UFC Rising Star Bo Nickal Explains How To Make Money Betting MMA – Forbes Betting

Abraham Smith

Former Penn State wrestler Bo Nickal, three-time NCAA Division I champion, returns to action Tuesday night in Dana White’s Contender Series on ESPN+.

Nickal, who competes in the 185-pound middleweight division, is widely regarded as one of the top mixed martial arts candidates. The 26-year-old will be looking to improve his professional MMA record to 3-0 against Donovan Beard (7-1). On Monday sports betting sites had Nickal as around -1700 money line Favorite in matchup (94% implied probability of winning).

Nickal is also an avid sports bettor and loves to comment on the lines odds makers are offering at his matches. He thinks sports betting grossly underestimates him. In August, he was a -3000 betting favorite in his first Contender Series fight, and he made headlines by saying he was a steal at that price. In a popular tweet, Nickal poked fun at sports bettors who favor betting on favourites, even those like him.

Forbes Betting chatted to Nickal about various betting topics ahead of his fight on September 27th. Nickal has some important tips for betting on MMA.

Brian Pepus: Many UFC fans loved your viral post about parlays. Do you see yourself as part of a new generation of athletes who are more aware of the betting public and how to interact with it?

Bo Nickal: Yes, I think sports betting is becoming more and more popular. I know a lot of my friends bet and it’s something fun that keeps them entertained. I don’t really know many other fighters who bet. For me it’s just an important part of the sport. It brings in a lot more viewers, more eyes for MMA. It’s a fun little thing that I enjoy on the side.

blood pressure: In your post on Twitter, you eclipsed super longshot parlay bets. These bets are obviously good for sports betting as they have a higher grip, but you had a good point about how even massive favorites can have better value for the bettor.

BN: You can look at sports betting in different ways, right? You can consider it entertainment by simply throwing a few bucks at a bet to make the game or battle even more exciting. This is one way to do it. At the end of the day, these are the people who want to bet the books because they don’t know what they’re doing. They’re the guys that bet $10 on a 50-team combo or whatever and they’re trying to make all that money. It will never happen.

There is another way of looking at sports betting. If you look at it as an investment, you need to bet on favorites. They’re favorites for a reason. For me, I like to stay in my lane. I know a lot about MMA. I’m not a football, baseball, golf expert or anything. I obviously know a lot about fighting. If you have an investor mindset rather than a gambler mindset, you can look at a -3000 favorite like me and see it as a 3% return on your money. That’s how I tried to explain it to people. I don’t think many people on Twitter will understand that.

blood pressure: It’s rare for MMA fighters to be this popular, but you said you felt a little disrespected at the price. Do you feel extra pressure to be such a big favorite?

BN: I wouldn’t say I feel any extra pressure because of the ratings. At the end of the day -3000 was cheap for whoever bet on me. If you look at [the implied probability]that means I would win that [August] fight 97 out of 100 times. In reality, I would win this fight 1,000 times out of 1,000. It was free money. I already feel the pressure to want to win because I train so hard every day. I expect to be an even bigger favorite.

blood pressure: Do you have any recommendations on how to bet on UFC fights? Do you like “method of victory” or “struggle to decide” markets? Do you think they have any value? prop bets?

BN: Certainly. I like to bet on a lot of props: placings, first round submissions, over under on the round, stuff like that. What people need to do is research. I don’t bet on things I don’t know. If you watch 20 of someone’s fights and 20 of their opponent’s fights along with YouTube breakdowns and invest in real time, you can find value like this [MMA] Bet and start winning consistently.

The people who write the odds are smart. If you want to beat them, you’ll have to do more research and invest more time than they do. But you have to choose your seats. Some people like to bet on every fight, which is quite difficult. If you’re looking for discrepancies or somewhere the odds makers haven’t been paying close enough attention, you can find value and make money.

blood pressure: Do you think martial arts in general offers more value bets than say the NFL which is generally considered hard to find odds?

