Online sports betting is not yet active in Florida. This page will be updated with the latest promos, news and odds once Florida sportsbooks launch.
The UFC is hands down the biggest MMA organization in the world and draws millions of viewers for its pay-per-view cards. Along with them comes millions in UFC bets at legal online sportsbooks.
Now that Florida has ushered in legal sports betting, UFC betting will be a heavy draw here as well. Below, find all your UFC betting options in Florida, including the latest UFC odds and betting insights.
UFC odds boosts and bonuses
As a rule of thumb, Florida sportsbooks roll out the biggest sports betting bonus offers for marquee UFC events. Incentives range from odds boosts to insurance bets, no-brainer deals and a wide range of fight specials.
Here’s an example of the deals you may come across for the upcoming UFC bout at your local online sportsbook in Florida:
- FanDuel offered 30-1 odds for Adesanya vs. Vettori fight of the UFC 263. It was a generous deal, considering how big of a favorite Adesanya was in that duel.
- DraftKings took it up a few notches and offered 100-1 odds for the same event. A mere $1 on either fighter resulted in a $100 profit for those who took advantage of this amazing offer.
- BetMGM offered players a chance to win $100 for a $20 bet if Conor McGregor threw a punch at Dustin Poirier at the UFC 264 event.
How to bet on UFC fights in Florida
The UFC betting menu is fairly versatile. From betting on the winner and the method of victory to a variety of round and time props, you can back your favorite fighter in all sorts of ways. Check out the most common UFC bets at Florida sportsbooks below:
UFC moneylines
This is a simple bet that allows you to pick which of the two fighters will win, and it works pretty much the same way as in other sports. The positive and negative signs in front of the odds signify the perceived favorite/underdog, as well as the payout you can expect on each side if you connect on your bet.
The positive moneyline odds denote the underdog, while the favorite is represented with a negative number. Here’s how a typical moneyline odds chart for a UFC fight may look on the BetRivers sports betting site:
- Jon Jones +130
- Thiago Santos -160
Jones is at +130 on the moneyline, which indicates he’s the underdog in this matchup. Consequently, a winning $100 bet on this fighter will pay $130 on top of your initial stake.
Negative moneyline odds tell us how much cash we need to spend to win $100. You would have to bet $160 on Santos to win a hundred bucks extra.
UFC round betting
If you’re on the fence about picking the winner, you can bet on a fight’s total number of rounds. The sportsbook will set a number, and you have to pick whether the actual total will go over or under the posted number. It doesn’t matter which fighter wins, only how long the bout lasts. For most fights, the bar is set at 1.5. Here’s an example you might find at DraftKings Sportsbook in Florida:
Dustin Jacoby vs. Darren Stewart
- Over 1.5 -110
- Under 1.5 -120
Method of victory bets
This is a trickier yet more lucrative version of the moneyline UFC bet. Instead of merely betting on which fighter will win, you’ll need to predict how they will do it. Although draws are theoretically possible in UFC, most fights end in one of three manners:
- Win by KO/TKO — Short for a knockout/technical knockout, it’s when one fighter lands a knockout blow on his opponent or the referee stops the fight.
- Win by submission — This happens when a fighter makes his opponent quit by verbally submitting or tapping out. Conor McGregor suffered a fourth-round submission loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov in their 2018 brawl.
- Win by decision — This is essentially betting on whether the fight will go the distance (to a judge’s decision). The decision can be unanimous (all three judges declare the same fighter to be the winner) or split (two judges award the fight to one winner and the third judge chooses the other fighter).
The odds for this type of wager are represented in the moneyline format, as you might see at BetMGM Sportsbook Florida:
Jamall Emmers vs. Pat Sabatini
- KO/TKO +350
- Submission +330
- Decision -200
- Draw +5000
At most sportsbooks, you can combine moneyline and method of victory bets at amped odds. For instance, a betting site might offer +500 odds for Emmers to win by KO/TKO.
UFC betting props
Nearly every fight from the UFC card comes with a number of prop bets, which will pull you even deeper into the action. Popular options include:
- Time props: Time props allow you to wager on an exact time frame within a specific round the fight will end in. For example, knockout artists like Conor McGregor have been known to finish off their opponents in the first round. You could make a prop bet on him to win in the first minute of the bout.
- Points deduction bets: In rare instances, judges may deduct points from those fighters who break the rules, such as groin striking or poking their opponents in the eye. The odds on these bets are usually long (can be over +3500).
- Round when the fight ends: Bet on how many rounds the fight will last. It’s a three-way market, with Round 3 typically being the most profitable option.
Handicap bets
This is a less common bet offered by some UFC betting sites. In it, the sportsbook either deducts or adds points to a fighter before the match starts.
For instance, Fighter A could be favored by -3.5 points over the other fighter, which would imply that he needs to win by four or more points for your bet to be a winning one. If either fighter wins by KO, TKO or DQ, they win the handicap score regardless of their points at the time.
