The Ultimate Fighting Championship on Saturday dropped in on fans in the Czech Republic for the first time, and UFC Fight Night 145 turned out to be a successful event that featured a number of exciting finishes, not to mention a few upsets along the way. The five unlikeliest bets to cash comprise this edition of Insane Prop Bets.
Thiago Santos Wins in Round 3 (+750)
The main event saw Santos improve to 3-0 as a light heavyweight -- all three wins have come by knockout -- as he blasted Jan Blachowicz with a right hook-left hook combo in the third round for the most significant victory of his career to date. Santos is now tied with Anderson Silva and Anthony Johnson with 11 knockout wins inside the Octagon, just one behind all-time leader Vitor Belfort. When all is said and done, Santos might emerge as the most prolific knockout artist in UFC history. The prop on Santos beating Blachowicz in the third round cashed at +750 odds.
Stefan Struve Wins in Round 2 (+500)
The co-headliner resulted in a nice comeback courtesy of Struve, who survived a 10-8 first round to storm back and submit Marcos Rogerio de Lima in the second. Struve was dropped by a huge overhand right as soon as the bell rang in the first round and had to endure five minutes of heavy ground-and-pound from the Brazilian. However, he showed the heart of a lion, stayed strong and stopped Rogerio de Lima with an arm-triangle choke in the second round. The prop on Struve winning in Round 2 cashed at +500 odds.
Michal Oleksiejczuk Wins in Round 1 (+500)
One of the better performances on the card came from Oleksiejczuk, a promising light heavyweight prospect who knocked out Gian Villante with a brutal left hook to the body and follow-up ground strikes in the first round. Oleksiejczuk was competing for the first time since December 2017 -- a United States Anti-Doping Agency violation forced him to sit out all of 2018 -- but looked as sharp as ever in taking out a durable veteran and upping his unbeaten streak to 11 fights. The prop on Oleksiejczuk winning in the first round cashed at healthy +500 odds.
Ismail Naurdiev Wins by Decision (+705)
Naurdiev pulled off a major upset in a welterweight prelim, as he won a lopsided decision over highly favored veteran Michel Prazeres. Naurdiev is just 22 years old, and the future looks bright for the young Austrian, as he showed off some stellar skills in his UFC debut. Not only was Naurdiev the biggest moneyline underdog on the card to win, but the prop on his winning a decision cashed at huge +705 odds.
Damir Hadzovic Wins in Round 2 (+600)
Hadzovic showed off his finishing power on the undercard, as he grounded-and-pounded his way to a second-round technical knockout of Marco Polo Reyes in a lightweight affair. The UFC’s lone fighter from Bosnia and Herzegovina improved to 3-2 inside the Octagon and now rides the first two-fight winning streak of his UFC tenure. It was his second knockout win in the UFC, the other being a knee-strike finish of Marcin Held at UFC Fight Night 109. The prop on Hadzovic beating Reyes in the second round cashed at +600 odds.
Adam Martin is a mixed martial arts journalist who has been covering the sport since 2011. He is currently the lead odds analyst for Sherdog.com, as well as the lead staff writer for MMAOddsbreaker.com. Adam is also the co-host of “The Parting Shot Podcast” on iTunes. His favorite fight of all-time is Dan Henderson-Mauricio Rua, and he wishes Pride Fighting Championships never died. Adam is based out of Toronto, and he is a graduate of the University of Toronto and Centennial College. Get in touch with him on Twitter at @MMAdamMartin.