Best UFC/MMA Sportsbooks in Ghana (2023)

A Guide to Betting on the UFC From Ghana

Fighting games are becoming increasingly popular not only in the world but in Africa. In particular, Ghanaians are not left behind as they watch fighting games and support their favorite athletes in the fighting scenes. One of the most popular fighting games today is MMA. MMA stands for Mixed Martial Arts, a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling, and ground fighting, incorporating techniques from various combat sports worldwide. The engagement between fighters is extreme and dangerous; therefore, fighters undergo intense training to become competent and competitive in these fields. 

Like boxing, professional MMA fights have weight classes, such as super heavyweight, heavyweight, welterweight, and lightweight. People are therefore limited to contesting against opponents of their similar class. Many people confuse MMA with the UFC; however, the two are different. MMA is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling, and ground fighting, incorporating techniques from various combat sports worldwide. In contrast, the UFC is an institution that organizes the best MMA fights.

The UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) is an American Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) based in Las Vegas, Nevada, and is the most popular MMA professional championship in the world. Bettors in Ghana can explore the best netting sites and bet on the best fights from the UFC. 

MMA fighting rules

Before betting on MMA games, it is important to understand the game's rules so that it becomes easier for you to analyze players, championships, and the possibility of a player winning a combat contest. MMA involves aggressive kicking and boxing, as well as close contact. However, the following techniques are not allowed in MMA: 

• No groin attacks.
• No knees to the head on a grounded opponent.
• No strikes to the back of the head or the spine.
• No head butts.
• No eye gouging.
• No fish hooking.
• No fingers in an opponent’s orifices.
• No biting.
• No hair pulling. 
• No strikes or grabbing of the throat.
• No manipulation of the fingers or toes.
• No intentional grabbing of the ring or cage.
• No intentional throwing off your opponent outside of the ring or cage.

Furthermore, the following instances determine the end of an MMA fight: 

• Decision. If a fight lasts all rounds, the outcome is decided by three judges. Each fighting promotion has its unique point system.
• Disqualification (DQ). Think of this as a "three strikes, and you're out" policy. Each time a fighter engages in an illegal move, they receive a warning. After three warnings, they're disqualified. A DQ can also be called if a fighter has been injured by an illegal move that seemed intentional.
• Forfeit. If the fighters are injured, a fighter can announce a forfeit before a match begins.
• Knockout (KO). A knockout is when a fighter loses consciousness thanks to their opponent’s strikes.
• No contest. No contest is rarely called in MMA fights. If both fighters violate the rules or an unintentional illegal action injures a fighter, a no-contest call can result.
• Submission. If one fighter achieves a submission hold, the fighter trapped in the hold can call defeat by tapping out on the opponent's body or the mat or by making a verbal announcement. Some defeated fighters fail to tap out and become incapacitated. In such cases, the referee calls an end to the fight.
• Technical knockout (TKO). A technical knockout, when a fight is ended by the referee, doctor, or fighter’s corner, can be called in a few ways. The referee can call one when a fighter is no longer defending themself, usually due to an effective attack by their opponent.

These rules will help you understand how you can bet on MMA fights. 

MMA weight classes

Regardless of where a person is fighting under MMA, weight rules apply, whereby a person of a certain weight must fight some similar weight. Such people are categorized into weight classes, and weight is measured in pounds (lbs). The following tables distinguish the weight classes of males and females: 

Female weight classes 

Class - Weight Range

• Flyweight - up to 95 lbs
• Bantamweight - 95.1-105 lbs
• Featherweight - 105.1-115 lbs
• Lightweight - 115.1-125 lbs
• Welterweight - 125.1-135 lbs
• Middleweight - 135.1-145 lbs
• Light heavyweight - 145.1-155 lbs
• Cruiserweight - 155.1-165 lbs
• Heavyweight - 165.1-185 lbs
• Super heavyweight - over 185 lbs

Male weight classes

Class - Weight Range

• Flyweight - Up to 105 lbs
• Super flyweight - 105.1-115 lbs
• Bantamweight - 115.1-125 lbs
• Super bantamweight - 125.1-135 lbs
• Featherweight - 135.1-145 lbs
• Lightweight 145.1-155
• Super lightweight - 155.1-165 lbs
• Welterweight - 165.1-175 lbs
• Super welterweight - 175.1-185 lbs
• Middleweight - 185.1-195 lbs
• Super middleweight - 195.1-205 lbs
• Light heavyweight - 205.1-225 lbs
• Heavyweight - 225.1-265 lbs
• Super heavyweight - over 265 lbs

UFC betting in Ghana

When it comes to betting on the UFC, most bettors will be looking to place a wager on the outcome of a fight. Whether that is by betting on a certain fighter to win, known as a Moneyline bet, or another popular market Method of Victory, whereby you wager on a fighter to win and also the method in which they win by from Knockout/Technical knockout, submission or decision. You can also bet on rounds in which the fight will end, a fighter to win in a certain round, or on the over/under line for the total rounds.

UFC Betting Markets

Moneyline

Moneyline betting is where people start, particularly those new to UFC betting. The simplest form of betting on UFC predictions is placing a bet on a contest's outright winner. Unlike other combat sports such as boxing, Moneyline odds remain a valuable option as the explosive nature of UFC fights, where anything can happen, keeps the odds for most fights too short.

