Online sportsbook: UFC 249 one of the most heavily bet events in gambling history for the promotion

Esther Lin, MMA Fighting

The UFC was the first major sport to return to action during the coronavirus pandemic, and gamblers across the globe rewarded that.

According to Bovada, UFC 249 from this past Saturday night in Jacksonville, Fla., ended up as one of the most heavily bet events in the history of the promotion. The online sportsbook said UFC 249 had 15 percent more total bets than UFC 229, which featured the title fight between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor.

That card is the highest selling pay-per-view in UFC history, and yet, UFC 249 ended up receiving more bets. In fact, this past Saturday’s event drew almost the same number of bets as a NFL conference championship game, which is one of the biggest and most popular games in the U.S.

Here are the top 10 most bet-on UFC events per Bovada:

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

UFC 249’s main event between Tony Ferguson and Justin Gaethje also received a huge number of wagers. That fight alone matched betting averages similar to a first-round NBA or Major League Baseball playoff game.

Ferguson vs. Gaethje also ended up as the third most-bet fight in UFC history based on these statistics.

Here are the top 10 most bet-on UFC fights per 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

The increased interest in the UFC – currently the only show in town during the global pandemic – is likely result in further spikes in betting, according to Bovada. The online betting establishment expects both UFC Fight Night cards taking place in Jacksonville this week to end up in the top-10 for most-bet cards in UFC history.