourite fighter and tune in for the adrenaline-rushing MMA matches.