SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
With the media frenzy around the Aldo vs McGregor fight and Ronda Rousey’s surprise defeat, 2015 was certainly the highest profile year in the history of UFC.
We caught up with Unibet’s Head of Sportsbook Anthony Cousins, to discuss their official betting partnership with UFC, reflect on a record breaking 2015 and look ahead to 2016.
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SBC: Anthony, as part of the deal with UFC, Unibet promised to offer a number of special promotions to publicise the partnership and increase awareness of mixed martial arts; how successful has this been so far, and to what speed is UFC betting growing?
Anthony Cousins: It has been a very successful partnership. Whilst we anticipate organic growth across the board, the boost the partnership has given to the Unibet UFC growth is really large; pre match has seen growth of 400% and live betting growth over 800% when comparing year on year UK figures.
SBC: Are there any UFC betting markets that are exclusive or unique to Unibet around the biggest fight nights?
AC: Not many bookmakers offer live betting on UFC fights and even if they do, it’s usually only the main cards that are offered. Unibet is the very few (if not the only one) that offers live betting on all bouts from the undercards to the headliners. Unibet has an industry-leading offer in UFC with a variety of unique markets including:
- Any fighter to win by KO/TKO/DQ
- Any fighter to win by submission’
We also offer “Action Betting” on UFC where you can bet on the ‘fight to end within the next minutes interval” throughout each round of the fight.
SBC: Can you give an insight into the scale of the Aldo / McGregor fight for Unibet, and outline some of the betting records broken?
AC: Aldo – McGregor was probably the most anticipated fight in UFC history, and resulted in numerous records being broken. It was an all-time high when it came to both turnover and number of bets. To put it in context, the turnover ended up being over 50% higher than the 2nd biggest UFC fight (Gustafsson – Johnson).
SBC: Back in December, Unibet predicted a McGregor win in 3 rounds; what were the odds on the first round knockout and did this receive much backing?
AC: The odds on this were as follows…
- McGregor by KO – 4/3
- McGregor Round 1 – 4/1
- McGregor by KO, Round 1 – 9/2
- Fight to end within the first minute – Yes 14/1
The bets on McGregor by KO, Round 1 accounted for 1.1% of the turnover – so it really was sensational not just in terms of the action but that few people anticipated it.
SBC: How is 2016 shaping up for UFC betting at Unibet?
AC: This year there will no doubt be big focus on Jon Jones’ comeback, and we expect that the turnover records would once again be broken. It’ll also be interesting to see how Ronda Rousey does after her devastating loss to Holly Holm in November, which to date is the highest turnover event for a Women’s UFC fight. Both these names could be expected to push UFC betting on again with their high profile returns.
SBC: Finally, any other pointers Unibet wish to highlight?
AC: 2015 was a big year for UFC betting at Unibet, with the top 5 turnover fights all taking place in the last 12 months. The previous record was Jones – Gustafsson, which was fought back in 2013 so 2015 wasn’t a case of making baby steps from 2014, it was a giant leap for UFCkind.
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Anthony Cousins, Head of Sportsbook
