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By: Tommy Strong, MMA Torch UK Columnist
For everyone who managed to stayed awake during the pay-per-view event, I tip my hat to you. After the Beneil Dariush and Darren Elkins wins my eyes got the better of me! However, the main event of the evening more than made up for the lacklustre start.
Jose Aldo vs. Chad Mendes was anything but lacklustre, as the five round back and forth battle had just about everything apart from a finish! I hope it's not long before we get to see the pair go at it again!
In a mixed bag of results last night, three underdog fighters managed to pull off an upset, and it was Dariush's victory over the undefeated Carlos Diego Ferreira that would cause lost points for almost everyone.
Let see how you all got on.
CONFIDENCE GAME FIGHT PREDICTIONS
26 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):
Jose Aldo - 133
Chad Mendes - 53
Phil Davis - 37
Glover Teixeira - 132
Fabio Maldonado - 140
Hans Stringer - 5
Darren Elkins - 116
Lucas Martins - 40
Beneil Dariush - 4
Carlos Ferreira - 166
Neil Magny - 181
William Marcario - 14
Yan Cabral - 249
Naoyuki Kotani - 0
Wilson Reis - 75
Scott Jorgensen - 33
Andre Fili - 81
Felipe Arantes - 12
Gilbert Burns - 194
Christos Giagos - 0
Tony Martin - 34
Fabricio Camoes - 17
World Cup Semi Final Results:
Dave Hughes (53) def. Josh Hall (43) Mark "The Adonis" Sacchetti (47) def. Richard Race (43)
Well done to Dave Hughes and Mark Sacchetti who will both fight it out for the World Cup Finals at UFC Fight Night 55/56. Good luck guys!!
CONFIDENCE GAME RESULTS
MMA Torch Confidence Pick Champion Josh Hall put his title on the line this weekend against David Little. For the second event running, the challenger would fail to submit an entry in on time. David Hughes would step up as late replacement to take on the champion.
The title was won and lost on one critical fight, Darren Elkins vs Lucas Martins. The champion Josh placed 9 points on the underdog, proving to be his downfall. David Hughes had a good home coming home with a solid 53 points to end Josh Hall's hot streak!
David Hughes (53) beats Josh Hall (43) to become the new MMATorch Confidence Picks Champion. Well done David, becoming the new champ, let's see if you hold onto the title at UFC Fight Night 55/56 Bisping vs Rockhold / Manuwa vs. Shogun.
I'm sure it won't be long before we'll see Josh Hall back in title contention!
Next up for the champion is JayMon1002 (64) who had a very impressive night, scoring a massive 64 of a possible 66 points without using even using the joker card. He only dropped 2 confidence points backing Scott Jorgensen in defeat. Though what was even more remarkable was being the only player confident enough to back Beneil Dariush to win.
Great job Jaymon1002, and well deserved. Though maybe next time use your joker card as it nearly cost you the win!
Running him a close second was none other than myself! With 62 points, which included using a joker card, it wasn't quite enough to take first place.
Here are the results of the Confidence Picks pool:
64 - JayMon1002
62 - Tommy 'Gumbo' Strong
61 - Michael Douglas
61 - Brian Foe
55 - Scott Pipher
53 - David Hughes
53 - "Mystic" Mac Kinder
52 - Sean Simpson
52 - Dominic Marchionna
52 - Shaun Louis
51 - Mark Bunce
50 - Anthony Sinnott
49 - Kevin Seng
49 - Chris Wood
48 - Joel "Wheels" Wielenga
47 - Dan "Tucky" Moore
47 - Mark "The Adonis" Sacchetti
45 - Chris McCann
43 - Richard Race
43 - Josh Hall
43 - Charles Mickael
43 - Danny Hakker
41- Alex "NutHugger" Potapoff
37 - Sam Martin
33 - "Raunchy" Rick Thayer
31 - Ben S
Note: Should either champion, or every challenger fail to submit picks for UFC FN 55/56 Tommy Strong 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 David or JayMon1002 at UFC 180.
BETTING GAME RESULTS
Tommy "Gumbo" Strong ($2061.74) beat Sam Martin ($1140) to remain MMA Torch Betting Champion. Having gone quite conservative with my betting, it seemed to pay off quite handsomely. Sam didn't quite have the luck on his side though still made a return on his stake making $1140 on his one returning bet, backing Phil Davis at a hefty +280.
The game hinged on the main event Aldo vs Mendes, and luckily for me Aldo did what he does best, and in return I remain the champ! Unfortunately for Sam it's back to the drawing board.
