UFC Betting In Colorado
UFC Betting In Colorado
UFC betting is now available in Colorado and, considering this is the birthplace of the UFC, expect betting on the UFC to be as popular here as anywhere in the US.
As experienced sports bettors will tell you, betting on the UFC takes the action in the octagon to an entirely new level. You can bets each fight on the card or simply pick your spots for the ones you find the most intriguing.
If you haven’t experienced the thrill of betting on UFC yet, we cover everything you need to know right here, starting with the best CO sportsbooks to get a UFC bet down at.
Bet UFC at legal sports betting sites in Colorado
Best UFC betting apps
If you want to bet on the UFC on your phone in Colorado, here are your top apps for UFC lines & odds.
1. DraftKings Sportsbook App
You might know DraftKings as a Daily Fantasy Sports brand but it’s also now one of the top sportsbooks operating in several states. Users who sign up via our exclusive links gain access to some great bonus perks including a $50 bonus bet when you make your first deposit of at least $5.
UFC lines you can find on the DraftKings app include:
- Fight lines (moneyline, total rounds, go the distance)
- Winning method (KO, submission, decision, etc)
- Round betting
Claim your $50 bonus and bet UFC in Colorado at DraftKings
2. FanDuel Sportsbook App
Another DFS titan has quickly leapt to the head of the pack in sports betting and garnered rave reviews while doing so. Create your account via our links and you’ll qualify for a no sweat first bet up to $1,000. UFC lines you can find on the FanDuel app include:
- Fight lines
- Winning method (KO, submission, decision, etc)
Also of note are FanDuels UFC boosts with boosted odds on particular fights or outcomes. Check the full range of UFC boosts at FanDuel here:
How UFC betting works
UFC betting is fairly simple. You can place bets on who you think will win a fight, how the fight will end and how long it will last. Other more intricate props and in-fight betting options may also be available. The following basic MMA bets will be offered at most Colorado sportsbooks for UFC fights:
Moneylines
Moneylines work a lot like moneyline bets in other sports. Sportsbooks post odds for each fighter based on his or her likelihood of winning. They’ll post either a negative or positive number by the fighter’s name. It’s negative for the favorite and positive for the underdog.
It’s up to you to pick the fighter you think will win and lock in your bet at the odds posted at the time. For example, most sportsbooks had the UFC 229 fight between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor moneyline at Nurmagomedov -170 and McGregor +140.
In other words, you would have had to bet $170 on Nurmagomedov to win $100 plus your $170 bet back. Every $100 bet on McGregor would have made you $140 plus your bet back if McGregor won. Nurmagomedov won with a fourth-round submission.
Total rounds
Total rounds are a lot like the over/under, or totals, in other sports. Sportsbooks post a line on the number of rounds a fight is projected to last. You bet on whether the actual number of rounds will be over or under that number. It doesn’t matter who wins, just when the fight ends.
Winning method
Most Colorado sportsbooks will also allow you to bet on how a fight will be won. These winning method bets are unique to MMA fights. UFC fights are won one of three ways: knockout, submission or judge’s decision. It doesn’t matter who wins, you just pick one of the three ways you think the fight will end and bet on it at posted moneyline odds.
- Fight to go the distance: A simple Yes or No question on whether or not the fight will go the distance. Ex. Yes +110, No -130.
- Fighter to win in a specific round: A bet on a fighter to win the match in a specific round. Ex. Amanda Nunes in Round 1 +130, Round 2 +120, Round 3 +110.
- Fighter to win in range of rounds: A bet in which you try to zero in on when you think the fight will end. Ex. Round 1-2 +120, Round 2-3 +100.
Parlays
UFC events involve fight cards with a number of different fights. Parlays involve the combination of two or more basic UFC bets into one. That means bets on the different fights, or different lines within a single fight.
Parlays pay better than individual bets because you have to win every bet that is a part of the parlay to get paid anything at all.
Live betting on UFC fights
Some Colorado sportsbooks will also offer live or in-fight betting on UFC fights. This allows you to make various bets on lines that are adjusted as the action continues in the middle of a fight.
