Offers Verified By Our Experts
Best ChoiceWhat To Look For When Choosing A UFC Betting Site
Over the past few years, the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), has established itself as one of the premier betting markets in the world. With events happening nearly every weekend featuring upwards of 13 fights per card and dozens of prop bets available, UFC odds provide hundreds of betting opportunities on a weekly basis.
With that much action available, UFC betting is continuing to grow. We're here to help the novice MMA bettor make the best choices. When shopping around for the best UFC betting sites in Arizona, you should be looking for more than just a particular UFC betting market.
Types of UFC Bets Allowed in Arizona
One of the most important aspects of any Arizona betting app and sportsbook is the variety of lines they offer. One of the things that makes the UFC such an interesting and lucrative betting market is the range of opportunities available on each fight. A good operator should offer you the standard straight betting lines as well as Prop Bets, Round Totals, Method Bets and Parlays. Not every fight will have a Moneyline with great odds, so having access to a variety of bets ensures that the interested bettor has more opportunity for success.
Competitive UFC Betting Lines and Odds
The most important thing for us is to ensure you are getting the best experience possible. That means making sure the sportsbooks in Arizona sites you use are the best available. Every site we recommend has been vetted to confirm that they offer lines and UFC odds competitive with the rest of the marketplace. We pride ourselves on providing multiple recommendations to bettors so they can choose which operator best suites their own tastes and needs.
UFC Bonuses and Rewards
To paraphrase an old saying, “It’s a bettor’s market out there.” With so many sites and apps offering betting odds on the UFC, it’s not enough for the operators to provide a clean user interface and good service. Each site is competing for your business, and as such, bettors should expect first-time deposit bonuses or risk-free bets for new sign-ups and frequent users. That’s added value for every sports bettor.
User Interface
Having a clean user interface still is essential for a quality Arizona UFC sportsbook for two key reasons. First, a clunky or disjointed interface can interfere with your ability to place bets in a timely and efficient fashion, which could ultimately cost you, especially in Live Betting situations. Second, betting is supposed to be fun! An unintuitive and difficult interface will ruin the experience and make you not want to keep getting in on the action. With the emergence of mobile sports betting in Arizona, this focus on a clean and simple user interface is more important than ever.
Deposits and Withdrawal
The most important aspect of any operator is the money. Users need to be able to add and withdraw money quickly and without issue. The best sites offer customers a variety of methods to do just that. While traditional payment methods such as bank accounts or credit cards are typically available, e-wallets such as PayPal and prepaid cards like Play+ are very popular. Allowing customers more options is a key factor we look at when ranking sportsbooks.
Customer Support
Along with having a clean user interface, having a prompt and courteous customer support team is a key factor we look at when recommending any site. We all understand that technology breaks sometimes, but that can be disconcerting when it happens and you’re attempting to collect your bets from a great UFC Fight Night weekend. Having a customer support team that is ready to help at any time and via multiple channels ensures that even when things go wrong, those issues can be resolved quickly.
UFC Betting Apps in Arizona
One of the great things about the growth of Arizona online sportsbooks the past few years is how accessible placing bets has become and nowhere is that more apparent than in the rise of mobile apps. The best UFC sportsbooks in Arizona are going to have UFC betting apps that are user-friendly and intuitive, with the types of bets available easy to read and betting pages simple to navigate.
Is Betting on UFC Matches Legal in Arizona?
It certainly is! Governor Doug Ducey signed the sports betting bill HB2772 into law on April 15, 2021. Following some additional administrative hurdles, top operators like FanDuel Arizona and FOX Bet Arizona bring the best sports to bettors, along with any and all mixed martial arts betting (including UFC betting) falling under the sports betting umbrella.
How to Bet on the UFC Online in Arizona
Year after year, the UFC is setting records in terms of viewership and interest. With Arizona legalizing sports wagering, betting on the UFC is now easy and accessible. Instead of having to drive to the nearest physical operator, bettors can sign up for any number of websites or apps and start placing wagers in minutes, all while sitting on their couch. They can even do so for multiple different online sportsbooks, providing even more options for the budding Arizona UFC bettor.
To start getting your bets in, select one or more operators from our recommended list above, and sign up. It only takes a few minutes and then you too can be cashing in on UFC Fight Night.
Best UFC Bets to Make in Arizona
While there are many ways to bet on a UFC event, from prefight wagers to live odds, here are some of the most popular, fun, and potentially profitable.
