This event wasn’t just successful from a TV ratings or pay-per-view buyrate perspective, but also from a gambling perspective.
A report from MMA Fighting and Bovada reveals that last weekend’s UFC 249 card was the most heavily bet on MMA event in MMA history. The show beat out the betting action if UFC 246, which sits at second place, by at least 15% more in total bets.
Bovada’s top ten most bet on UFC events are:
UFC 249 - VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena, Jacksonville, Florida, USA
UFC 229 - T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
UFC 246 - T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
UFC 196 - MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, USA
UFC 247 - Toyota Center, Houston, Texas, USA
UFC 235 - T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
UFC 248 - T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
UFC 205 - Madison Square Garden, New York, New York, USA
UFC 245 - T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
UFC 244 - Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, USA
Gaethje vs. Ferguson, which headlined the UFC 249 card, was also the third most bet on individual fight in UFC history, behind Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Conor McGregor at UFC 229 and Conor McGregor vs. Donald Cerrone at UFC 246.
Here are the top ten most bet on individual fights in UFC history, according to Bovada:
UFC 229 - Khabib Nurmagomedov vs Conor McGregor
UFC 246 - Conor McGregor vs Donald Cerrone
UFC 249 - Tony Ferguson vs Justin Gaethje
UFC 196 – Conor McGregor vs Nate Diaz
UFC 202 - Conor McGregor vs Nate Diaz
UFC 247 - Jon Jones vs Dominick Reyes
UFC 194 - Conor McGregor vs Jose Aldo
UFC 205 - Conor McGregor vs Eddie Alvarez
UFC 244 - Jorge Masvidal vs Nate Diaz
UFC 207 - Ronda Rousey vs Amanda Nunes
A huge factor that may have led to the historical betting on UFC 249 is that the event was the lone sporting event in North America that was going on during the coronavirus pandemic.