The UFC also launched its own in-fight betting product in late 2019. UFC Event Center allows participating sportsbooks to offer more than 50 new betting opportunities inside matches. This includes things like knockdowns, submissions, takedown attempts and takedowns landed.
The UFC provides participating sportsbooks with real-time data during UFC events to track these in-fight bets.
In-fight betting can be done with a smartphone or tablet and a Colorado sports betting app from anywhere you are inside the state. This makes it one of the most convenient ways to bet on the UFC.
It allows you to hedge your bets or make up for increasingly obvious pre-fight betting mistakes. Plus, in-fight betting can increase your engagement with a UFC event, making otherwise insignificant undercard fights infinitely more interesting to you as you wait for the main event.
Bet UFC on legal betting sites
Sports betting is legal in Colorado, which means you can bet on UFC fights at licensed retail and online and mobile sportsbooks across the state.
Legal and regulated Colorado sportsbooks, particularly those participating with the UFC Event Center in-fight betting product, can offer more UFC betting lines than ever.
That’s because the UFC provides these operators with real-time data before, during and after UFC events. More data equals more betting markets and trusted outcomes for your bets.
Offshore and illegal sportsbooks cannot compete with that, making legal and regulated Colorado sportsbooks your best UFC betting option.
Plus, legal and regulated Colorado sportsbooks provide better customer service, and security for your money guaranteed by state regulation. Plus the same safe and trusted banking options you use for everything else in your life every day.
You may have been betting on the UFC with offshore and illegal sportsbooks for years, but now is the time to take the more robust, safer, more secure and trustworthy option legal and regulated Colorado sportsbooks can offer you.
- Claim your $50 bonus bet and bet UFC at DraftKings Colorado
- Claim an up to $1,000 no sweat first bet and bet UFC at FanDuel Colorado
UFC betting tips
UFC betting can be a lot of fun, but the experience is enhanced infinitely when you win. There’s no substitute for watching UFC fights and studying the sport, but the following basic UFC betting tips can help you go from guessing to making informed and educated UFC bets.
- Know the fighters: UFC fighters are divided up by weight class, but there are many other differences between competitors you need to consider. Give yourself a slight edge by carefully considering the fighters involved. Look at injury history and if a fighter has dropped or gained weight to qualify for a fight. Plus, look at fighting styles; study what style works against others and if a fighter really has the skills to beat his or her next opponent.
- Go the distance: While you’re studying the style of the fighters, consider a total rounds bet. Is a fighter a defensive expert who will go the distance most times or an aggressive fighter likely to either win quick or burn out fast? Fights between two combatants that play a lot of defense usually last awhile. Two aggressive fighters facing off could be done in under a minute.
- Consider history: If you want to bet on the winning method, look at the history of the fighters involved. Two fighters who go the distance more often than not are probably headed to a judge’s decision. Two strikers with a history of knockout wins will probably not. Look for the submission experts too, because UFC fighters almost always play to type.
- Find the discipline: Study fighting discipline. UFC fighters are typically experts in one or two fighting disciplines. By familiarizing yourself with the different fighting disciplines UFC fighters employ, you can determine which one beats the other most often. Break it down and you’ll find most fights play out like they’re expected to and you can pick winners by discipline alone.
The biggest UFC fights of all time
1. UFC 193 Holly Holm vs. Ronda Rousey: Nov. 14, 2015
Ronda Rousey was the UFC’s biggest star in 2015. She was undefeated as a fighter and spent her off days starring in various movies and TV shows.
She proved female fighters could more than carry a UFC card when her main event versus Holly Holm drew a record 56,000-plus to Etihad Stadium in Melbourne, Australia, for UFC 193.
The moneyline had Rousey -900 vs. Holm +600, making Rousey a huge favorite. Rousey came out aggressive but was held back by Holm’s southpaw boxing ability. Round two looked similar until Holm landed a straight left to the chin and a massive kick to the side of Rousey’s neck, knocking her out and giving Rousey her first ever UFC loss.
