UFC betting has surpassed boxing as the sport for bettors that like fighting. The Ultimate Fighting Championship was started in 1993 although UFC odds have only been around for the past few years. Let’s see how UFC betting evolved and where it started.
UFC betting odds will have a number of bouts on the card. Most sportsbooks did not really recognize Ultimate Fighting as a major sport until just recently.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship debuted on November 12, 1993 and was later referred to as UFC 1. That tournament featured masters in kickboxing, karate, boxing, jiu-jitsu and wrestling. Royce Gracie won that first tournament defeating Gerard Gordeau. The early events had no weight classes. That changed with UFC 12 and more changes resulted. Early UFC tournaments were not regulated and didn’t have UFC odds. The UFC eventually had more rules and regulations and started looking like a real sport.
UFC really took off when Spike TV started televising the events. Bettors like to watch their action and until UFC action was on TV most sportsbooks took little notice of it. Once bettors started seeing it on TV, UFC odds began to be posted on major events. When the UFC went to pay-per-view TV broadcasts the UFC options increased again. Today, UFC lines are becoming more and more popular.
UFC lines are available on major events and on other major fights. There was a time when only the big UFC tournaments would see UFC odds but now there are so many events that are under the MMA umbrella that you will see UFC betting odds on a bigger variety of events. UFC odds will continue to gain popularity as more events are on TV and more people learn about the sport. Mixed martial arts fighting has overtaken boxing in popularity and it has also overtaken boxing betting as UFC odds are the ones talked about today. Take a look at UFC betting odds for the next major Ultimate fighting event.