MMA Parlays

MMA parlays allow bettors to combine a number of different selections into a single wager in an effort to generate a higher payout. It provides UFC fans with the opportunity to secure a potentially massive profit despite staking a relatively small amount of cash.

You will occasionally see headlines about MMA experts that have earned huge payouts from paltry wagers after all their selections proved to be correct. One fan placed a $1 parlay on nine different selections at UFC Fight Night 61 in Brazil and walked off with a $48,291 profit. There are plenty more examples of fantastic paydays for MMA bettors, and we have created this guide to help you understand how to join in the excitement.

What is an MMA Parlay?

An MMA parlay allows you to roll multiple predictions into a single bet so that you can generate a higher potential payout if successful. Let’s say you think Randy Costa will beat Boston Salmon, Maycee Barber will beat Gillian Robertson, Greg Hardy will beat Ben Sosoli and Yair Rodriguez will beat Jeremy Stephens on a particular weekend.

If you had a $40 bankroll, you could divide it in four and bet $10 as a single wager on each of those fighters to win. The alternative is to combine them into a single parlay for $40, or you could just go for a $10 parlay and you would still stand to make a large profit if successful.

Moneyline betting is the most common form of MMA wagering, and most parlays feature a range of simple moneyline bets. However, you can add in other wagering options too if you can find them. You might back Conor McGregor to simply win a fight, Jon Jones to win a fight via a knockout, Khabib Nurmagomedov to win via a second round submission and over on total rounds in a fight between Georges St-Pierre and Michael Bisping, all in one parlay on a theoretical UFC card.

Check out our MMA betting guide to learn more about the MMA betting options available to you, and take a look at the UFC predictions page for expert guidance on who will win various fights.

How do MMA Parlays Work?

Parlays allow you to accrue far higher potential payouts than you would earn by simply betting on each fighter to win individually. For example, if you bet $10 on Costa, $10 on Barber, $10 on Hardy and $10 on Rodriguez, and they all were to win, you might secure an overall profit of $37. However, if you were to roll them all into a $40 parlay and they all won they you would earn a much larger profit of $464.

The catch is that if just one fighter lets you down, your entire bet is a loser. That makes it difficult to compile a successful parlay, but your rewards can be massive.

How is an MMA Parlay Bet Calculated?

The best way to calculate the potential payout you stand to make on a parlay is to convert the odds on each selection into decimal format. There are plenty of tools online that offer this service, or you can do it yourself by remembering that +100 is equivalent to 2.00, +150 is 2.50, +175 is 2.75, +200 is 3.00 and so on, while -150 is 1.67, -200 is 1.50, -300 is 1.33 and so on. Sticking with the example used above, you might be keen to combine these four selections into a parlay on a particular weekend:

• Randy Costa to beat Boston Salmon at +150 (2.50 in decimal odds)
• Macee Barber will beat Gillian Robertson at -125 (1.80)
• Greg Hardy will beat Ben Sosoli at -250 (1.40)
• Yair Rodriguez will beat Jeremy Stephens at +100 (2.00)

You then multiply 2.5 x 1.8 x 1.4 x 2 = 12.6. That tells you that you will make a return of $12.60 for every $1 you wager. Hence a $40 parlay would lead to a return of $504, including a $464 profit and the return of your $40 stake.

Now you know how MMA parlays are calculated, but you should never have to actually do that math yourself. Good sportsbooks will inform you of your potential profit on your betslip once you have made your selections and chosen your stake.

Save Time: Use Our Parlay Calculator Tool

How Can you Create a Winning MMA parlay?

Parlays offer the bettor potential to earn huge returns, but of course with big returns come big risks and there’s a reason those odds are so long! That said, the savvy punter can often find value in a cleverly constructed parlay so it’s worth playing around with a few selections to determine what you think gives you the best chance of a return. The more picks, the more risk there is of one selection letting you down, so sticking ten outcomes in one parlay might sound appealing given the big time returns offered, but of course there’s far greater likelihood of just three picks going the way you want them. Here are some tips to help you compile a successful parlay:

• Do not just stick to money line options when putting together a parlay. If wagers like total rounds and method of victory are offered, think about adding them into your parlay.
• Avoid the temptation to roll all the big favorites of a particular card into a parla. One will typically let you down. Analyze which fighters justify their status as the favorite and which ones look vulnerable before making your decisions.
• It is often worth leaving huge underdogs out of parlays too. If you really think that fighter can pull off a famous upset, a single wager should suffice, as the odds will already be high. Aim for a sweet spot between -300 and +250 for MMA parlay selections.
• Take advantage of books that offered reduced juice and exciting bonuses when compiling a parlay, as this will increase your potential payout and stack the odds more in your favor.
• Make sure you do your research before placing a parlay bet. Check each fighter’s records, any injury concerns or training problems, motivation issues, their mental frame of mind, the time since their last fight and so on. Also, try not to include a fighter that you have never seen in action on a parlay.
• Add legs to your parlay from a position of knowledge, so that you can make educated guesses as to who will win rather than taking a stab in the dark. Or make sure you use expert UFC picks to guide your decisions.