Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) has become one of the most popular and in demand fighting sports in the world.
The speed and skill in which the fighters compete is thrilling and engrossing for fans of fighting sports.
With a wide mix of styles and approaches from different fighters there is a mystery and excitement to each fight.
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Boom in popularity
Boxing has been the leading sport when it comes to the fighting sports followed by fans globally. Others have failed to compete with it to gain dedicated fans and viewers for a long time.
MMA, especially Ultimate Fighting Champion (UFC) has rivalled boxing due to its ability to publicise and put out much more television content.
More and more people have been keen to watch this type of sport, with the skills and abilities of the fighters being praised more than they had before.
The fights are now better managed and more about skill than before, when there were almost no rules whatsoever. This has improved the sports image without taking away the excitement of each fight.
There had been a time when people would not be so openly fanatic about fighting sports due to the injuries that can occur, but this has changed more in recent years.
The chance to put out exciting and well produced events has drawn in the crowds, and we can now see the fighters as characters and celebrities in their own right.
In 1997 it took a big step towards mainstream popularity and acceptance after the sport was featured in the massively popular TV show ‘Friends’. John Favreau, who played Monica’s boyfriend Pete Becker, took to the sport and it became far more well known around the world immediately.
Betting
Like boxing, MMA sports have brought a big influx of fans who enjoy wagering on fights.
The online sports betting industry is extremely lucrative at the moment and continues to grow.
While the lack of rules appealed to the younger demographics, it also made it harder for bookmakers who needed to adapt how they would approach the market.
Once the UFC reviewed and adapted their rules to outlaw eye-gouging, fish hooking, hair-pulling, head-butting and blows below the belt bookmakers were happier to enter the market.
This was especially true after the inclusion of rounds and a scoring system, like in boxing, with gave it a more professional sporting image.
As bookmakers moved in and started to offer a range of odds for different fights, it wasn’t until UFC 33 in September 2001 when it finally received a licence to host fights in Nevada.
Until this move to Nevada, limited bookmakers were offering odds, and often only for the main events. As the UFC became more popular with the sportsbooks in Las Vegas, it mirrored the popularity it was receiving in the mainstream.
Evolution of MMA Betting
As the sportsbooks in Las Vegas began to offer odds for fights in UFC, there was a real similarity to how they were offered in boxing.
Over/Under for rounds and odds on the two fighters were the main way of betting. There was not much in the way of prop betting at first
One of the most notable prop bets offered at first was in UFC 183 on the eve of the Super Bowl match between the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks. Westgate SuperBook offered a prop on the number of completed rounds in the Anderson Silva vs Nick Diaz fight against the number of field goals made by both NFL sides in the Super Bowl.
Today, sports books around the world now offer standard win/lose odds, over/under as well as a mix of prop bets for punters to enjoy.
How Betting Impacted the Audience
As the sport started out, there was only legal betting in Nevada for United States residents.
This changed in 2018 with the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act being ruled unconstitutional. Individual states could now decide if they wanted to legalise sports betting.
With sports betting legalised in other countries, sports books were able to offer odds globally which helped continue to increase the audiences abroad through gambling.
People from places like the United Kingdom would be able to watch fights from home and gamble through their online accounts.
UFC saw this boom in popularity as a sign to begin to take events to different countries and grow the sport internationally.
The 2018 PASPA ruling gave UFC and sports books the chance to do this across the United States as well.
Mobile Betting
With the transition from in person betting to online betting, more people have been able to place wagers while enjoying the sports they love.
While accessing sports from around the world through television and streaming, we can now place bets on our smartphones via apps as we receive the latest news and information on fighters even just moments before the enter the octagon.
The ability to access in-play betting odds also gives people the chance to make bets while the events are in process. The fight can be going on and we can make our wagers on someone fighting back after a first-round defeat.
With the access at our fingertips to both the sports as well as sports betting, it has helped grow sports like UFC.
Punters are able to gain more information on fighters, from form to injuries to styles of fighting and make clearer bets. The fact that the access to the sportsbook is now in your pocket rather than a drive into town makes it, and the sport, even more engaging.
