UFC betting: head to head, method, rounds and draw rules

Key facts

Under the Unified Rules of MMA, professional rounds are five minutes, a bout can be one to five rounds, and no bout can exceed 25 minutes.
Judges use the 10-point must system; a decision can be unanimous, split or majority, and a draw can be unanimous, majority or split.
A favourite at $1.40 (American -250) implies 71.43%; in our example the same fighter's three method of victory prices add up to 76.67%, a bigger margin than the head to head.
The TAB's Victorian sports rules have no MMA section, so a draw falls under the general tie rules; read your own bookmaker's MMA rules before you bet.
Perth's RAC Arena hosted a UFC Fight Night on Saturday 2 May 2026, which the WA Government said was the first Saturday evening Fight Night in Australia.

UFC betting, explained

UFC betting is fixed odds betting on a mixed martial arts bout, placed with a licensed Australian bookmaker before the fight starts. The basic bet is simple: pick the fighter who wins. The detail is in how fights end. Under the Unified Rules of MMA, published by athletic commissions such as California's, a bout can finish by knockout, technical knockout, submission, disqualification, a judges' decision, a draw or a no contest, and every market on your slip is settled by one of those outcomes.

How a fight is scored

The rules decide the markets, so start there. The Unified Rules say:

Rule	What it says
Round length	Five minutes for professionals, with a one-minute rest
Number of rounds	One to five; no bout can exceed five rounds or 25 minutes
Scoring	10-point must: 10 to the round winner, nine or fewer to the loser
10-8 round	Offence that includes significant damage, or dominance with damage
Decisions	Unanimous (all three judges), split (two to one), majority (two judges, one draw)
Draws	Unanimous, majority, or split (all three differ and totals are level)
Technical decision or draw	A fight stopped by an injury from a foul, decided on the cards
No contest	Stopped early by accidental injury before it can be decided on the cards

UFC betting markets

Market	What you pick	What decides it
Head to head	The winning fighter	The official result
Method of victory	KO/TKO, submission or decision, for a fighter	How the fight ends
Round betting	A fighter to win in a specific round	The round the fight ends
Total rounds	Over or under, such as 2.5 rounds	How long the fight lasts
Goes the distance	Yes or no	Whether the judges decide it
Draw	The fight is scored a draw	A drawn decision
Props and fight night specials	Bonuses, combined outcomes	Market-specific rules

Method and round markets are prop bets: narrower outcomes, longer prices, and a margin on every option.

Reading UFC odds, including American prices

Australian bookmakers show decimal odds. US sources often quote American odds, so it helps to convert:

American	Decimal	Implied chance
-250	$1.40	71.43%
-150	$1.67	60.00%
-110	$1.91	52.38%
+120	$2.20	45.45%
+200	$3.00	33.33%

A minus number is how much you stake to win $100; a plus number is what $100 wins. The odds converter does the conversion for any price.

The margin in a fight

A fight priced $1.40 and $3.10 adds up to 103.69%. In our calculation the fair prices are about $1.45 and $3.21. A head to head on a fight works like any head to head bet, except that a third outcome, the draw, sits outside the two prices.

Method of victory: more ways to be right, and wrong

Method markets split one fighter's win into three bets. Here is an example for the $1.40 favourite above:

Fighter A wins by	Price	Implied chance
KO or TKO	$3.00	33.33%
Submission	$6.00	16.67%
Decision	$3.75	26.67%
Total		76.67%

Those three outcomes together are the same thing as Fighter A winning, which the head to head prices at 71.43%. The method prices add up to 5.24 percentage points more in this example, so you pay a bigger margin for the extra detail. Add them up before you bet. The implied probability calculator makes the sum quick.

Draws, no contests and changed fights

This is where UFC betting rules differ most between bookmakers. The TAB's published Victorian sports rules have sections for boxing, cricket, tennis and more, but none for MMA, so a UFC bet there falls under the general rules:

Situation	General rule in the TAB's Victorian rules	Example: $20 on the favourite at $1.40
Draw, and a draw price was offered	Bets on either fighter lose (rule 10.9)	Returns $0
Draw, no draw price offered	Payout divided by the number tied (rule 12.5)	Returns $14.00
Bout cancelled before it starts	Refund (rule 10.5)	Returns $20.00
Venue changed for named competitors	Bets void unless you were told otherwise (rule 6.15)	Returns $20.00

A no contest has no winner, so check how your bookmaker settles it. Bookmakers that write their own MMA rules can treat draws, no contests and short-notice opponent changes differently, which is the reason to read them before a big card, not after.

UFC in Australia

The UFC has come to Perth repeatedly. The WA Government said UFC Fight Night: Della Maddalena vs Prates at RAC Arena on Saturday 2 May 2026 was the first time a Fight Night had been staged on a Saturday evening in Australia, following UFC 284 in February 2023, UFC 305 in August 2024 and a Fight Night in September 2025.

MMA betting and Australian law

MMA betting is legal with a bookmaker licensed in an Australian state or territory, and only before the bout if you bet online. ACMA lists in-play betting on sporting events, and betting services not licensed in Australia, among the services that are illegal to offer online. A five-round fight does not change that, and a bet placed wholly by phone is the only in-play exception. Licensed providers cannot take deposits by credit card or crypto.

Pundit tip: a fighter who usually finishes fights can still be a poor method bet if the price already assumes a finish. Convert every method price to a chance and ask whether the three add up to more than the fighter's head to head.

Boxing has its own published settlement rules for substitutes and rounds; see our boxing betting guide. For prices from scratch, read how to read odds, and every bet type is in our bet types guide.

Frequently asked questions

How do UFC odds work?

Australian bookmakers show decimal odds that include your stake: $1.40 returns $14 for a $10 bet. US sources often show American odds, where -250 means you stake $250 to win $100 (decimal $1.40) and +200 means a $100 stake wins $200 (decimal $3.00).

What happens to a UFC bet if the fight is a draw?

It depends on the market and the bookmaker. If a draw price was offered, bets on either fighter lose. If not, a bookmaker's general tie rule applies; under the TAB's Victorian rules, that divides the payout by the number of competitors tied. Check your bookmaker's own MMA rules.

What is a method of victory bet?

A bet on how a fighter wins: by KO or TKO, by submission, or by decision. It pays more than the head to head because you need the right fighter and the right finish.

How are UFC fights scored?

Three judges score each round on the 10-point must system: 10 points to the winner of the round and nine or fewer to the loser. The fighter with more judges' scorecards in their favour wins the decision.

Can I bet on a UFC fight once it has started?

Not online. Online in-play sports betting is prohibited in Australia, so bets through an app or website must be in before the fight begins. Only a bet placed wholly by phone is exempt.