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Betting on the Professional Fighters League (PFL)

Introduction to the PFL

The Professional Fighters League, or PFL, was founded in 2018, as a reconstruction of the World Series of Fighting. The contestants in the league compete in a regular season of MMA fights, with a post season and championship in which the best fighters can become the champions. This offers fans the chance to watch their favourite athletes fight multiple times in a year, rather than having to wait for singular events that may be held once or twice a year. The PFL has six weight divisions: featherweight, women's lightweight, lightweight, welterweight, light heavyweight and heavyweight.

The fighters in each division compete in 10-sided MMA cages known as the SmartCage. The fights follow the standard MMA rules with the exception that elbow strikes are not permitted. The fighters are weighed in before each fight, and if they are overweight then they are deducted a point in the league standings and cannot compete in the fight. Fighters who win a fight are awarded points based on which round they win in. A first round victory is worth 3 points, a second round victory is worth 2 points and a third round victory is worth 1 point. The winner of a fight is also awarded 3 points for winning the fight, meaning that they can score a maximum of 6 points per fight. If the fight ends in a draw, both fighters receive 1 point.

PFL Betting Guide

PFL Bets

Moneyline

For each fight, bettors will be able to make bets on which of the fighters they think will win. It does not matter how they win the fight or in which round the fight is won, as long as the fighter picked wins. In a lightweight fight between Clay Collard and Raush Manfio, for example, there will be a moneyline bet on Collard to win and another on Manfio to win.

Total Rounds

In a three round fight, the fight can be decided in the first round, second round or even third round. Bettors can place money on how many rounds they think the fight will last with the total rounds bet. There will be two betting lines and bets for whether the fight will end with over or under the number indicated in the line. The betting lines are 1.5 and 2.5. If a bet is placed on the fight to end in under 2.5 rounds, this means that the fight needs to be concluded in the first or second round, but if a bet is placed on the fight to last over 2.5 rounds then the fight will need to go to the third round.

Win by Submission

This bet is similar to a moneyline in that it is necessary to pick which fighter will win. However, for the bet to win, the fighter needs to win by submission. This means that the other fighter needs to submit, it does not matter in which round the submission happens.

Win by Decision

This bet is the same as the win by submission bet, only it will require the fight to be decided by judges’ decision. What this means is that one fighter will be backed to win the fight, and it should last the full three rounds.

Fight to Go the Distance

This is a bet on the fight to last the full three rounds. It does not require the bettor to pick a fighter to win, as long as the fight lasts the full three rounds.

Fight to End in a Draw

This is a simple yes or no bet on whether the fight will finish in a draw. In PFL fights, it is extremely uncommon for a fight to end without a winner but there is a small chance that it could. The odds reflect this, as long odds are offered on the fight to end in a draw, whilst the odds are extremely short for the fight to end any other way.

Other Bets

There are a number of bets that combine which fighter will win, how they will win, and in which round. In a fight between Collard and Manfio, there may be bets such as Manfio to win in the first round, Manfio to win and the fight to go the distance, Collard to win in the second round by submission, and various other permutations of the options.

There may also be bets on details such as total takedowns in the fight, which fighter will draw the first blood, which fighter will land the most strikes in the first round, and other bets.

Live bets

Live bets will be available for each fight as soon as the fight begins. Moneylines, method of victory bets and combinations of the two will be available during the fight, offered with live odds. What this means is that the odds will change during the course of the fight to reflect the action in the cage.

Specific bets such as which fighter will draw the first blood, which fighter will land more strikes in the ongoing round, how many takedowns will there be in the ongoing round, and more, may be also available. These bets tend to be available at certain points during a fight, such as at the start of a round, or right before a round begins. Therefore, it is worth keeping a close eye on the live betting markets, to ensure that you do not miss any opportunities.