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By Matt Pelkey, MMATorch Columnist Well my sincerest apologies TorchNation. I was in the middle of compiling all of my data and typing this up Monday evening, when a bad storm knocked out my cable, internet, and power. I lost all my work, and my cable didn't come back on til last night. So let's try this again, shall we?
UFC 86 seems like years ago now, but it was just a few days ago that the UFC crowned a new light-heavyweight champion, and the Torch crowned a new champion of it's own. In the prediction contest, champion Scott "the Fountain of Youth" Hart took on Rich Boles. Despite Boles's wise last minute decision to switch his pick from Gurgel to Miller, it wasn't enough. That only brought his record on the night to 4-5. Hart wasn't much better at 5-4, but just like in match-play golf, it only matters if you defeat your opponent. And that's just what Hart did, making him the first champion to defend his title in Contests v3.0.
The field faired much better, but that's to be expected. There's a lot less pressure with no title on the line. UFC 86 also featured the return of longtime contest juggernaut Jerry Cattelane. It was an impressive return to be sure, as the Dr. went 7-2 with his picks. Most nights that would've been good enough to earn a title shot, but not on this night. Gavin "the Melbourne Mauler" Byrne came all the way from down under with his astounding 8-1 performance. He'll get his shot against Hart at UFC 87 in Minneapolis.
On the betting side of things, Brian Fuller, freshly on the short list of double champions, took on Brian "BMYinc" Murphy. Murphy, the brash newcomer, was up to the challenge on this night. Or perhaps Fuller just succumbed to the pressure. Whatever floats your boat. Anyways, Fuller's only successful wager was a $400 bet on favorite Joe Stevenson. That left him with a net loss of $409.52. That's just not gonna get it done in a title fight. Murphy wasn't overly successful, but his correct bets on Patrick Cote ($500) and Josh Koscheck ($100) helped him turn a modest profit of $181.25. That was plenty good enough though to earn him his first title. So....your winner...AND NEEEEWWWWW MMATORCH BETTING CHAMPION...BRIAN "BMYINC" MUUURRRPPHHHYYY!! Oh, and he'd like me to pass along this message: that company name is for winners only.
Several people in the field outperformed both combatants in the title fight, but this was Jerry Cattelane's night. Nearly tripling his money, the good doctor hit successfully on his bets on Justin "don't call me Clay" Buchholz, Forrest Griffin and Cole Miller for a total profit of $1798.85. Also putting in respectable performances were new Prediction #1 contender Gavin Byrne with a profit of $768.37 and your's truly with $630. Nobody could touch Jerry, however, and he moves on to UFC 87 to take on Murphy in the closest thing we can have to a "David vs. Goliath" battle.
I'd regret not mentioning the historic performance of Chris Gawn. For those of you who don't know, Gawn is probably the most loyal contest participant we've had, dating all the way back to v1.0. The guy just can't catch a break though. He's had a string of poor performances, but this was rock bottom. He went a contest worst 2-9 on his picks, and didn't make a single successful bet. I'm trying to come up with a nickname for Gawn, something in the "lovable loser" vain, but more clever. If anyone has any suggestions, especially Gawn himself, let me know.
Well that's it for now folks. As always, you can reach me at matt6buckeye@hotmail.com. Also, be sure to head on over to the forum and get your vote in for the new Torch Rankings. The deadline is quickly approaching, and this is your chance to let your voice be heard!
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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