How UFC Fight Spread Betting Works on DraftKings and Bet365

When betting on the UFC, you’ll sometimes come across a market labelled “Fight Spread” — and if you’re not familiar with it, it can look confusing at first glance.

But once you understand how it works, it becomes a powerful money-making opportunity.

Let’s break down exactly what Fight Spread Betting is, how it differs from traditional handicaps, and when to use it.

The Fight Spread market is a type of handicap betting — but instead of working off point totals or round scoring margins like typical Asian handicaps, it focuses entirely on how a fighter wins.

• One fighter is given a negative spread (-X), which means they must win by a dominant method (usually inside the distance or by clear decision).

• The other fighter is given a positive spread (+X), which means they can either:

  • Win the fight outright, OR

  • Lose by a narrow margin, and you still win the bet.

It’s all about how dominant or competitive the result is — and this is decided by the bookie’s defined rules, which are always shown in the fight spread market.

Let’s say you’re looking at this market:

• Fighter A -5.5

• Fighter B +5.5

This spread of 5.5 doesn’t refer to rounds or points — it’s a bookmaker-assigned value based on how dominant the win needs to be.

Fighter A -5.5:
Must win by a dominant method. Typically, this means:

Win by KO, TKO, or Submission

OR win a clear unanimous decision, like 30-27 or 50-45 (depending on fight length)

Fighter B +5.5:
Can win the fight outright
OR
Lose a close decision, like 29-28 or a split

Instead of backing a fighter at -400, you might find them at -5.5 on the fight spread at +120 — if you’re confident they’ll dominate.

If you like an underdog to keep a fight close — even if they lose — the +5.5 fight spread gives you a safer window to cash at slightly worse odds. You can often get a better risk to reward ratio.

Wrestlers vs strikers, high-volume fighters vs low-output opponents — when you expect one-way traffic or close / competitive fights, the spread market is a great way to make money.

Fight Spread betting is a newer, underused market that allows sharp bettors to extract more value from predictable fights — whether that’s in favour of the dominant favourite or the gritty underdog.

It’s all about understanding fighter styles, judging trends, and risk tolerance. When used right, it’s a goldmine in UFC betting.

Inside the Prefight Betting Membership, we highlight great value Fight Spread Bets every week — especially on overlooked prelims and Fight Night cards.

Join the community, get sharper, and start betting with confidence.