In-Play vs Pre-Fight Betting: What’s Best For MMA & Boxing

Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) and boxing are the two most popular combat sports in the world, and some of the most wagered on too. Despite being so physical, these sports enjoy a fair share of avid fans and bettors, especially every time a big fight is held.

Talking about betting, you may know that you can place a bet on your favorite champs either before or during the fight. However, many people can still be baffled by whichever is the best time for them to place their bet – if it’s before or during the match.

If you’re one of those who wonder, keep reading as we identify what’s the best time for you to bet on MMA and/or boxing.

Pre-fight betting
Pre-fight or pre-match betting is placed before the event starts. For instance, if there’s an MMA match that will happen on Thursday, you should already place your bet by Wednesday (or earlier) if you don’t want your bet to be void.

The main thing about placing your bet before the contest is that you should know about the fighter you’re betting on. You should know his strengths and weaknesses, as well as his performances in his previous matches.

One of the reasons why some people opt to place pre-fight bets is that the odds are less likely to change as there’s nothing major that may influence the odds of either team winning, other than the people placing bets.

The only thing that could reduce your odds is when changes occur or something happens to the athletes during the actual game.

For example, if the MMA fighter or the boxer decides he can no longer carry on with the outing or if he’s knocked out his opponent, you obviously wouldn’t win if you bet on him. No matter how much you researched and learned how good the fighter was during his previous matches, everything becomes of no importance.

Remember that while there are judges in both MMA and boxing, the players still hold your luck as they are scored according to their performance.

In-play MMA betting
In-play betting, or also known as live MMA betting, is when you place a bet during an actual match. It is popular among sports like MMA, football and boxing.

What makes many people love this type of betting is that they will already have an idea of who is in the lead so they’ll know who to bet on. It takes away the need to study statistics or the standing of the fighter/team prior to the game.

Wherever or whenever you’re able to place your bet, you should already know that there could be odds that you may already have determined before the event. However, build-up may occur that would flip the circumstances and significantly change the outcomes of the fight.

Such circumstances usually happen, which would make you wish you’d opted to bet during the game rather than placing the wager before the event. That’s how generally in-play betting becomes an advantage compared to betting prior to the match.

When should I bet on MMA and boxing?
Since MMA and boxing are unpredictable (except of course if the speculations are true that some contests  are fixed), your odds of winning may be higher if you place your bet during the match.

In fact, live betting is one of the most popular ways of betting as it gives several strong advantages that can help you decide who has the highest chances of winning between the two fighters. You can just watch and enjoy the face offs as they unfold and use your instant judgment rather than relying solely on previous matches and the players’ statistics.

As we’ve said, odds may change a lot more while the match is ongoing which means it could be easier for you to find the value when odds drift. Not just that, you can also find many bookies that offer in-play betting, including free bets, money-back specials, and price boosts.

The only major disadvantage of placing your bet live is that odds may change too frequently to the extent that you may find it hard to place your bets. Bookies may also add a delay to bet requests for a few seconds. If the odds quickly change during that time, your bet will be rejected.

Given the advantages and disadvantages of either form of betting, it could be evident that live betting wins this time. With its very strong advantages compared to pre-fight betting, your odds of winning are a step higher.

However, that shouldn’t stop you from trying either way so you’ll know for yourself and gauge which one you think works best for you. Oddly enough, some people think placing a bet prior to the start of the match works better for them. Given that construct, the decision is therefore in your hands.