Betting on UFC futures

Unlike most other sports, the UFC does not have a season. Instead, they host events almost every weekend of the year. This means that UFC futures betting is markedly different from the futures you will find offered on other sports.

For example, most sports crown their champions at the end of the season, and futures odds are offered on those championships before and throughout each season. In the UFC, championships are up for grabs on a regular basis throughout the year, and are decided in regularly scheduled title fights.

Sportsbooks release their odds for UFC events swiftly after events and individual bouts are announced, to encourage early betting action ahead of fight week. Those odds will fluctuate to reflect the money staked in the lead-up to fight week, when those odds then become the moneyline odds for the event.

The main difference between UFC futures and UFC moneyline odds is that the odds are available a significant time ahead of the event, rather than after the conclusion of the preceding event.

UFC futures mostly involve backing a winner in a specific bout, and bettors can choose to either back their chosen fighter in a single futures bet, or combine a number of fights into a UFC futures parlay, with all of their selections needing to win on fight night for that parlay to pay out. You can find out more about betting on the winner of a UFC fight.

As soon as UFC championship bouts are announced, sportsbooks offer odds on which fighter will win the bout and UFC title. These eventually become moneyline odds as the fight date draws nearer.

Occasionally, some sportsbooks also offer special futures props, with odds on which fighter will be the champion of a given division, such as by the end of that year. Here’s how a sample UFC futures props market looked at the start of 2022:

To finish 2022 as UFC heavyweight champion

For instance, a successful $100 bet on Curtis Blaydes to be UFC heavyweight champion by the end of 2022 would have a payout of $700 (your $100 wager plus $600 profit).

Due to the ad-hoc nature of UFC scheduling, futures prop markets are rare, but can occasionally be found around the start of the calendar year.