A successful MMA betting strategy requires more than just picking the fighter with the louder entrance music. You need to have a thorough understanding of MMA and make informed decisions based on research and analysis. This includes looking at fighters’ histories, styles, recent performances, injuries, and weight and reach differences. This information can give you an edge that sportsbooks don’t have.

The most common MMA bet is the moneyline, where you choose which fighter will win the fight. This wager uses the plus and minus system, where favorites are expected to win and offer a lower payout, while underdogs have higher risk and a greater potential reward. You can also place a method of victory bet, which allows you to choose how a fighter will win the fight, such as by knockout or submission. This type of bet can pay out significantly more than a moneyline bet, but it is much more risky.

Another popular MMA wager is the Over/Under rounds bet, where you place a bet on how many total rounds the fight will last. This bet can be very lucrative if you correctly predict the number of rounds the fight will last. In addition, you can bet on the round a fight will end, or even on whether a particular fight will go to a decision. Parlays, which combine multiple bets into a single wager for a larger potential payout, are also available. However, all the selections in a parlay must win to earn the payout.

To place a bet, visit a top online MMA betting site and log in with your preferred payment method. Once logged in, head to the sports section and locate the MMA fight you wish to bet on. You will then find a list of wagers with their odds. Betting odds showcase how much you can win for your bet, per $100 wagered. For example, if a fighter is listed with minus odds (example: -200), this means that the betting public believes that the fighter is going to lose the fight. Similarly, if a fighter is listed with plus odds (example: +200), this indicates that the betting public thinks the fighter will win the fight.

MMA betting is a dynamic sport and betting odds are constantly changing based on how the fight unfolds. This is why betting on MMA matches in-play – or live betting – is so exciting. Live betting is influenced by fighters’ performance during the fight, and it is often accurate in predicting how the fight will end up. Moreover, live betting is updated based on what is happening in the fight, which is an advantage that pre-fight betting does not have. The reason is that pre-fight betting odds are influenced by algorithms and traders who often fail to see the technical aspects of the fight that keen MMA bettors can pick up on. This is why it’s so important to understand how to read MMA betting odds before you start placing bets.