At UFC 235 this past weekend at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, veteran welterweight fighter Robbie Lawler nearly pounded former Olympic wrestler and 2/1 favourite Ben Askren into a first-round TKO success. But Askren, making his first UFC look, managed to endure Lawler’s early onslaught of head and body shots, and about two minutes after, at 3:20 in the initial round, finished the comeback, ending it with a bulldog choke.
Respected referee Herb Dean watched Lawler’s arm limp while he attempted to extricate himself in the choke, causing Dean to halt the struggle in what goes down as a submission win for Askren. While contentious and unlucky for Lawler (and his backers), it was understandable, and also the popular Lawler quickly turned from aggrieved to praising Dean and expressing his understanding (transcript here.)
The NFL is the king of U.S sports gambling, but combined martial arts offers something different, in some ways much better and more intriguing, and indeed controversial at times, like each game. Certain events, even to get a somewhat niche sport now in its first year of a supply deal on ESPN platforms, can generate the betting handle seen in a good NFL game.
«Everyone knows a fight»
Exposure to more mainstream audiences via ESPN and FOX Sports 1, through a previous deal, continues to raise MMA’s profile. For to this this point, UFC and other promotions such as Bellator have long embraced and understood the participation value of sports betting.
«The UFC has been on the forefront of sports wagering content,» Jason Simbal, vice president of risk management for CG Technology, informed Sports Handle. «They embraced it by adding chances on the websites on telecasts. And the announcers will cite the betting favorites throughout the conflicts. Also they have their own produced betting show that airs before every pay-per-view on UFC Fight Pass, which helps.»
The PGA Tour, National Basketball Association, Major League Baseball, and National Hockey League alike have»evolved» since the Supreme Court struck down the 1992 national ban on full-fledged sports wagering outside Nevada. Each of the commissioners of these leagues now tout the virtues of greater involvement courtesy sports wagering, fabricate new monetization opportunities, and delight in those that have come.
But while every one of those leagues, particularly MLB, seek to build new sports betting bridges using proprietary Statcast characters, for instance, there’s no learning curve to start betting on combined martial arts.
«I think it comes down to it being a struggle. And what I mean by that is that if you are dealing with a lot of different sports, then you’re handling a lot of factors, the principles of soccer, baseball, basketball,» veteran MMA writer-reporter Damon Martin told Sports Handle. «And there is a guttural instinct in everybody when it comes down to it.
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