UFC parlays
Like in other sports, you can combine multiple UFC single bets into a parlay for a bigger payout. The more selections (fights) you put on your slip, the more your potential profit will rise. Keep in mind a parlay is treated as one big bet, which means all bets on it must win for it to payout.
Some sportsbooks, like FanDuel Sportsbook in Florida, will offer same-fight parlays, allowing you to combine multiple outcomes from the same fight.
For example, you could take Francis Ngannou to win by submission in Round 3 at substantial odds of +4500.
How do UFC odds shift?
Given the digital era that we live in and the amount of data available for every fight, one would assume the sportsbook would easily identify the underdog and the favorite months in advance, but this isn’t the case.
Betting operators usually release moneyline odds as early as a month before the match, while props, like the method of victory and round bets, aren’t added until a week or two before the scheduled event, or even later for lower-tiered fights.
UFC betting odds can be highly volatile, and the opening odds may change significantly based on news, injury reports and betting activity. While the odds are intended to reflect true probability and the competitiveness of the fight, that’s not always the case.
Most of the time, the sportsbook odds are indicative of bettors’ behavior — the more people bet on one fighter, the more the odds on his win will drop. UFC betting lines can change at any point, so the best time to strike is when the odds are released.
Why bet on the UFC over other sports?
UFC fights are undeniably entertaining, but do they provide better betting value than other sports? It’s all in the eye of the beholder, and the answer mainly depends on your betting preferences.
That said, we’ll give you three compelling reasons why the UFC is worth betting on:
- Array of possibilities: On average, a UFC card features more than 10 fights, including several three-round contests and one five-round main event. In total, there are around 40 UFC bouts per year, with the majority being Fight Night. The arenas for most events are packed from start to finish, especially for PPV showdowns, which usually feature highly anticipated championship fights. The sportsbooks cover all of these matches comprehensively, giving fans a slew of betting options.
- Competitiveness: UFC fights are extremely competitive because it’s in the league’s best interest to put on evenly matched fights. Only a handful of fighters have been unbeaten in the Octagon, which means that there are various opportunities to cash in on an underdog bet.
- Fights not too long: Most UFC fights are decided within 10-15 minutes, which makes it one of the least time-consuming sports out there. This means there is the minimal pending time between placing your bets and their settlement.
Major UFC events in Florida
The UFC circuit makes a stop at the First Coast every year or so. Jacksonville’s VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena hosted the UFC 261 with a full capacity, welcoming more than 15,000 to the Octagon.
Batch Gastropub in Miami occasionally hosts UFC fights, while the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel in Hollywood, Florida, has held the most UFC events in the Sunshine State. The Amway Center in Orlando featured the UFC event with the biggest attendance in Florida back in 2014, with more than 17,000 fans.
Florida has been host to 17 UFC events thus far with only three of them being pay-per-view.
UFC Vegas odds vs. Florida sportsbook odds
Las Vegas has long been the gold standard for bookmaking, but Sin City doesn’t hold a monopoly over the sports betting industry anymore. The UFC odds offered by local sportsbooks don’t differ much from Vegas odds.
You could come across certain deviations from this trend, but in general, sports betting juggernauts like DraftKings or FanDuel generate similar lines to those of Nevada-based books. That said, the prices may vary from time to time, in response to the changes in betting volumes, so it’s always a good idea to shop for odds to make sure you are getting the biggest value for your money.
UFC live betting
A sport as fast-paced as the UFC is a perfect match for live betting. It gives you the option of placing bets on fights after the first punch has been thrown. Line and odds movements occur in between the rounds, so you’ll have time to knock out some smart picks. The most common types of in-play UFC bets are the moneyline, method of victory, and round bets.
A great aspect of live betting, or “micro” betting, is that it allows you to take different sides from your original bets to protect your investment. For instance, if you placed a bet on Jon Jones, who was a massive favorite going into the fight, and he gets off to a lackluster start, you can back his opponent to protect your original wager.
Most sportsbooks offer standalone iPhone and Android apps, which will make it easier for you to stay on top of things, such as odds fluctuations. An added bonus is that you can bet from anywhere in Florida via the apps, as long as you remain within state boundaries.
Sportsbook rules for UFC betting
Each Florida sportsbook has its proprietary house rules that pertain to all wagering activity on UFC events. Given that UFC is by nature a straightforward betting sport, there isn’t much disparity in terms of how each site handles the fights. Here are the main rules you should know:
- In case of a draw or no contest, all bets made on that fight are usually void.
- In the event that the fight doesn’t take place on the scheduled date, most sportsbooks will cancel the bets.
- If one of the fighters gets disqualified, bets on that bout are void.
Betting on other MMA brands
The UFC is the pinnacle of MMA and the main reason why the sports’ popularity has exploded over the past few years. That said, there are a few other brands (leagues) within the MMA that you can bet on at Florida sportsbooks. These include Bellator and PFL, which host fights across the country.
DraftKings offers odds on Dana White’s Contender Series, which is basically a small fight night between up-and-coming fighters, with some of the winners potentially getting a chance to compete in the UFC.