FACEBOOK TWITTER RSS APP PODCAST Upcoming Events UFC 103 Prediction and Betting Contests (UPDATED)

Sep 16, 2009 - 9:39:43 AM
By Matt Pelkey, MMATorch Columnist
**UPDATE** The betting lines for all 13 fights are now below.

After the monster events with big headliners that were UFC 100, 101, and 102 we got a few weeks to relax, but UFC 103 is right around the corner. While it lacks a big-time main event, it more than makes up for it with a very deep card. It was even deeper before the usual injuries reared their ugly heads and shook things up a bit, but its still rock solid. The theme of this card seems to be returns. We get the returns of Vitor Belfort, Vladimir Matyushenko, Frank Trigg, and what feels like the return of Cro Cop, even though his last fight was inside the Octagon.

On the Torch side of things, at UFC 102 your's truly once again vanquished his foe to defend his Prediction Title for a second time. I'll be taking on reigning and defending betting champ Scott "The Fountain of Youth" Hart, who'll be looking to pull off the rare feat of simultaneous double champion. Good luck to Mr. Hart, he'll need it.

For the betting title, champ Scott Hart will be putting his betting title on the line for a fourth time against message board regular Norwegiannightmare. This will be the Nightmare's first crack at Torch Contest gold.

But we're not the only ones with something on the line. Remember that everyone else goes into the pool with the top performer getting a title shot at UFC 104 next month. Good luck to everyone. Let's take a look at the line-up.


PREDICTION CONTEST:

I'm pretty sure everyone knows how this works by now, but just in case...Basically you pick the winners of each fight, including method (e.g. KO, submission, decision) and round. The winner is the one who picks the most fights correctly. Ties will be broken by who had the most number of rounds and methods correctly predicted. In case anyone is wondering, only rounds and methods in fights where you predicted the correct winner count.


Vitor Belfort (+115) vs. Rich Franklin (-145)

Mirko Filipovic (+105) vs. Junior dos Santos (-135)

Martin Kampmann (-500) vs. Paul Daley (+300)

Josh Koscheck (-500) vs. Frank Trigg (+300)

Tyson Griffin (-300) vs. Hermes Franca (+240)

Efrain Escudero (-150) vs. Cole Miller (+120)

Drew McFedries (-120) vs. Tomasz Drwal (+110)

Jim Miller (-600) vs. Steve Lopez (+400)

Rafaello Oliveira (-340) vs. Nik Lentz (+260)

Brian Foster (-105) vs. Rick Story (-130)

Jason Brilz (EVEN) vs. Eliot Marshall (-130)

Vladimir Matyushenko (-270) vs. Igor Pokrajac (+210)

Robert Emerson (-105) vs. Rafael Dos Anjos (-125)


BETTING CONTEST:

As you can see, there's a number attached to each fighter. That number represents how much money you can make off each fighter. The way it works is, if a fighter has a positive number he's an underdog. The positive number means if you were to bet $100 dollars on him, you would make the amount of the positive number. For example, if you were to bet $100 on Trigg and he won, you would make back the hundred you bet, plus $300 for a total payout of $400.

If the fighter has a negative number, that number represents how much you would have to bet to make $100 on the fighter. For example, if you bet $500 on Koscheck and he won, you'd make back the $500, plus a $100 profit, for a total payout of $600.

Each contestant has $1000 in theoretical money. You can bet it on as many fighters as you'd like, but you have to bet on at least three. The most you can bet on a single fighter is $500, and bets have to be in multiples of $100.



I'm setting a deadline of 3p.m. (EST) Saturday to get all your picks in.

Note: In the event that one of the #1 contenders fails to show for their title shot, the champ will defend against the next best performer from the previous contest. You've been warned, so bring your A game everybody! The lines are courtesy of Bodog.com.

As always you can submit your picks one of three ways: by emailing me at matt6buckeye@hotmail.com, posting them on the message boards, or by leaving them in the comments section right down there. Again, good luck.

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.