SOURCE: Press Release

UFC, a mixed martial arts fighting league which has gained considerable attention among gamblers in the past 12 months, is now poised to overtake boxing in terms of online betting revenues, according to Online Sportsbook Bodog.com.

After UFC 71 gained a record amount of viewers, many online gambling sites have seen a huge increase in the amount of customers looking to bet on UFC fights. Bodog.com, a major online sportsbook has seen an increase in the amount of customers wagering on the fights.

The Jackson vs. Liddell main event accounted for two thirds of the entire handle for UFC 71, whereas Rashad Evans vs. Tito Ortiz was responsible for only a third of the UFC 73 handle, with the Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira fight and the other title fights combining for another 50 percent.

"The handle on mixed martial arts has been steadily growing over the past 2 years. 2007 will mark the first year that MMA handle will surpass boxing," says Bodog.com's sportsbook manager.

He also stated that in terms of betting handle, there's a larger amount of bettors when big name fighters are involved in the UFC event.

"The Jackson vs. Liddell main event accounted for two thirds of the entire handle for UFC 71, whereas Rashad Evans vs. Tito Ortiz was responsible for only a third of the UFC 73 handle, with the Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira fight and the other title fights combining for another 50 percent."

Justin Goff, an editor of the MMA betting blog, stated in an interview that, "the amount of traffic we get continues to increase with each UFC fight. UFC and mixed martial arts have really taken America by storm and boxing seems to be getting left in the dust."

As UFC continues to push its way past boxing, boxing is still drawing a large amount of bettors when they have a major title fight. Oscar De La Hoya vs. Floyd Mayweather Jr., which some say was the most anticipated bout in a long time, brought in huge revenues to the online sportsbooks.

"The De La Hoya and Mayweather fight was the biggest handle we've ever seen for one fight. It was on par with a BCS championship game" reports Bodog.com's sportsbook manager.