Method of Victory

Method of victory is a market that will be offered in all of the big UFC bouts. Method of Victory is often one of the most talked-about aspects of a matchup leading up to the fight and thus a popular betting choice. The method you can place a bet on is for a fighter to win by Knockout/Technical knockout or disqualification, submission, or Judges Decision.

UFC fights are all about matchups; so many disciplines are combined into the UFC, with different fighters possessing different strengths. Some fighters will excel in their striking; others will be of a wrestling or jiu-jitsu background and excel on the ground. Knowing the fighter is key in these markets, with power strikers more likely to win by KO/TKO, and grapplers could favor a submission attempt; likewise, two contrasting styles could see the fight going all the way to the judge's scorecard. 

Round Betting

Round betting is a popular way to wager a bet on something with greater odds than a Moneyline bet. You are placing a bet on a certain fighter to win in a specific round. With some fights three rounds and championship bouts lasting five rounds, the odds will vary depending on the length of the fight. It's a popular betting method, particularly with a strong favorite, with bettors taking Rounds 1 or 2, assuming they’ll get the job done early.

Some online sportsbooks will also offer Round Ranges whereby you can select a fighter to win within a range of rounds, usually rounds 1-2 or 3 decisions in shorter fights and rounds 1-3 or 3-5 in championship fights.

Total rounds

Total Rounds is an over/under market where you can bet on how many rounds the fight will last. The line set on fights is usually universally +/- 1.5 rounds in 3 round fights and +/- 2.5 rounds in five-round fights.

To go the distance

A market not always offered by bookmakers, but one that DraftKings, in particular, likes to offer. A simple yes or no pick, whether you think the fighters will hear the final bell or not. You're not betting on a specific fighter but merely the fight distance itself. If you bet no, a victory by TKO/KO/DQ or submission by either fighter makes it a winning selection.

Future Fights

UFC cards are announced in advance, and online sportsbooks will price up fights, particularly the headline fights, in many cases over a month before they take place. Early betting on fights can be a profitable strategy as the odds are likely to change closer to the fight, with public opinion forming and lowering the price of a particular fighter.

Futures

While in the UFC, there are no traditional Futures markets such as championships or leagues to be won, they schedule fights months in advance. As such, markets for future fights tend to go up very early, and it can be profitable to bet early before the public money comes and reduces the odds of a particular fighter. In contrast, you can also bet too early if the public money comes for the other fighter; the odds may be bigger on fight night. 

UFC Betting Tips:

Styles make fights

Irrespective of how experienced you may or may not be as a UFC bettor, one of the most important factors in betting smarter is understanding the fighters. Watching fights and doing your research comes over time, but understanding each fighter's strengths, styles, and weaknesses allows you to determine how a fight will unfold and whom that favors. Irrespective of how experienced you may or may not be as a UFC bettor, one of the most important factors in betting smarter is understanding the fighters. 

As the name mixed martial arts suggests, it is a mixture of many different combat disciplines, including Boxing, Muay Thai, Wrestling, Judo, and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, to name a few. As such, fighters will bring different combat backgrounds and styles to the fight, with each fighter having strengths and weaknesses across the disciplines.

Suppose you have a matchup with an unorthodox, gifted striker like Jon Jones, who has a tremendous take-down defense, against someone like Daniel Cormier, who excels on the ground. In that case, you can expect Cormier to respect Jones' range and early strike early while attempting to slow the fight down on the ground. With Jones also happier to control the tempo and fight at a range, an early finish was never likely in their matchups.

Be wary of heavy favorites

UFC is a volatile sport, and with the high-octane action in the octagon, anything can happen in the blink of an eye. As such, upsets are not uncommon in the UFC, with favorites winning less than 70% of the time in title fights. With upsets on the cards and low odds on heavy favorites, it's difficult to make a profit over time, as it can take multiple winning selections to recover the losses of one fight. The UFC has a great following, and public money isn't always the most informed money, so you can often see a favorite far shorter than it should be, offering no value.

Don’t ignore the undercards

While betting on the main event is not bad, don't overlook the fights beforehand. Those new to the sport, in particular, will rush straight to the main event, with the big stars and names doing battle, attracting all the attention. The undercard fights attract less attention from fans and bookmakers, so do your research, check out the replays of lesser-known fighters, and you can unearth some hidden gems, usually at greater odds.

If betting on favorites, consider a Parlay bet

Favorites do still win. Despite not always being the best value option on the Moneyline, they still come good for bettors. A Parlay bet is one single bet on multiple matches; all of your selections must win for the Parlay bet to win. The positive, however, is the increased odds with your single stake rolling onto all of the selections winning; the odds are multiplied. With multiple fights on a card at each UFC event, a Parlay bet could be a profitable option if you like a few favorites to get the job done.

Fight Week clues

One of the great strengths of the UFC during its meteoric rise in recent years has been access to which the media get. Fighters are made available to the media so that the fight week can give many clues about the fighters heading into the bout. Press conferences – read the reports or watch the press conferences during fight week. While fighters won’t be giving away their entire strategy pre-fight, they’ll allude to their training camps, what they've worked on, and how they've felt, and you can use this to build your picture of the fight. 

Weigh-in – Weight-cutting is common practice in the UFC, but some weight cuts are easier than others; seeing the shape of a fighter at the weigh-in can be a great indicator of their performance output the following day. If a fighter struggles to make weight, it could indicate a tough preparation, and they may not be in their best shape heading into the contest.