...OH, ONE MORE THING - PLEASE BOOKMARK US & VISIT DAILY!
By Rich Hansen, MMA Torch Columnist:
So after going undefeated with my confidence picks at UFC 134, and after turning my $1000 into like 53 gazillion and a half dollars, how in the hell could I possibly follow up on those sublime moments of pure genius? Could I, your ever so humble contest administrator, follow up with even more of my typical genius and become a double champion? Could I, your ever so humble genius contest administrator, win at least one of the two contests? Or would I, your ever so merciful deity of all that is MMA knowledge, show pity on the competition and tank my way back into the pools with the rest of the unwashed masses? You know you want to know, so read on.
CONFIDENCE GAME RESULTS
I’m nothing if not merciful. Except with my picks at UFC 135, of course, as I defeated not just one but two overmatched and overwhelmed opponents to win the MMA Torch Confidence Picks Contest. Yay Me! Now, to be fair to myself, I did take it easy on poor Messrs. Avery Clarke and Jason Lyon by only scoring 43 points. Even though I picked Romero for 5, Rothwell for 4, and Gomi for 3, I knew deep down that TeHuna, Hunt, and Diaz would win. So, mad props to me for not running up the score.
BETTING CONTEST RESULTS
But could I win both games? Well of course I could, gentle reader. My only regret was that I was only able to pulverize one hapless betting opponent rather than the two lambs I led to slaughter in the Confidence Picks Contest. Already possessing far more Monopoly money than I could ever manage to spend, I decided not to bet heavily on Mark Hunt, but was kind enough to defeat then-champion Chris McCann by less than $44. Congratulations to me for, well, yeah.
Name: Rich Hansen $1275.17
$500 on Boetsch for $755.10
$200 parlay on Boetsch, Mizugaki, and Jones for $520.07
Name: Chris McCann $1234.93
$500 on Jones for $614.94
$200 on Diaz for $271.94
$200 parlay on Browne, Koscheck, and Jones for $348.04
POOL RESULTS
Lest I be accused of overhyping my own accomplishments, let’s talk about the poor victim who I’ll be defending against at UFC 136. This is the section that I like to call the Pre-Eulogy.
Poor Matt Pelkey, he was a wonderful man, and lived a full life. He managed to win both the Confidence Picks pool and the Betting Game pool for UFC 135, which was the beginning of the end. In the oh-so rare Torch vs. Torch showdown, Hansen and Pelkey will duel against each other not once but twice on October 8. Good luck to both, but not to you, Pelkey.
CONFIDENCE GAME POOL
Matt Pelkey: 54 (missed on Yagin for 1)
Dennis Fagan: 49
Danny Mellor, Dan Moore, Matthew Schickling: 47
Chris Knight, Anthony Sinnott: 46
Cambo Nelson: An uncharacteristically high 45
Skarz, Mike Jensen, 44
Shaun Louis, Clay Burley, Chris McCann: 43
Casey Vaccaro, Brent King, Jason GOAT Thompson, Dionicio Ortiz: 42
Carll Light: 41
Tyson Kubas: 39
Bam White, James Scott: 38
Erik Nell: 37
Brendon Weir: 36
Nathaniel Adelman: 35
Phillip Irvin, Julian Ancheta, Jacon Wasserman, Jamie Penick: 34
Simon Kerry: 33
Jason Binder: 32
Mark Bunce: 31
Kevin Seng: 29
BETTING CONTEST POOL:
And absolute shameful set of entries this time, fellas. Only 4 out of 33 entries turned a profit, and no one managed to even double their investment on Monopoly money.
Matt Pelkey: $1988.78
$500 on TeHuna for $785.71
$300 on Boetsch for $453.06
$200 on Hunt for $750
Dennis Fagan: $1506.41
$500 on Boetsch for $756.41
$200 on Hunt for $750
James Scott: $1492.56
$500 on Mizugaki for $700
$200 on Boetsch for $302.04
$200 parlay on Koscheck, Boetsch, and Mizugaki for $490.51
Mark Bunce: $1103.74
$200 on Hunt for $750
$200 parlay on Ferguson, Browne, and Koscheck for $353.74
Mike Jensen: $987.33
$500 on Diaz for $679.86
$200 on Jones for $307.47
Danny Mellor: $916.98
$500 on Jones for $614.94
$200 on Boetsch for $302.04
Casey Vaccaro: $894.94
$500 on Jones for $614.94
$200 on Mizugaki for $280
Clay Burley: $750
$200 on Hunt for $750
Trey Witzell: $750
$200 on Hunt for $750
Chris Knight: $742.86
$250 on TeHuna for $392.86
$250 on Mizugaki for $350
Jacob Wasserman: $697.02
$300 on Boetsch for $453.06
$200 on Browne for $243.96
Carll Light: $685.68
$250 on Boetsch for $378.21
$250 on Jones for $307.47
Brendon Weir: $673.92
$300 on Jones for $368.97
$250 on Browne for $304.95
Jason Thompson: $625
$400 on Ferguson for $250
$100 on Hunt for $375
Jamie Penick: $604.08
$400 on Boetsch for $604.08
Dan Moore: $575.82
$300 on Boetsch for $453.85
$100 on Browne for $121.98
Shaun Louis: $560
$400 on Mizugaki for $560
Dionicio Ortiz: $540
$300 on Assuncao for $540
Matthew Schickling: $407.91
$300 on Diaz for $407.91
Simon Kerry: $387.97
$200 parlay on Jones, Diaz, and Koscheck for $387.97
Cambo Nelson: A much more characteristic $375
$100 on Hunt for $375
Skarz: $271.94
$200 on Diaz for $271.94
Tyson Kubas: $250
$200 on Ferguson for $250
Jonah Goodman: $243.96
$200 on Browne for $243.96
Jason Lyon, Sam Jefferis, Bam White, Kevin Seng, Anthony Sinnott, Connor Thomas, Avery Clark, Matt Bathurst, Brent King: $0
The Rich Hansen Performer of the Night: While Matt Pelkey did score more points and earn more Monopoly than I did; he did so in the pressure-free environment that is the pool. Meanwhile, I managed to thrive under the championship spotlight (the crowd roars). So I will humbly not only award myself Performer of the Night, I will also (gratuitously) rename the award in my honor.
The Matt Pelkey Goat of the Night: Editor’s Note: The Goat of the Night Award is being renamed pre-emptively, in advance of the beating Mr. Pelkey is about to endure at UFC 136. And now back to regularly scheduled programming…”
Kevin Seng finished dead last with 29 points, and lost all $1000 that he wagered. Easy call here.
Follow me on Twitter, @MMATorchRich. They'll kill me if you don't. Unless you hate me, in which case they'll kill me if you do.
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STAFF COLUMNISTS: Shawn Ennis - Jason Amadi
Frank Hyden - Rich Hansen
Chris Park - Matt Pelkey
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