UFC Fight Night 40 will be live today from the US Bank Arena in Cincinnati, OH with 13 scheduled bouts, including a six fight main card that is sure to produce fireworks. After the fights have concluded, the UFC 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 171, you may do so at Several Bookmakerss. I believe the top contenders for this prize are: Silva/Brown +300 — I think this fight has a good chance at cashing the award, as long as it doesn’t result in a very early finish. Even if it goes three or four minutes, I could see it taking home the prize, as long as it’s a fast-paced, entertaining scrap until the finish does occur. These welterweights are rarely ever in a boring fight, I can’t remember the last time I saw either of them in one. Most of their bouts inside the Octagon have not seen the distance, generally ending in under 1.5 rounds. I believe both of them will be looking to finish this fight, so it should prove to be exciting, regardless of how long it lasts. These welterweights own a combined two ‘Fight of the Night’ awards, each of them having earned one. Koch/Cruickshank +800 — I think this fight has a good chance at being very exciting, as long as Cruickshank engages and does not play it super safe. I am expecting this to be a very fun fight in the lightweight division. Koch comes from a kickboxing background and incorporates a flashy style to it, while Cruickshank is from a Tae Kwon Do background and mixes is up with wrestling and Karate. They both possess knockout power in all limbs and win most of their fights in said fashion. Between the two, I would say it is Koch who has the better chin, so if one should fall, it will likely be Cruickshank, but I don’t think he will get finished. Won’t be surprised if he does, but I think he is well-prepared for this match-up and will be avoiding Koch’s hooks and high kicks. I expect him to see every strike coming, so nothing catches him by surprise and puts him away. I won’t be surprised if this fight does not last a full round, but I think more often than not, it will play out for all three. These two lightweights squared off against one another won’t always produce a fun fight, but I think they do a good percentage of the time, enough to warrant a stab at +800. Should this fight earn the bonus, it will be the first time for both lightweights, though I feel Koch was robbed of the bonus in his fight against Dustin Poirier at UFC 164. It was a very exciting, 15 minute war. However, it did not win the bonus, as it went to Pascaul Krauss vs Hyun Gyu Lim, a completely one-sided fight that did not even last four minutes. MMA fans all agreed that no other bout on the UFC 164 card came close to being as exciting as Koch vs Poirier, so the decision to award Krauss vs Lim left everybody scratching their heads. Palelei/Potts +2000 — This is my sleeper to take home the prize. We all know Dana White loves his heavyweights, so should these two produce an exciting, back-and-forth fight, which I think has a good chance of happening, then I think they could take home this bonus. As long as there is no early finish and both heavyweights move forward and look to do damage, I think this fight has a very good chance at earning the bonus. At +2000, I see a ton of value in this play.