Tommy Strong: $1980.13
$500 on Aldo for $717.39
$200 on Reis for $325
$100 on Maldonado for $180
$200 parlay on Aldo, Reis and Maldonado for $839.35
Sam Martin: $1140
$300 on Davis for $1140
Up next to face me for the title will be man of the moment JayMon1002, who returned an impressive $2599.99 and the chance to challenge me for the MMATorch Betting Title. It's not going to end well for you Jaymon1002!
Jaymon1002 backing Davis and Dariush put him well into profit before hitting his parlay, and well onto the road of top earner. Though he didn't have everything his own way, as him a very close second was Michael Douglas who narrowly missed out being betting challenger by $32. Having won on every bet placed, it just wasn't quite enough to earn that shot.
Brian Foe, Joel "Wheels" Wielenga and Scott Pipher also deserve a mention for returning over $2000, great going guys!
Here are the best results from the Betting Picks pool:
JayMon1002: $2599.99
$300 on Davis for $1140
$300 on Dariush for $825
$200 parlay on Aldo, Elkins and Magny for $634.99
Michael Douglas: $2567.35
$200 on Davis for $760
$400 on Maldonado for $720
$200 on Fili for $360
$200 Parlay on Aldo, Maldonado and Magny for $727.35
Brian Foe: $2187.13
$500 on Aldo for $717.39
$200 on Maldonado for $360
$100 on Fili for $180
$200 parlay on Aldo, Maldonado and Fili for $929.74
Joel "Wheels" Wielenga: $2057.14
$500 on Davis for $1900
$100 on Elkins for $157.14
Scott Pipher: $2048.76
$500 on Martin for $976.19
$200 on Fili for $360
$100 on Maldonado for $180
$100 Parlay on Maldonado, Fili and Martin for $532.57
Mark Bunce: $1929.24
$100 on Aldo for $143.48
$300 on Maldonado for $540
$200 on Reis for $321.21
$200 on Martin for $390.48
$200 Parlay on Maldonado, Cabral and Burns for $534.07
Chris Wood: $1500
$300 on Davis for $1140
$200 on Maldonado for $360
Shaun Louis: $1405
$300 on Fili for $540
$200 on Reis for $325
$300 on Maldonado for $540
Charles Mickael: $1191.43
$400 on Fili for $720
$300 on Elkins for $471.43
Sean Simpson: $1140
$300 on Davis for $1140
Dominic Marchionna: $1080
$300 on Fili for $540
$300 on Maldonado for $540
Anthony Sinnott: $945.71
$300 on Martin for $585.71
$200 on Maldonado for $360
Danny Hakker: $831.43
$300 on Elkins for $471.43
$200 on Fili for $360
Dave Hughes: $760
$200 on Davis for $760
Kevin Seng: $760
$200 on Davis for $760
"Mystic" Mac Kinder: $358.70
$250 on Aldo for $358.70
Josh Hall: $651.56
$150 on Martin for $292.86
$250 on Aldo for $358.70
Alex "NutHugger" Potapoff: $558.51
$250 on Martin for $488.10
$50 on Magny for $70.41
Chris McCann: $422.50
$200 on Fili for $360
$100 of Reis for $162.50
Richard Race: $180
$50 on Maldonado for $90
$50 on Fili for $90
Dan "Tucky" Moore: $162.50
$100 on Reis for $162.50
Ben S: $0
"Raunchy" Rick Thayer: $0
Mark "The Adonis" Sacchetti: $0
Note: Should either champion, or challenger fail to submit picks for UFC FN 55/56, Michael Douglas 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 JayMon1002 at UFC 180.
World Cup Final:
Dave Hughes vs. Mark "The Adonis" Sacchetti - Great achievement by both players to make the final!
MMATorch Confidence Picks Championship Match Up (UFC Fight Night 55/56)
David Hughes (Champion) vs. Jaymon1002 (Challenger)
MMATorch Betting Picks Championship Match Up (UFC Fight Night 55/56)
Tommy Strong (Champion) vs. JayMon1002 (Challenger)
Performer of the Night: An easy one this week, the award goes to JayMon1002 for his near perfect confidence picks and returning the most money for his stake. For his efforts he will be awarded the chance to take both titles, and become one of only a rare few who have held both titles simultaneously. I look forward to the challenge!
Also a mention to Michael Douglas who came very close second this week, having only just missed out on becoming a challenger to both titles.
GOAT: Having gone two events on the bounce now without returning a single penny on his $1000 stake, and also only scoring a measly 33 points this event, this award has to go to none other than "Raunchy" RickThayer.
Next Event will be UFC Fight Night 55/56 Bisping vs. Rockhold and Manuwa vs. Shogun Rua. Both events are scheduled for the same day November 8. I will be picking six of the best fights from each event, to make one ultimate card.
Stay tuned for more news, and thanks to everyone that takes part in the game!
Feel free to follow me on Twitter, @MMATorchTom
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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