UFC Moneyline
UFC moneyline betting is the most common bets in MMA and are simply straight bets placed on an outright winner, with the wager paying out per the set odds. For example:
Dustin Poirier has -200 odds with Conor McGregor listed at +180. If you bet $100 on the Poirier Moneyline and he wins, you will be paid out $50 for the win plus have your $100 returned. Conversely, if you bet $100 on McGregor and he pulls off the upset, you will win $180 for the bet plus have your $100 wager returned.
Given the straightforward nature of the wager, moneyline betting tends to have the most conservative odds of any UFC bet but also provide the smallest risk.
Round Totals or UFC Over/Unders
Round Totals or Over/Under bets are another common type of UFC wager, one that has to do with the duration of the fight. Over/Under bets provide a set number of rounds and bettors wager on whether the fight will last longer than that number or end before it. For example:
Jon Jones vs. Francis Ngannou has an Over/Under of 2.5 rounds, with the Over odds at +125 and the Under odds at -150. If you bet $100 on the Over and the fight exceeds 12 minutes and 30 seconds of fight time, the bet cashes and you make $125 in profit. If you bet $100 on the Under and the fight is stopped before the halfway mark of the third round, you make $66.67 in profit.
UFC Parlays
Parlays are another common wager for MMA bettors. A parlay ties multiple bets together to get greater odds and if all the individual bets succeed, the parlay cashes. If one of the individual bets fails, then the entire parlay loses. For example:
Conor McGregor is -200 and Derrick Lewis is -150 in a pair of UFC fights. Parlay McGregor and Lewis together for $100, with total odds of +150. If both McGregor and Lewis win their fights, you make $150 plus the return of your $100 wager. However, if either loses, your parlay loses.
Given then higher risk parlays entail, one of the most common parlay betting strategies is to tie heavy favorites to moderate favorites or underdogs to sweeten the payout.
Prop Bets
Prop bets are a broad category of wager that includes betting on anything not directly tied to the outcome of fight. In UFC betting, prop bets can range from the number of strikes landed by a fighter to the time of control a fighter exerts. The most popular prop bets in the UFC tend to be wagers on which fighters or fights will earn post-fight bonuses. For example:
Conor McGregor vs. Jose Aldo will win Fight of the Night honors has Yes odds at -180 and No odds at +160. If the fight is ultimately awarded Fight of the Night, a $100 Yes bet will pay out $55.56 in profit. If another contest wins Fight of the Night, then a $100 No bet will pay out $160 in profit.
Victory Method
Victory Method is another straightforward MMA wager where the bettor places a bet on how the bout will end, either by KO/TKO or DQ, Submission or Decision. These wagers can commonly be found in combination with picking the winner, for example:
Francis Ngannou will win by KO/TKO at -200. If Ngannou does knock out his opponent, a $100 wager pays out $50 in profit. If he doesn't, the bet loses.
Victory Round
Like Victory Method, Victory Round is a straightforward UFC bet in which the bettor places a wager on how many rounds the bout will last. UFC odds will be offered for each round and for Fight Goes to a Decision. Like with Method of Victory, Victory Round betting can often be combined with wagers on who will win in that round, for example:
Francis Ngannou will win in the first round at -125. A $100 wager will payout $85 plus return the original $100 wager if Ngannou is the winner and the fight does not enter into the second round. If Ngannou wins any time after the first round, or Ngannou loses, the bet loses.
Upcoming UFC Fights and Events
One of the main reasons so many people like to bet on the UFC is the volume of fights the UFC puts on every week. The UFC hosts between 40 and 50 events every year, meaning there is a fight card on practically every Saturday. A majority of the UFC cards will be UFC Fight Night cards that are shown on ESPN or ESPN+ and feature a few marquee fights and several fights between up-and-comers.
However, once a month, the UFC goes big on a Pay-Per-View card that usually features at least one title fight and a host of other big name fighters. Pay-Per-Views present some of the best betting opportunities as the biggest fights will have UFC odds released months in advance and can provide the savvy bettor with opportunities to get in before the lines start shifting.
UFC Betting Strategy and Tips
In some respects, UFC is a simple sport to bet on as there are only two fighters involved, and so the variables are considerably lower than, say, with football team. However, MMA is also one of the most unpredictable sports given the variety of ways fighters can win and the presence of 4-ounce gloves, which gives any fighter the opportunity to knock someone out at a moment’s notice.