2. UFC 229 Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Conor McGregor: Oct. 6, 2018
UFC Lightweight Champion Khabib Nurmagomedov put his title and undefeated record on the line taking on former featherweight and lightweight champion Conor McGregor to headline UFC 229 in Las Vegas. The 2.4 million pay-per-view buys for this one set a record.
McGregor had grown into pro fighting’s biggest star following his boxing match with Floyd Mayweather Jr., but Nurmagomedov at -170 was still the favorite over McGregor at +140. Nurmagomedov threw more strikes and landed significantly more before submitting McGregor with an over-the-chin rear-naked choke in the fourth round.
A brawl broke out right after the fight when Nurmagomedov climbed out of the octagon and went after McGregor’s cornerman. The cornerman had reportedly been directing racial slurs at Nurmagomedov.
McGregor tried to climb out as well, but ended up in a fight inside the ring with Nurmagomedov’s cornermen. Both fighters received suspensions. Nurmagomedov was fined $500,000 and McGregor $50,000.
3. UFC 202: Nate Diaz vs. Conor McGregor 2: Aug. 20, 2016
The UFC put the Diaz vs. McGregor rematch on top of its list of the top 25 fights of all time immediately after it concluded.
UFC 202 set the record for the most pay-per-view buys at the time at 1.65 million, and the headlining welterweight rematch between The Ultimate Fighter 5 winner and former lightweight title challenger Diaz and UFC Featherweight Champion McGregor did not disappoint.
The two had met at UFC 196 with Diaz submitting McGregor with a rear-naked choke in the second round. However, the odds on the rematch were a tight McGregor -130 and Diaz +100. This time it went the distance, with McGregor winning in a controversial majority judge’s decision. Both men fought valiantly, and the match became an instant UFC classic.
History of the UFC
The UFC began with an eight-man tournament in Denver on Nov. 12, 1993. Experts in various fighting disciplines fought one another in an octagon-shaped cage to try to determine which martial art was superior. Brazilian jiujitsu master Royce Gracie beat three opponents that night to win the first ever UFC event.
Early UFC events continued to use this format. There were no weight classes or time limits, and few rules. That changed slowly over the next seven years with weight classes, rounds and judges’ decisions added.
The fighters put on gloves, and a set of unified MMA rules was finally established in 2000, making UFC fights more like sanctioned matches combining elements of boxing, wrestling and martial arts than the no-holds-barred brawls they were previously.
Station Casinos executives Frank Fertitta III and Lorenzo Fertitta bought the UFC for $2 million in 2001. They named Dana White president and established a sports promotion company named Zuffa to run the organization. This team spent the next 15 years growing the sport and the UFC brand by creating and promoting a series of increasingly talented UFC stars.
Zuffa and the UFC were purchased by a group led by Endeavor (formerly William Morris Endeavor Entertainment) for $4.025 billion in July 2016, a testament to the incredible job White and the Fertitta brothers had done growing and promoting the brand.
The UFC and MMA fighting went from obscure and barely legal fighting contests to the world’s fastest-growing sport and have finally been firmly established as one of the world’s most popular sports.
The popularity of a number of superstar fighters continues to drive the UFC’s growth and increased popularity.
The UFC has now produced over 500 events across the globe and continues to drive unmatched pay-per-view numbers for its biggest fights. UFC betting has helped grow interest in the sport in recent years and continues to grow in popularity as legal UFC betting spreads to more and more states.
Continued UFC growth
The popularity of the sport and the UFC has grown immensely over the past 20 years. A sports promotion company called Zuffa was founded in January 2001 by the Fertitta brothers to be the parent company of the UFC when they bought the entity for $2 million. Dana White has been UFC president since that time. However, Zuffa and the UFC were purchased by a group led by Endeavor (formerly William Morris Endeavor Entertainment) for $4.025 billion in July 2016.
The increase in value from $2 million to $4 billion is what people talk about anytime a discussion about the growth of the UFC ensues The sport’s popularity grew in the mid-2000s to the point where it was considered more popular than the NHL or NASCAR. It was considered the world’s fastest-growing sport, and it is now firmly established as one of the world’s most popular sports thanks to the growing popularity of several superstar fighters who have emerged over the past decade.
