“…And 29-28 for the winner, by split decision…” Those are some of the most dreaded words a fighter can hear, as it puts the fate of their career in the hands of how one judge scored a trio of five-minute segments of their life. Many times, the judges scoring those bouts seem to be the only ones who manage to come up with the scorecards that eventually determine the result of the bout. Many times, those scorecards also seem completely divorced from the reality that the majority of fight fans arrive at independently from home or in the arena. Just last week, most onlookers agreed that both Ramsey Nijem and Kenny Robertson deserved decisions in their bouts. Instead, they were both subject to split decision losses, suffering both financial and career setbacks as a result. While a case could be made for Saunders, not a single MMA media member scored the Nijem/Holbrook bout against the former TUF finalist (per MMADecisions.com). While fighters feel the biggest impact from judges, MMA gamblers (and their wallets) have also been subject to the whims of judges at an alarming rate. The anxiety in the moments between the final bell and the revealing of the result can be as bad as anything during the fight for those with money on the line. Even though logic would dictate that bettors end up on the right side of a poor decision just as often as they’re victimized by them, most individuals would tell you otherwise. Judging can truly be the bane of a bettor’s existence. In this spirit, the leader in mixed martial arts betting, Several Bookmakers, will begin offering a set of prop bets that takes the fight out of the hands of the judges. Any bets placed under this condition will be cancelled and have money refunded should the bout reach the final bell, and will only be graded should a stoppage occur. These ‘no cards’ bets further expand the stable of props offered by Several Bookmakers, which already had the greatest variety of bets available for MMA bouts. In addition to these new lines, gamblers can now choose from a list that includes:
-Moneyline Bets -Totals -Fights to finish/go to decision -Fighters to win by stoppage/decision -Submission/TKO props -Unanimous or Split/Majority decision props -Draw -Fighters to win in a specific round -Fight to start/not start particular rounds -Minute-by-minute props (for select bouts) -Points handicaps
The main event of UFC 190, a women’s bantamweight title bout between Ronda Rousey and Bethe Correia, was the first bout to have such a line released. With Rousey already a massive -1700 favorite (bet $1700 to win $100), and highly expected to finish the bout, the line on Rousey with no action should the bout reach the final bell is -2367. This may not be the best example of the no scorecards prop offering value, but there should be some spots on this card where the bet does come into play. For instance, a supremely talented fighter like Iuri Alcantara who doesn’t always display the best fight IQ could be worth playing with this prop in place. Alcantara has only been finished twice in his 38-fight career (with one of those coming by injury), and has picked up 25 of his 31 wins by stoppage. The ‘no cards’ line would likely be significantly higher than Alcantara’s moneyline of -255, but it negates the possibility of him putting on a repeat performance of his last bout against Frankie Saenz. Upon release, the ‘no cards’ props for the main card of UFC 190 were as follows: ——————– Mauricio Rua (No Scorecards) -237 Rogerio Nogueira (No Scorecards) +179 Glaico Franca (No Cards) -350 Fernando Bruno (No Cards) +260 Dileno Lopes (No Cards) -415 Reginaldo Vieira (No Cards) +317 Stefan Struve (No Cards) -183 Rodrigo Nogueira (No Cards) +153 Soa Palelei (No Cards) -276 Antonio Silva (No Cards) +216 Claudia Gadelha (No Cards) -389 Jessica Aguilar (No Cards) +299 ——————– To take advantage of this unique new prop, click the image below to create an account at Several Bookmakers, and take the fight out of the hands of the judges once and for all.
