MMA betting is a fun and exciting form of sports wagering that offers a unique experience for bettors. The sport’s popularity has increased dramatically over the past several years and has expanded to include a wide range of betting markets. In addition to the traditional moneyline bets, MMA fans can place multiple types of prop bets that add an additional layer of excitement and strategy to the wagering process. These prop bets can range from predicting the method of victory to predicting which round the fight will end. Understanding MMA betting odds is an essential part of this type of wagering and can help bettors maximize their profits.

One of the most basic MMA betting wagers is the over/under rounds bet. This is a wager on how many rounds the fight will last and can be placed either pre-event or during live action. The over/under is set by sportsbooks and is often based on the fighting styles of the fighters involved in the match. For example, if two fighters have different style fighting, it is likely that the fighter with the better ground game will win the fight.

Fighters’ past performances are also an important factor in MMA betting. A fighter’s record can indicate how they will perform in a particular match, but bettors should take a deeper dive into those statistics to get the full picture of their opponents’ skills. For example, a fighter’s wins may come from hard-fought matches against elite-level competition while their losses have come from fights with less experienced opponents.

Another important factor to consider is a fighter’s history with injuries. Fighters with injuries tend to lose more often than their healthy counterparts. This makes it important to research a fighter’s medical records and injury histories before placing a bet on their next fight.

Lastly, bettors should be aware of the weight classes that fighters compete in. MMA fighters have to weigh in the day before their fight, and those who are close to missing the cut can be forced to take drastic measures to make weight, including starving and dehydrating themselves. This can have a negative effect on a fighter’s performance in the octagon.

In addition to the main betting market, MMA offers several other bets including KO/TKO and submission bets. These bets are usually much more popular than bets on the winner of a particular round, and can pay off big dividends if made correctly. For instance, bets on which fighter will draw the first blood or which fighter will win the first takedown can yield huge returns in just a few minutes. In fact, a bet on first blood has won more than 61% of the time when made.