This includes Conor McGregor and Ronda Rousey. McGregor vs. Nate Diaz at UFC 202 on Aug. 20, 2016, pulled in a record of 1.65 million pay-per-view buys. His fight against Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 229 on Oct. 6, 2018, beat that record, hitting 2.4 million pay-per-view buys.
McGregor vs. Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone in January 2020 also reached two million PPV buys. McGregor beat ‘Cowboy’ in just 40 seconds, but few, if any, asked for a refund.
UFC 193 at Etihad Stadium in Melbourne, Australia, on Nov. 14, 2015, headlined by Rousey vs. Holly Holm, holds the record for the largest live UFC attendance at 56,214.
The UFC remains the premier organization in MMA. Other US fighting organizations, including Bellator MMA and smaller regional MMA organizations, continue to host fight cards across the country, but none have come close to matching the popularity of the UFC.
UFC FAQ
The UFC is now owned by a group of investors led by Endeavor, formerly known as William Morris Endeavor Entertainment, WME or WME-IMG, a private holding company for talent and media agencies based in Beverly Hills, California.
The group bought the UFC from Station Casinos executives Frank Fertitta III and Lorenzo Fertitta for $4.025 billion in July 2016.
UFC stands for Ultimate Fighting Championship. This is a testament to the UFC’s origins. It started with an eight-man one-night tournament bringing experts in various fighting disciplines together to try to determine which martial art was superior.
You sure can. In fact, DraftKings offers one of the widest range of UFC betting options on the market. This includes everything from moneylines to total rounds, and winning method bets. DraftKings Sportsbook also offers UFC parlays, futures, props and live/in-fight betting options, allowing you to bet on fighters in the middle of matches at odds that change with the action.
DraftKings Sportsbook is one of the best places to bet on the UFC in Colorado.
UFC fighters at the top of the game can make a couple hundred thousand just for fighting and double that if they win.
UFC superstars who draw big crowds and push huge pay-per-view numbers make even more. Conor McGregor broke the record for the largest payday ever in the UFC when he took home $3 million from UFC 202.
That seems to be his number now, as McGregor also took home $3 million from UFC 246. Not bad for a 40-second fight. ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone was paid $200,000 and would have doubled that if he won.
The top online and mobile sportsbooks in Colorado allow all kinds of MMA betting. That means they post odds for various events beyond the UFC. This includes Bellator fights and any others coming from reputable fight companies who provide fight data that can be trusted.
Bellator is second behind UFC in terms of UFC MMA interest, but finding betting action isn’t quite as easy. It really depends on the book. If you click on the MMA section at legal sportsbooks, you’ll see a listing of all upcoming fights for which they are taking action.
The UFC has a number of different events over the course of the calendar year, and the number of fights on each will vary. In general, there’s usually a Fight Night or two per month, as well as a bigger card for PPV or ESPN+. Back in 2019, there were more than 40 total UFC events.
Back in 2015, the Fertitta brothers sold the UFC for over $4 billion to a group of partners led by Endeavor Group Holdings. After signing with ESPN, UFC president Dana White estimated that the brand’s valuation was in the ballpark of $7 billion.
If a fight goes to the scorecards and winds up as a draw, this will result in what’s known as a push for standard moneyline bets. In a nutshell, that means that the bet is off and all wagers will be refunded.
According to the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts, there are 14 recognized weight classes. Here they are with the limits for each.
- Super Heavyweight – NA
- Heavyweight – 265 lbs.
- Cruiserweight – 225 lbs.
- Light Heavyweight – 205 lbs.
- Super Middleweight – 195 lbs.
- Middleweight – 185 lbs.
- Super Welterweight – 175 lbs.
- Welterweight – 170 lbs.
- Super Lightweight – 165 lbs.
- Lightweight – 155 lbs.
- Featherweight – 145 lbs.
- Bantamweight – 135 lbs.
- Flyweight – 125 lbs.
- Strawweight – 115 lbs.