Despite major setbacks, closure orders and cancellations, UFC boss Dana White has pushed hard to keep UFC events running throughout 2020 and into 2021. So far, so good, with major fight cards coming off every month with few hitches.
UFC 257 will be held Saturday, Jan. 23 at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. If you want to bet on UFC 257 or any other upcoming UFC fight, here’s how you can right here in New Jersey.
If you plan to bet on any UFC event with your phone or tablet, DraftKings, FanDuel and BetMGM are your best options.
DraftKings Sportsbook offers a huge range of UFC betting options, including:
The DraftKings app is available for iPhone and Android devices.
FanDuel Sportsbook offers basic UFC fight wagering, including individual fight moneylines posted well ahead of every UFC event.
Plus, FanDuel often runs promotions surrounding the biggest UFC fights. Anyone who bet $10 on McGregor versus Cerrone at UFC 246 in January, for example, got a $120 bonus when McGregor won in just 40 seconds.
The FanDuel Sportsbook app is available for both Apple iOS and Android devices.
BetMGM is built for combat sports like the UFC, offering a wide range of event-specific UFC bets and more. That means BetMGM is a place you can bet on everything from the winner of a fight, to the round in which he or she will get it done, the total number of rounds a match will go and the method of victory.
Live UFC in-fight betting is also available. The BetMGM app is available for both Apple and Android devices.
UFC 257 betting lines and odds are available at all legal NJ online sportsbooks and sportsbook apps.
For all up to date main card and prelim odds, check DraftKings Sportsbook.
Headline fights for UFC 257 have been announced and will feature:
Odds are as of Dec. 19 from FanDuel Sportsbook NJ.
See the full UFC 257 fight card and current odds at DraftKings here:
UFC 257 will be a pay-per-view event available across the country. Here’s a look at where you can watch:
Basic UFC betting is straightforward. You can bet on who you think will win a fight, how the fight will end and how long it will last. More advanced props and in-fight bets are also available.
Here’s a look at the basic UFC bets available at NJ online sportsbooks:
Many NJ online and mobile sports betting apps allow you to bet live on UFC fights. This is called live or “in play” betting, and it allows you to make bets on lines that are adjusted as the action continues in the middle of a UFC fight.
In fact, the UFC launched its in-fight betting product in late 2019. UFC Event Centre allows participating sportsbooks to offer more than 50 new betting opportunities inside fights, including bets on knockdowns, submissions, takedown attempts and takedowns landed.
The UFC provides sports betting operators with real-time data during events to track these in-fight bets.
In-fight betting is best with a mobile device because of the continually changing nature of the odds. That means you can wager from anywhere you are inside NJ state lines using an online and mobile sports betting app.
Of course, this makes live and in-fight betting one of the most convenient ways to bet on the UFC. Plus, it gives you a chance to hedge your bets or make up for pre-fight betting mistakes.
In-play betting hasn’t previously accounted for more than 8% of all UFC wagers, but that’s certainly about to change. Download any of the sports betting apps listed above to take full advantage of UFC 249 live betting.
New Jersey spent almost a decade fighting to bring legal sports betting to the Garden State. The state’s first effort to pass sports betting legislation started in 2009 and morphed into a court battle pitting former NJ Gov. Chris Christie against the five largest US sports leagues: the NCAA, NBA, NFL, NHL and MLB.
NJ argued sports betting should be a matter of states’ rights under the 10th Amendment. The leagues claimed the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) of 1992 prohibited state-regulated sports betting.
NJ passed another sports betting bill in 2012, and the leagues filed an injunction stopping it. New Jersey lost its initial district court battle and two more in the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. However, the state appealed to the US Supreme Court, and in 2017, it agreed to hear the case. Finally, on May 14, 2018, the Supreme Court decided in favor of New Jersey, striking PASPA down.
Less than a month later, Gov. Phil Murphy signed an updated NJ sports betting bill into law. Legal sports betting launched in NJ in June 2018. It allowed for betting on all UFC events going forward.
Sports betting has only been legal in New Jersey since 2018, which means you may have been betting on UFC fights at offshore and illegal sportsbooks for many years. However, there are several reasons why moving your action over to licensed online and mobile sportsbooks across the state is the better bet.