BN: Without doubt. I think the best [value] is in martial arts. Some people say they like it Betting on Ice Hockey or tennis or golf. One thing about martial arts is that it’s very volatile and difficult to predict. This makes it difficult for odds makers to set their prices. If you are truly a student of the sport, there are many ways to find edges. If you look at MMA, it’s been a sport for about 20 years, right? While football, baseball and basketball are sports five times as long. There is five times as much research and a lot more mathematical equations and algorithms to determine these odds. I think if you are a serious sports bettor you should pay a lot of attention to MMA and martial arts.

blood pressure: Are there any UFC fighters that you feel are consistently underrated by bookmakers?

BN: There are a couple of guys. One guy I’ve bet on a couple of times is Brian Kelleher. He’s a 135-pounder. Not many people know a lot about him, but he’s a tough guy who’s fought a lot of tough guys. Another guy I’ve never bet against is Henry Cejudo. I’ve bet on him in pretty much every fight he has. In my eyes he is just a dog and wins. I bet a lot on these guys. There are many people that I train with, believe in and support. I see the work they do in the gym.

blood pressure: Pennsylvania belongs to the group of States where sports betting is legal. Have you found that state college betting is popular?

BN: It’s crazy. People go nuts all the time. Those college kids, I don’t know where they get the money from. It’s wild for me. There are many people who strive for it. We are in a college town and have Penn State Football with a lot of big games. This way people can be entertained and invest more in games. I love watching the videos of a group of 10 friends putting money on a bet and celebrating after winning. It’s definitely becoming more popular there.

blood pressure: Unfortunately, some people who bet on sports have trouble controlling it. Do you have a responsible betting message for people struggling with their gambling?

BN: I think at the end of the day sports betting needs to be fun and healthy. It can be fun, but it can have a detrimental effect on people’s personal lives. So, I think if you’re that type of person you should try to get to know yourself, understand yourself, and if you tend to get more emotional about betting, maybe it’s just not for you. The most important thing is to ask yourself what kind of person you want to be. If it’s not for you, it’s not for you.

I usually like to bet with other people. I don’t like betting alone. I make sure I ride together [on a bet] with friends. That’s a healthy way to do it. The social aspect is an important thing in betting. Sitting alone in your room at 4 a.m. and looking at the odds isn’t really fun. You’re kind of obsessed with it. Make it a social activity and if you can’t, that’s fine. Another thing is not to chase losses. just call it [a day] And don’t try to make it back You can not do it. At the end of the day, people are competitive. Nobody likes to lose, but sometimes taking some time off is the best move.

blood pressure: Recommend Bets in units? This is a common way to manage a betting bankroll.

BN: I think people can have a lot of success that way. For the people who really study betting, this is probably the way to go. Betting is not a full-time job for me. How I deal with it: Let’s say I throw $1,000 into my account to keep it a round number. I bet [that amount] for a fight. For example, I bet on a first round win, the man to win, and maybe a submission – three different bets on one fight.

If I win, I take all the money out of mine [sportsbook] Account. I just want to take this win with me, right? I won and now we’re starting over. I don’t bet all the time. I choose my spots. I’d rather not leave my money there. If I see another fight to bet, I put money back. That way I don’t bet and watch all the time [the app]. If you look at it all the time, you could see it [a bet] that you think might work. That’s not for me because I don’t do it full-time. I don’t want to fall into this trap.

blood pressure: So you’re saying it’s not really your money – or your winnings – until it gets back into your bank account? Psychologically, if the funds remain in your betting account, they are still in play.

BN: That’s how I feel absolutely. I like to say it’s in my account like I actually won. If it’s in the sportsbook, you haven’t actually won it. It’s still there. I like this direct deposit to my bank. This is my [bankroll] Strategy.

blood pressure: You are on your way to becoming a UFC star. Have you ever been interested in a sponsorship opportunity with a sports betting company?

BN: Absolutely. My top option would be DraftKings because that’s what I use. I love their platform and what they do. I buy their shares and hold them for the long term. I think that would be pretty sweet.

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