Long gone are the days where mixed martial arts, or MMA events, were some kind of underground fights held in shady basements. The sport is part of the mainstream now and has millions of fans from all across the globe.
The main reason for that is the hard work of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, and more recently, Bellator. The two organizations are behind pretty much every significant event out there.
They have the best fighters, draw the biggest crowds, and are the most attractive from an MMA betting point of view.
However, which one is better if you are interested in making some money from the bookies? This is exactly what I will try to find out by comparing them in this post.
One of the first things we have to look at are the schedules of both UFC and Bellator. After all, the sheer volume of fights is one of the main factors when it comes to betting opportunities.
Bellator is doing roughly one or two events monthly. Some of them have a couple of fights, but often the number is less than 5, which is hardly ideal. A quick calculation shows there are roughly 5-15 fights on a monthly basis.
If we check what’s up with UFC, they are far ahead. A quick look at the schedules for 2017 and 2018 shows an event pretty much every week. The matches per night are also more. There’s usually a main card with 4-5 fights and additional preliminary cards.
UFC organizes way more matches than Bellator on a monthly basis. As a result, you will find more opportunities to place bets, so that’s a point for UFC here.
The schedule is one thing, but the bookies’ attention is another. The question is:
UFC betting or Bellator betting?
I would say the events of both organizations are offered by pretty much any bookie that covers MMA in general. You will certainly find odds on the main fights from each event.
However, the variety of markets is where UFC shines. Especially if you are more interested in prop bets like method of the win, number of rounds, and stuff like that. They are available for more UFC fights compared to Bellator matches.
And often, the value lies in the unconventional betting options, especially when there is a great disparity between the fighters. There’s not much point in backing the favorite when the odds are laughably low. However, you could find a good price for a knockout win early on, for example.
One of the keys to winning from betting is good preparation and statistical analysis. You have to take as much data into account as possible to improve your ability to accurately evaluate the chances of each fighter.
This is why I decided to include this criterion, too.
What stats and predictions are available for both UFC and Bellator? Are they sufficient for you to have a clear idea what to expect from each fighter?I would say you won’t have any issues finding enough information for both UFC and Bellator events. There are stats from previous fights, analyses of the styles of each contestant, pro tips by popular journalists and people from the MMA community, and pretty much everything you might need for a proper preparation.
That’s why I believe it’s a draw in this direction. You can do your homework for both UFC and Bellator betting relatively easily.
One of the things that could ruin a perfectly good bet is cheating in one form or another. I see two main aspects in this regard.
We all know what Performance Enhancing Drugs, or simply PEDs, are. They could significantly boost the performance of a fighter. More power, more energy, better stamina, and better recovery time that helps during the camp fight are just a couple of possible benefits.
As you could imagine, if you place a wager on a contest and one of the fighters is juiced up, he will be a heavy favorite. Since you won’t know that, there’s no way to include it in your prediction.
This rarely happens in UFC, as the organization is trying its best to eliminate doping and keep the sport clear. They started working with the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), and there has been rapid progress in the past couple of years.
Most of the fighters that use PEDs were caught and punished. You could say that the UFC events are pretty clear from this perspective.
This can’t be said with the same confidence about Bellator, though. The organization’s fighters are tested every now and then, but not with the intensity provided by USADA. I would say it’s much more likely that a fighter uses forbidden substances in Bellator.
Some fights have a quite obvious winner and the judges are not that important. Others are pretty close, and that could be an issue. You don’t want your guy to lose only because the judge was incompetent and couldn’t score the fight properly.
Well, this happens in both Bellator and UFC. Don’t worry too much, though; it’s not that common. Most of the time, the results of the games are fair and square.
There will be a controversy every now and then, but this is true for pretty much any sport out there. Certainly, it’s not as bad as some other fighting sports like boxing.
Let’s continue by taking a look at the fighters that have a contract with both organizations. Clearly, UFC is the more attractive destination for a number of reasons. The organization draws bigger crowds and pays each contestant more money. Also, the ceiling is huge; just look what happened with Ronda Rousey and Conor McGregor.
The consensus is that most of the top talent in pretty much every division is there. This creates a lot of competition and close fights. You will often find UFC divisions with at least a couple of competent fighters that could become champions.
Bellator is mostly the home of some aging superstars, but it does have some fighters in their prime as well. However, the situation is nowhere nearly as good as UFC. As a result, there are more unbalanced matches where one of the guys is doomed to lose.
Something you will see in both organizations is the careful building of certain fighters. If a guy has the potential to become a superstar and bring a lot of money to UFC/Bellator, the management is extra cautious.
They want to build the hype around him/her first with a couple of wins. For that purpose, there are a lot of easier fights against opponents that haven’t got much of chance. This creates good opportunities to find some betting value.
It’s similar when the future star faces their first serious opponent. Because of the easy schedule up to this point, you could often see high odds for the other fighter, when in reality, the bout is quite close. Don’t worry; experience will help you recognize such spots and take advantage.
You will have more opportunities to place a wager and make some money.
However, that doesn’t mean Bellator is not worth it. The organization has some attractive bouts, and the bookies cover them, too.
My advice would be to focus on the UFC schedule, but always keep an eye on its main competitor. This way, you won’t miss chances to find valuable picks.
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