Legal and regulated NJ online and mobile sportsbooks can offer more UFC betting lines than ever. Particularly those participating with the UFC Event Centre in-fight betting product.
The UFC provides legal and licensed operators with real-time data before, during and after UFC events. That means your bets are being settled with official UFC data that you can trust is the real thing.
Legal and regulated NJ sportsbooks provide better customer service, top-notch security for your money that only state regulation can guarantee, and the same safe and trusted banking options that you use in everyday life. Add it up, and there’s no better time to take the more comprehensive, safer, secure and trustworthy betting options only legal and regulated NJ online and mobile sportsbooks can give you.
There is no secret to UFC betting success, and anyone trying to sell you one is pulling a scam. Simply, watch UFC fights and consume every bit of UFC information out there. Do that, and you’ll quickly go from guessing to making informed and educated picks.
UFC betting can be a lot of fun, but it’s even more fun when you win. Being informed and educated is the best way to succeed at UFC sports betting. The following UFC betting tips can’t hurt either:
New Jersey has a great relationship with the UFC. A total of 19 UFC events have been held in the Garden State and the state’s athletic commission played a significant role in creating unified rules for the sport.
The last time the UFC came to NJ was for the UFC on ESPN: Colby Covington vs. Robby Lawler event at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ, on Aug. 3, 2019. There’s little doubt it will soon be back. In the meantime, here’s a look at arguably the top three UFC fighters from NJ:
Station Casinos executives Frank Fertitta III and Lorenzo Fertitta bought the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) brand for $2 million in 2001. Then they launched Zuffa, a sports promotion company, to run it and installed popular fighter manager Dana White as UFC president.
When they sold Zuffa and the UFC to a group led by William Morris Endeavor Entertainment (WME) in 2016 for $4.025 billion, a couple of things were made perfectly clear: The UFC was no longer a no-holds-barred curiosity, nor was it the fastest growing sport in America.
The UFC was now firmly established as one of the world’s most popular sports franchises, producing events capable of drawing millions of eyes and generating millions of dollars.
The UFC began in 1993, trying to determine which martial art was superior through a single-elimination eight-man tournament with few rules.
Unified Mixed Martial Arts rules are adopted, the UFC stages fight in eight men’s and four women’s weight classes, and more than 500 UFC events are held worldwide. These days, the UFC is more about determining which UFC superstar can draw the most fans and pay-per-view buys than which martial art is best.
So far, the answer to these questions is Conor McGregor and Ronda Rousey.
Rousey versus Holly Holm at UFC 193 on Nov. 14, 2015, inside Etihad Stadium in Melbourne, Australia, holds the record for the largest live UFC attendance at 56,214.
McGregor versus Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 229 on Oct. 6, 2018, inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, holds the record for the number of pay-per-view buys at a whopping 2.4 million.
White is still UFC president; his promotional efforts are a major reason why the UFC is the popular multibillion-dollar enterprise it is today.
Dana White was a boxer in high school. Later, he was a college dropout and a boxercise coach before running up a debt with Boston’s Irish mob that forced him to move to Las Vegas.
White eventually landed work as a manager for fighters including Tito Ortiz and Chuck Liddell, before he helped broker the deal for the UFC between owner Bob Meyrowitz and his childhood friend Lorenzo Fertitta. He became UFC president after the Fertitta brothers bought it.
UFC fighters at the top of the game can make $200,000 just for fighting and double that if they win. There are also various fighter bonuses available on each card. The average UFC fighter annual salary is between $130,000 and $140,000 a year.
UFC superstars like Conor McGregor are in a different class since they draw big crowds and huge pay-per-view audiences. McGregor broke the record for the largest UFC payday ever, taking home $3 million from UFC 202. He made a similar $3 million from UFC 246.
Station Casinos executives Frank Fertitta III and Lorenzo Fertitta bought the UFC brand for $2 million in 2001. However, they turned it around and sold it to a group led by William Morris Endeavor Entertainment in 2016 for $4.025 billion.
That makes the UFC worth more than $4 billion and among the richest sports franchises in the world.
The UFC started as a no-holds-barred fighting tournament of sorts. However, there are rules to the game now and several things a fighter cannot do in the octagon.
The list includes but is not limited to: