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By: Tommy Strong, MMA Torch UK Columnist
Wow, what an eventful UFC 177 event, and all for the wrong reasons! Renan Barao had his title fight canceled with T.J Dillashaw after having medical issues due to his weight cutting, leaving it up to Joe Soto to rescue the main event. Soto put up a valiant effort, and made the fight more competitive over the five rounds than Barao did in his bout with Dillashaw, though it was the Champ who retained his title in a fight from which he had nothing to gain.
Though this event wound up only being an eight fight card, and wasn't packed full of names we'd have liked to see, the card really wasn't that bad... was it?
CONFIDENCE GAME FIGHT PREDICTIONS
30 people submitted an entry for this card. Here’s a combined breakdown of how many confidence points you placed on each fighter (Winner in bold):
T.J. Dillashaw - 232
J.Soto - 0
Tony Ferguson - 134
Danny Castillo - 18
Bethe Correia - 125
Shayna Baszler - 20
Carlos Diego Ferreira - 108
Ramsey Nijem - 39
Yancy Medeiros - 52
Damon Jackson - 56
Derek Brunson - 71
Lorenz Larkin - 41
Anthony Hamilton - 108
Ruan Potts - 13
Chris Wade - 46
Cain Carrizosa - 17
World Cup 2nd Round Results
Mark Sacchetti (36) beat David Little (31) Nick Williams (30) beat (via tie break) Rick Thayer (30) Ben Heather (27) beat (via tie break) Daniel "Tucky" Moore Josh Hall (35) beat Mark Bunce (30) Dave Hughes (36) beat Joel Wielenga (27) Avery Clarke (30) beat Sam Martin (21) Chris McCann (30) beat Gareth Moores (24) Richard Race (30) beat Dennis Fagan (26)
CONFIDENCE GAME RESULTS
Chris McCann (30) beat Joel Wielenga (27) to become the new MMA Torch Confidence Picks Champion. In a closely contested battle, it was the challenger McCann who's decision to back Brunson over Larkin, was key to his victory over the champion! Well done Chris and hard luck to Joel. Now lets see if you can hold onto your title at UFC 178.
Next up for the new champion is 'The Total Package' Mark Sacchetti (36) who pipped Dave Hughes (36) after a tie break, to earn a shot at the title after both men scored a faultless night picking correctly 8/8 fights. If only Dave Hughes had submitted method of victories it could've been a whole different story!
Here are the results of the Confidence Picks pool:
36 - 'The Total Package' Mark Sacchetti
36 - Dave Hughes
35 - Josh Hall
35 - Tommy Strong
33 - Scott Pipher
31 - 'Mystic' Mac Kinder
31 - Alex Potapoff
31 - David Little
30 - Chris McCann
30 - Raunchy' Rick Thayer
30 - Brian Foe
30 - Charles Mickael
30 - Richard Race
30 - Steve Franklin
30 - JayMon1002
30 - Nick Williams
30 - Shaun Louis
30 - Avery Clarke
30 - Mark Bunce
30 - Dominic Marchionna
29 - Eugene Kim
28 - Anthony Sinnott
27 - Joel Wielenga
27 - Ben Heather
27 - Dan 'Tucky' Moore
26 - Dennis 'The Crustacean' Fagan
24 - Gareth Moores
21 - Sam Martin
22 - Lisa Smith
17 - Sean Simpson
Note: Should either champion, or every challenger fail to submit picks for UFC 178, Dave Hughes would step up as a challenger, and so on. Everyone else will be fighting for the No 1 contender slot on the night, and the right to face off against Mark or Dave at UFC 178 (D. Johnson vs. C. Cariaso) next month.
BETTING GAME RESULTS
Tommy "Gumbo" Strong ($2211.86) beat The Total Package' Mark Sacchetti ($1801.28) to remain MMA Torch Betting Champion.
Mark swept a clean sheet for all his betting, but what ultimately cost him the title was his $200 parlay bet on Dillashaw, Ferguson and C.D. Ferreira, which only made a modest return for his stake. Betting luck next time Mark.
Of course where's there's self praise to be had, Im going to take full advantage of it. Well done to myself for once again not only becoming the betting champion, but retaining the title.
Tommy Strong: $2211.86
$400 on Correia for $696.30
$200 on Brunson for $366.67
$200 parlay on Wade, Brunson and Correia for $1148.89
Mark Sacchetti: $1801.28
$450 on Wade for $810
$300 on Hamilton for $450
$50 on Brunson for $91.67
$200 parlay on T.J. Dillashaw, Ferguson and Ferreira for $449.61
Up next to face me for the title will be Charles Mickael, who took home an impressive $2025.04 to narrowly beat to his nearest rival Josh Hall who returned $1897.33 to win this weeks pool. Though every favourite won on saturday night, players had to pick wisely to return a decent profit.
Here are the best results from the Betting Picks pool:
Charles Mickael: $2025.04
$200 on Correia for $348.15
$400 on Ferreira for $581.82
$200 on Brunson for $366.67
$200 Parlay on Correia, Ferreira and Brunson for $728.40
Josh Hall: $1897.33
$300 on Ferguson for $422.45
$300 on Medeiros for $560.87
$200 on Correia for $348.15
$200 parlay on Ferguson, Ferreira and Medeiros for $565.86
Mark Bunce $1586.47
$200 on Correia for $348.15
$350 on Brunson for $641.67
$100 parlay on Correia, Brunson and Medeiros for $596.65
Lisa Smith: $1544.25
$500 on Dillashaw for $546.08
$150 on Correia for $261.11
$50 on Ferguson for $70.41
$50 on Medeiros for $93.48
$200 parlay on Dillashaw,Correia and Hamilton for $573.17
Richard Race: $1421.45
$500 on Ferguson for $704.08
$100 on Wade for $180
$200 parlay on Ferguson, Ferreira and Wade for $537.37
Shaun Louis: $1250.59
$300 on Dillashaw for 329.27
$200 on Correia for $348.15
$200 parlay on Dillashaw, Correia and Hamilton for $573.17
Chris McCann: $1010.37
$150 on Brunson for $275
$200 parlay on Ferguson, Correia and Hamilton for $735.37
'Raunchy' Rich Thayer: $183.33
$100 on Brunson for $183.33
Dennis Fagan : $180.00
$100 on Wade for $180
Alex Potapoff: $431.73
$200 on Ferreira for $290.91
$100 on Ferguson for $140.82
Brian Foe: $366,67
$200 on Brunson for $366.67
Scott Pipher: $714.07
$100 on Correia for $174.07
$300 on Wade for $540
Eugene Kim: $87.04
$50 on Correia for $87.04
Daniel 'Tucky' Moore: $87.04
$50 on Correia for $87.04
Scott Franklin: $1311.47
$400 on Dillashaw for $439.02
$300 on Ferguson for $422.45
$300 on Hamilton for $450
Jason Thompson: $908.33
$250 on Brunson for $458.33
$250 on Wade for $450
Nick Williams: $858.81
$300 on Ferguson for $422.45
$300 on Ferreira for $436.36
Anthony Sinnott: $734.94
$300 on Medeiros for $560.87
$100 on Correia for $174.07
Avery Clarke: $54.88
$50 on Dillashaw for $54.88
Gareth Moores: $872.54
$200 on Ferguson for $281.63
$200 on Ferreira for $290.91
$200 on Hamilton for $300
David Little: $797.76
$200 on Correia for $348.15
$200 parlay on Dillashaw, Ferguson and Ferreira for $449.61
Ben Heather: $366.67
$200 on Brunson for $366.67
Dominic Marchionna: $450
$300 on Hamilton for $450
'Mystic' Mac Kinder : $0
Dave Hughes: $0
Sam Martin: $0
Sean Simpson: $0
Joel Wielenga: $0
Note: Should either champion, or challenger fail to submit picks for UFC 178 (D.Johnson vs. C.Cariaso), Josh Hall would step up as a challenger, and so on. Everyone else will be fighting for the No 1 contender slot on the night, and the right to face off against either Tommy or Charles at UFC 179 (Aldo vs. Mendes 2).
RECAP & Quarter Final Draw:
World Cup Quarter Final Draw (Played at UFC 178)
Avery Clarke vs. Dave Hughes
Nick Williams vs. Ben Heather
Richard Race vs. Josh Hall
Chris McCann vs. Mark Sacchetti
MMA Torch Confidence Picks Championship Match Up (UFC 175)
Chris McCann (Champion) vs. 'The Total Package' Mark Sacchetti (Challenger)
MMA Torch Betting Picks Championship Match Up (UFC 175)
Tommy Strong (Champion) vs. Charles Mickael (Challenger)
Performer of the Night: Goes to both 'The Total Package' Mark Sacchetti and Dave Hughes, who both scored the maximum 36 points. Also, honourable mention to Josh Hall, who was narrowly pipped to line to become the next challenger for both titles!
GOAT: Has to go to none other than Sean Simpson, who had a bad night at the office, only scoring 17 points. And to everyone else who didn't return a profit on their money!
Feel free to follow me on Twitter, @MMATorchTom
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