UFC 100 Draws Unusual Amount of Betting Action

Earlier in the week, Gambling911.com featured a story on how Mixed Martial Arts and - more specifically UFC - betting could get hot.

Matt Youmans of the Las Vegas Review Journal spoke to a number of Las Vegas oddsmakers who claimed that, while the UFC continues to gain steam, it is probably less than 1 percent of Nevada's overall sports betting handle.

Las Vegas Hilton sports book director Jay Kornegay called the 1 percent estimate mostly accurate but deceiving.

The Venetian sports book oddsmaker, Rob Akers, told the LVRJ that the demand for UFC betting events is growing.

"When we first started doing it, we were only putting up the main event. Now, every two or three weeks, we're putting up five or six of the fights because the books are asking for more." Perhaps most important of all when it comes to MMA betting is the payout potential.

Gambling911.com hasn't witnessed a whole lot of traffic related to UFC betting during recent events despite almost always enjoying some of the best rankings in search.

"It's one of those things where you can just feel a breakout coming but it hasn't happened just yet," says Gambling911.com Senior Editor, Payton O'Brien, who has monitored UFC betting traffic for some time now. 

UFC 100, which takes place this evening in Las Vegas, appears to be a whole different animal.

"We're getting a whole lot more search traffic for UFC 100 betting odds than with any previous MMA event," O'Brien acknowledged.  "People are definitely looking for good numbers and preparing to bet on these events."

All of Gambling911.com's sponsors were offering UFC betting odds, some featuring better payout odds on specific fights. 

"It's somewhat unexpected to see this event performing as well as it is," O'Brien said. 

Online bookmakers are taking bets as small as $10 on UFC 100.  Some of the underdogs pay up to $400 for every $100 bet depending on the online sportsbook. 

While not Earth shattering, O'Brien estimates that UFC 100 betting traffic will be double that of previous UFC events. 

UFC 100 wagering compliments the action coming in on the 2009 British Open, which begins Thursday.  Other than that, American football (both NFL and College) bets don't really start flowing in until August, thus making January one of the slowest betting months of the year both in the U.S. and worldwide. 

Christopher Costigan, Gambling911.com Publisher