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May 24, 2009 - 10:18:01 AM By Matt Pelkey, MMATorch Columnist The UFC crowned a new light-heavyweight champion last night, and we here at the Torch crowned a new double champion for the third straight time. Prediction and Betting Champ Kubi was supposed to defend his prediction title against David Shortbull and his betting title against Scott Hart, but Shortbull was a no-show so Hart stepped up on short notice to battle Kubi for both titles. He was successful. He edged Kubi 7-4 to 6-5 to capture the prediction belt, and despite Kubi turning a decent $300+ profit, Hart more than doubled him up to take the betting title as well. Congrats to our new champ(s)...SCOTT "THE FOUNTAIN OF YOOOUUUUTTHH" HAAARRTT!
In the pools, it was a mixed bag. Thanks to a couple of upsets, and several hard-to-call fights, no one really stood out in the prediction pool. It came down to a three-way tie for the #1 contendership between Torch Head-Honcho Jamie Penick, the man simply known as Nut, and Stephen Legaree at 8-3 on their picks. As such, we went to the tie-breakers. You have to assume Nut is currently regretting his decision to pass on picking rounds and methods as he was pretty much guaranteed to not be moving on. In the end, Penick edged Legaree 4-3 and will move on to battle new champ Hart at UFC 99.
In the betting pool, we had possible our most successful night as a collective group. Only three participants failed to turn a profit, and two people, Jamie Penick and Scott Hart, nearly TRIPLED their money. Penick's $2970 payout crushed the field, who mostly stayed in the $1000-$1700 range. So that's your match-up for both belts at UFC 99: Scott "The Fountain of Youth" Hart vs. Jamie "The Boss" Penick. Good luck to both combatants. The rest of the results follow:
Prediction Pool:
Jamie Penick 8-3 (5)
Stephen Legaree 8-3 (3)
Nut 8-3 (0)
Brian Fuller 7-4
Nick Underwood 7-4
Overkill 7-4
Matt Pelkey 6-5
Chris Gawn 5-6
Frank Hyden 5-6
Betting Championship:
Scott Hart- $400 on Hague for $1420
$400 on Sonnen for $980
$200 on Roop for $325
Total Payout: $2725
Kubi (c)- $300 on Soszynski for $705
$200 on McFedries for $490
$100 on Larson for $132.26
Total Payout: $1327.26
Betting Pool:
Jamie Penick- $500 on Hague for $1775
$300 on Soszynski for $705
$200 on McFedries for $490
Total Payout: $2970
Brian Fuller- $400 on Soszynski for $940
$200 on Sonnen for $490
$100 on McFedries for $245
Total Payout: $1675
Matt Pelkey- $300 on Larson for $396.77
$200 on Bradley for $750
$200 on Soszynski for $470
Total Payout: $1616.77
Rich Boles- $500 on Soszynski for $1175
$300 on Hughes for $415.38
Total Payout: $1590.38
Nut- $100 on Machida for $145.45
$100 on Hughes for $138.46
$100 on McFedries for $245
$100 on Sonnen for $245
$100 on Roop for $162.50
$200 on Soszynski for $470
Total Payout: $1406.41
Stephen Legaree- $300 on Soszynski for $705
$300 on Machida for $436.36
Total Payout: $1141.36
Jason Trumble- $400 on Machida for $581.82
$200 on Hughes for $276.92
$100 on Soszynski for $235
Total Payout: $1093.74
Overkill- $300 on Hughes for $415.38
$400 on Larson for $529.03
Total Payout: $944.41
Nick Underwood- $300 on Sonnen for $735
Total Payout: $735
Adam Fabbro- $200 on McFedries for $490
Total Payout: $490
Chris Gawn- $200 on Hughes for $276.92
Total Payout: $276.92
Performer of the Night: With all due respect to new double champ Scott Hart, Jamie Penick out-performed him in both contests and takes home the award.
Goat of the Night: David Shortbull. While its tempting to bestow this honor (?) on the man who inspired its creation, Chris Gawn, I'm hereby setting a precedent that anyone who no-shows a title shot will automatically win the Goat Award.
ALERT: Every Tuesday night, listen to the MMATorch Livecast from 9-10:30 p.m. ET or listen now to the most recent shows by clicking here. Listen live this coming Tuesday as Jamie Penick, Rich Hansen, and Matt Pelkey discuss the latest MMA happenings. Online listen at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/mmatorch or call into the show at 646-716-8090 to either just listen or participate.
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