As with any betting endeavor, the savvy gambler needs to do everything he or she can to minimize risk, and this extends beyond knowing how to handicap. A smart UFC bettor in Arizona needs to have a plan, should use a reputable betting site, stay up-to-date on news and injuries, manage their bankroll effectively and shop for the best Arizona UFC betting options available.
Other UFC betting in Arizona tips to consider:
Bankroll Management
Bankroll management is the cornerstone of any successful betting endeavor. One of the most exciting aspects of MMA betting is its unpredictability. However, that, in turn, means even the “safest” wagers carry with them a fair amount of risk.
Putting your entire bankroll a heavy favorite might yield a solid short-term gain, but it also might end up bankrupting you in one fell swoop. Bettors should determine a set amount, usually between 2% and 5% of their overall bankroll, for each wager and stick to that amount. And bettors should never risk more than 10% of their bankroll on any one bet. Remember, mixed martial arts betting in Arizona is a marathon, not a sprint.
Avoid Betting Heavy Favorites
As mentioned above, UFC bettors should avoid going big on heavy favorites. The returns on a -1000 favorite do not justify the risk in a sport with so much unpredictability. Moreover, in situations where there is a heavy favorite, Prop Bets, Round Totals or Method Bets are all more likely to provide better value.
Since moneyline bets are the most common type of wager, operators tend to be highly tuned to those, but they have been known to underestimate other types of bets, allowing the smart bettor to take advantage of additional value. For instance, 12 of Derrick Lewis’ 16 UFC wins have come by KO/TKO, but you can consistently get Lewis by KO/TKO at several hundred points better than a Lewis moneyline bet.
Shop The Lines
One of the simplest ways for bettors to improve their betting odds and increase their long-term winnings is to literally improve their odds by making sure that they are getting the best line for the wager they want to place. With practically every operators taking wagers on the UFC, there are dozens of reputable sites with which to make bets - and each of them have different lines. If one site is offering McGregor at +200 and another is offering him at +240, then that’s a 40-point difference without raising the risk profile whatsoever.
It’s an unusual occurrence, but shopping lines can also lead to a no-lose bet situation. If one site has Jon Jones listed as a +110 underdog to Francis Ngannou and another has Ngannou listed as +100, wagering on both men can create a situation whether the sharp-eyed bettor is guaranteed to not lose money.
Pay Attention To Fighter Ages
One of the key determining factors in any fight is the age and physical health of the two fighters competing. Simply put, fighting is a young man’s game, and it’s rare to see a fighter excel into their late 30s, especially in the lower weight classes. There’s a saying in combat sports that the young eat the old to climb to the top of the mountain, and that is true in MMA. When in doubt, bet on the young gun.
Cage or Ring Benefits
Though the UFC is by far the dominant MMA promotion around, they are far from the only game in town. With the rise of MMA betting, some sportsbooks will have odds on smaller MMA promotions as well, and some of those promotions employ a ring instead of a cage. Though the cage was originally seen as beneficial to grapplers, over the last decade, strikers have learned to use the cage to help stave off takedowns. Now, rings are a much better fighting surface for grapplers than the cage is, so take that into account when making your bets.
Size of Cages
Another key factor to consider when evaluating UFC bouts is the cage size. Depending on the venue, the UFC employs two different cage sizes, referred to as the small cage and the big cage, with the small cage consistently producing more finishes than bouts in the big cage. Most UFC Fight Night events are held in the small cage, so take that into consideration when looking at Total bets for those cards.
Get Started Betting on UFC Fights in Arizona
As the sport of MMA continues to grow, and with sports betting now legal in Arizona, there will be no shortage of opportunities to place bets on UFC bouts moving forward. The key to succeeding as you venture into this emerging market is to follow the principles outlined above. UFC is one of the most unpredictable sports in the world, and the goal of any good bettor is to minimize risk by making the smartest bets you can make. This applies not just to the UFC but to every other sport. Start betting on the UFC in Arizona today.
Arizona UFC Betting FAQ
Author
Jed Meshew writes about MMA for BetArizona.com. After earning his undergraduate degree from the University of Georgia, Jed went to Las Vegas to gamble for a year, primarily betting on MMA, before returning East for law school. After receiving his Juris Doctorate, Jed decided to forego a legal career to pursue his passion for journalism. Jed has written for a number of sites over the years, including BloodyElbow.com and FightOpinion.com. For the last three years Jed has been covering mixed martial arts for MMAFighting.com.
