...OH, ONE MORE THING - PLEASE BOOKMARK US & VISIT DAILY!
By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
This Saturday's UFC 179 event means another chance to make a little money in fantasy MMA via our friends at Kountermove.com. If you've never played a game at Kountermove before, read on for details on the game, some of our thoughts on the available options this weekend, and a link to MMATorch's freeroll for the overnight fight card on Friday/Saturday.
First up, the rules. In Kountermove, each fighter on a given card is given a set salary for that night, and your job is to put together your best five man (or woman) team within a cap of $25,000. Come fight night, each fighter will score points for significant strikes, takedowns/reversals, knock downs, submission attempts, and dominant positions.
Once a fight has finished, fighters receive bonus points depending on how the fight ended. A first round finish brings 100 points, second round 75, with 50 coming for a finish in the third, fourth, or fifth rounds. Additionally, if a fight goes to a decision, any rounds won score ten points for your fighter (example, a 30-27 decision would score 30 points for the winner).
The best combined scores each event will win prize money, which is split up amongst the pool depending on the amount of players, the entry fee, and how much money is available.
For this weekend's pay-per-view event from Rio de Janeiro, I'll run down my top pick, the fighter I'm avoiding, and the fighter I believe could be worth the underdog play.
Top Pick: Lucas Martins ($5100) - Some may shy away from this pick because of Elkins' relative durability, but Martins is a consistent finisher whose sole loss came at the hands of Edson Barboza in January of last year. Elkins has been stopped three times in his career, and though he's consistently picked up decision wins in the UFC, I just don't see Elkins doing the same to Martins. The Brazilian here has stopped 14 opponents in 15 career wins, and if you're looking for a fighter on your team likely to finish their fight, he's your man.
Fighter to Avoid: Neil Magny ($5300) - Though Magny's won four fights in 2014 already, and is likely to win his fifth straight during the year in this fight, he's far from consistent as far as stoppages are concerned, and he doesn't typically put out a ton of activity to make up the points in a three round fight. I don't expect William Macario to offer up much in the way of an upset, but he's also relatively durable, and isn't necessarily likely to get stopped by anything Magny does. The price tag is simply too steep in this one. I was tempted to put Jose Aldo into this slot due to his $6000 price tag, but that one's dependent on your own level of comfort in the idea of him winning and doing so decisively. If you think the points are going to rack up there, by all means, try to build something around Aldo; however, if you think the odds are not as in his favor as it seems, avoid that pick as well.
Risk/Reward Dogs: Tony Martin ($4400), Chad Mendes ($4600) - While Martin's two UFC appearances have brought around his only two career losses, he's been competitive for a time in both fights. He's also got several submission wins to his credit, and he's fighting someone in Fabricio Camoes who has simply proven not to be all that great in the UFC. If you need a low value pick to fit on your roster, Martin may have the biggest upside for the cap hit. As for Mendes, this is where it comes down to your thoughts on the main event. If you think there's a possibility he pulls off the upset in decisive fashion over Aldo (and it should be clear that it's at least in the realm of possibility), then for that price, it might be worth the risk of him getting beat early. Obviously there's not a ton of confidence here, because there's little confidence in that main event on any level right now, so this pick is entirely on your own opinion for how the fight plays out. If you think Mendes is the man to dethrone Aldo, this is a must-play on Kountermove.
-Join the $50 MMATorch Freeroll on Kountermove at the link below, but hurry as spots fill fast!
Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
STAFF COLUMNISTS: Shawn Ennis - Jason Amadi
Frank Hyden - Rich Hansen
Chris Park - Matt Pelkey
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