With only two weeks until UFC 100, the sportsbooks are definitely ripe for some big value bets on the upcoming event. Surprisingly, there seems to be some substantial volume in areas of the card that are a surprise. And as noted by Steve Cofield via his Cagewriter blog, some books are taking prop bets for the UFC 100 card. Let's take a look at all the action.

In my last preview, we talked about the early lines on UFC 100. Specifically, Lesnar vs. Mir was up for debate as to whether or not fans should play the waiting game on Mir's line in order to get a better value as an underdog bet. I truly thought the casual fan appeal would outweigh Mir's credentials, but the lines from the online sportsbooks are definitely siding against that prediction.

Note: "Better" lines would indicate a move that is advantageous to the bettor. ex. -220 to -210 or +180 to +190. "Worse" lines would indicate a move that is disadvantageous to the bettor. ex. -220 to -230 or +180 to +170.

Currently, Mir is sitting +200 to +180, but his line seems to be getting worse across most of the books. This indicates that there is some heavier volume on his line than on Lesnar's line as Lesnar's line is actually becoming better. BetCRIS has him listed at -220, but I imagine this is as close to a great deal on Lesnar's line as you could possibly get. I think the week of the event will see some heavy volume on Lesnar's line, so it may be time to bet Lesnar if you haven't already. I'm uncertain as to what Mir's line will do at this point. If Lesnar does receive a pickup in action next week, Mir's line would be worth waiting to get better once again.

St. Pierre continues to get worse, so the initial prediction that fans should get in early seems to be holding true. It isn't too much of a surprise considering GSP's domination of BJ Penn, but Thiago Alves' physical gifts and powerful strikes could surprise us. It might be worth waiting a little longer and putting down an underdog bet on Alves.

Bisping's line is getting worse across the board as well, indicating that many fans are buying into the Bisping hype. Hopefully, it'll continue to get worse as I like Henderson's chances in the matchup. Belcher is sitting at +215 and getting worse. I'm a bit surprised by this, but casual UFC fans and US fans in general may not understand the hype surrounding Akiyama's skill. I'd wait out Akiyama's line until right before the event.

Coleman-Bonnar, O'Brien-Jones, and Fitch-Thiago are all pretty wide lines. Fitch vs. Thiago is interesting because Thiago's line is getting worse on most of the sportsbooks. I'd be interested to see who those bettors are because it seems to be that some fans are buying into Thiago's striking, which was pretty horrible up until he caught Josh Koscheck. Fitch might actually hit -380 in the next week, and that doesn't seem like a terrible bet. I think he's a lock to win over Paulo.

Interestingly enough, Jim Miller vs. Mac Danzig is also surprising to watch move. Miller's line is at -200 to -185 on 5Dimes and BetCRIS, and it's getting better. I think Miller is going to pull out a win over Danzig at UFC 100, and this is definitely good news if you plan on maximizing your value on that specific line.

photo via 100.ufc.com

Browsing through my Reader, Steve Cofield pointed out the proposition that some books are opening up prop bets for UFC 100 because of the higher volume they are anticipating in Las Vegas. Here's some of the lines for prop bets that he posted in his blog post:

UFC Fighter with the fastest win at UFC 100:

Brock Lesnar 3-to-1
Frank Mir 5-1
Jon Jones 9-2
Georges St. Pierre 8-1
Stephan Bonnar 8-1
Jon Fitch 10-1
Thiago Alves 12-1
Dan Henderson 12-1
Michael Bisping 12-1
Alan Belcher 15-1
Jim Miller 15-1
Mac Danzig 20-1
Paulo Thiago 35-1
Mark Coleman 25-1
FIELD (all fighters not listed) 9-2

Prop bets are a fairly attractive way to make some big money. I've specifically loved betting prop bets in boxing. The only real problem here is that it's very tough to pick a quick finisher. Cofield points out on his posting that the last five UFC events had some uncommon quick finishers in Nick Osipczack, Nate Quarry, and Rob Kimmons. I wasn't too surprised to see Drew McFedries or Mirko "CroCop" Filipovic receive those honors though.

Thiago Alves might be a worthwhile endeavour due to his power, but the stylistic mismatches are probably what you'll want to focus on. Some of the sites I've used also have match by match prop bets involving how matchups will end. Cofield points out that Mir is a 10-1 long shot in winning via decision against Lesnar, but there are a lot of other possibilities out there on the sportsbooks. 

This is generally where I've succeeded in the boxing prop bet game, specifically in 12 round bouts. Some books will structure prop bets in which an aggressive knockout artist will be a 2 to 1 favorite in ending a fight within the first 2 rounds, 5 rounds, etc., but they'll also push lines with much more favorable underdog odds for a fight somehow going to decision or past 8 to 10 rounds. Roy Jones Jr.'s latter career fights have banked some substantial volume on decision odds by a lot of bettors. Check your sportsbook for prop bets for UFC 100, you might be intrigued at what you find.