MMA fights are very popular among bettors across the globe. Very interestingly, you don’t need to be an MMA fan to be an MMA betting enthusiast, particularly because betting on mixed martial arts events has proven to be lucrative and at the same time challenging pastime for many casual sports gamblers.

It is quite common for casino customers – that holds true for all customers, including land-based casino customers and users of the best Payz casinos – to bet on MMA fights, without even having much experience or knowledge over the specifics of the sport, the dynamics of the bouts or the statistics of fighters. That’s probably because MMA fights are very appealing as spectacle events and as betting markets.

Betting on MMA may be exciting, fascinating and thrilling, but can be very risky at the same time. So, punters need to be extra careful and extra cautious, especially when they are not so experienced or when they are not following any systematic strategy that will place some boundaries and limits as to how, when and what they bet on.

Let’s see how bettors can protect themselves, by tracing and avoiding common betting mistakes in MMA. 

• Don’t just bet on the favorite, do your reading before you place any wager

Favorite betting has emerged as one relatively effective conservative strategy in sports betting and it appears to be quite successful in yielding long-term profits, especially in sports where there are seldom upsets and turnarounds.

That is, favorite betting makes sense in sports where the win rate of favorites is considerably high, justifying in this way the relative “security” that low odds give in terms of risk and of course the ‘conservative’ potential for profits at the same time. But MMA is not such a sport, where the favorite has a really high win rate.

Favorites indeed get to win a lot, but upsets are very common and very frequent in fight nights. So, systematically betting on the favorite doesn’t seem to make much sense. Instead of backing the favorite in any bout, you should do some reading before placing a bet, especially on the underdog’s dynamics, stats, current form and above all, motivation. These may make all the difference in the world and signal a possible upset, which if you manage to predict in advance may bring you ahead of the house, even if this is the top best online casino in the world. 

• Don’t go after big parlays

Parlays are a good way to optimize profits and stack up many chances of winning in sports betting, but they are more suitable for other sports and not so much for MMA fights. Parlay betting requires too many different variables to be considered effectively and strategically and it is quite difficult to do so in a bout where everything is so fluid and there are continuous changes from minute to minute. 

• Don’t get carried away by statistics, trends, and patterns in MMA fight outcomes

Fighters’ should be consulted before placing bets in any MMA fight, and of course, it is always interesting -and sometimes useful- to explore possible patterns and trends in athletes’ performances on certain bouts’ results. But MMA is one of those sports, where such things don’t really have a big predictive value. It’s more about what is going on at the moment of the fight, the hype within the arena and the motivation of fighters and less what has happened up to the event.

Having in mind these three common mistakes that many casual bettors make in MMA wagering may keep you on the safe side of betting. If you manage to recognize these mistakes and avoid them, then you can reduce the risks associated with them and you can be more secure about your betting choices.