UFC 144 Fight Card: Five Interesting Prop Bets

UFC 144, coming to you from Japan's famed Saitama Super Arena, is just a few hours away. The buzz around the event starts with the lightweight title bout between Frankie Edgar and Benson Henderson, but extends all the way down the card.

It is my understanding that the occasional friendly wager goes down on fight night. Maybe you've heard something about this as well.

Personally, I'm not much of a gambling man myself. I never quite learned when to hold them and when to fold them, and what have you. I'm a regular William H. Macy out there. Plus, gambling is illegal! Very, very illegal.

But having said all that, I must admit that I very much appreciate me a wacky prop bet. I've scoured the Internet for five of the best and most tempting (if, you know, I was into this sort of thing) prop offerings for UFC 144. For entertainment purposes only. 

5. Chris Cariaso Gets KO of the Night

On Betters Palace, Cariaso is at +1650 to take home the Knockout of the Night bonus. True, the 12-3 bantamweight only has two T/KO wins on his resume, but his Muay Thai is polished and dangerous.

Opponent Takeya Mizugaki likes to trade (just ask Miguel Torres), and is not above taking one to give one (see Urijah Faber).

It might not be a lock, but those odds are looking a little tasty.  

4. Submission of the Night: No Award Issued

The odds here are +900 that no submission happens tonight. And that's not so far-fetched.

Take a look at the card. It's replete with strikers, and when a ground fighter does make an appearance, it's in more of a wrestling mold.

Yes, jiu-jitsu ace Jake Shields and choke-master Hatsu Hioki are involved. But both tend to stay conservative more often than not, and both have opponents (judoka Yoshihiro Akiyama and brawler Bart Palaszewski, respectively) who on paper don't make submissions an easy prospect (only one submission loss apiece in 69 combined contests).

Eiji Mitsuoka is a submission whiz, but may be outmatched in his bout with Takanori Gomi. 

3. Zhang Tiequan and Issei Tamura: Won't Last Two Rounds?

Bet USA has it +175 that this fight won't go two rounds. Neither man can be described as a big-time finisher, but Zhang may be able to prey on young Tamura (a late injury fill-in) and get himself a stoppage.

2. Bart Palaszewski: KO of the Night

He is at +1000 to earn KO of the Night. Those are longer odds than they gave for Steve Cantwell or Yushin Okami.

He has a better shot than those guys, especially when you consider he has 18 striking-related stoppages on his record and actually won this award in his last outing. 

1. Anthony Pettis and Joe Lauzon: Won't Get out of First Round

Fifteen of Lauzon's 21 career victories have come in the first round; Pettis has earned nine of his 14 victories in the opening stanza. 

So Bet USA's +205 odds that Pettis and Lauzon will end in the first five minutes is about as easy a bet as props get, especially given that neither man appears ready to depart anytime soon from their mutually stated and demonstrated desire to finish.