Your Best Bets for UFC 173’s ‘Fight of the Night’ UFC 173 will be live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, NV tonight on Pay Per View starting at 10pm ET with a preliminary action kicking off at 6:30pm ET. UFC 173 comes to us with 12 scheduled bouts, including a five-fight main card that all but guarantees fireworks. After the fights have concluded, the promotion will be awarding a $50,000 ‘Fight of the Night’ bonus for the most exciting bout of the evening. To place a wager on this prop, or any others for UFC 173, you may do so at Several Bookmakerss. I believe the top contenders for this prize are: Ellenberger/Lawler +450 — This is the fight I am looking forward to most on not only the main card, but the entire UFC 173 fight card. I believe these two welterweight warriors are going to bring it tonight. Whether this fight lasts one minute or 15, I think we are in for some action and excitement. Even though Ellenberger is coming off a boring fight against Rory MacDonald, I would be surprised if this fight against Lawler produced a similar snooze-fest. I am expecting it to be the opposite. I think bombs will drop and someone will go down, and I am favoring Ellenberger to get the finish. Should the fight go the distance, which it very well could, I think it will be a competitive, action-packed three rounds. Should this fight earn the ‘Fight of the Night’ honors, it would mean the second time for both welterweights, as they have each taken home the bonus one time. Lawler’s came in his last outing against current welterweight champion Johny Hendricks, with Ellenberger’s coming over two years ago in a three-round main event against Diego Sanchez, in Sanchez’s last appearance in the 170-pound division. Rivera/Mizugaki +500 — Bantamweights like to put on a show so that fans will see they are just as entertaining as the heavier-weight fighters, if not more. Francisco Rivera is no exception, as he always makes it a point to put on a show for the crowd. He is the type of fighter who is always looking to end the fight. I can’t say the same for Mizugaki, but the veteran himself has produced his fair share of barnburners, including his last fight against Nam Phan, which was a real three round war that would have taken home the ‘Fight of the Night’ honors, if not for the epic main event heavyweight fight that was Hunt vs Bigfoot. While Mizugaki has yet to secure the bonus in his UFC career, he did win it twice during his WEC tenure. Should this fight earn the bonus, it would mean the first time for both bantamweights, as Rivera has also never taken home the award. I think this fight will be an exciting barn burner and feel there’s a good chance it will end with a knockout. Rivera has serious power in his hands, especially for a 135-pounder. Mizugaki had really never displayed much knockout power until his last bout, where he nearly finished Nam Phan, who has a great chin and is incredibly hard to put away. I am looking forward to this bantamweight scrap; probably more so than the main event, to be honest. Trinaldo/Chiesa +850 — These are two exciting fighters in the UFC’s 155-pound division. They both like to move forward and finish fights, and that is exactly what I am expecting from both of them in this outing. Regardless of how long this bout lasts, I think we will be glued to our screens. I am expecting a fast-paced first round, and should it hit the second or third, I expect action to slow down, but not dull down. Krause/Varner at +550 would be a decent bet, but I see more value in this lightweight fight. I think this fight has a better chance of taking home the bonus, even though it is not on the main card. Not only does it have a better chance of winning the bonus in my opinion, but there is a lot more value in it. Should this fight earn ‘Fight of the Night’ honors, it would mean the first time for both lightweights.
