...OH, ONE MORE THING - PLEASE BOOKMARK US & VISIT DAILY!
By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
Saturday's UFC on Fox 14 event in Sweden keeps this busy and exciting January schedule moving, and it 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 event.
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 card, 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: Konstantin Erohkin ($5000) - This is one of those cards where there are pros and cons to all of the favorites. Alexander Gustafsson is sitting at $5700, and though he probably should beat Anthony Johnson, Johnson's power shouldn't be downplayed, and Gustafsson takes a big chunk of space on your roster even if you think he pulls it off. Gegard Mousasi is another favorite at $5400 with plenty of risk, because while Dan Henderson appears very vulnerable, and could very well get stopped, Mousasi hasn't been consistent enough with finishing opponents recently. That brings me to the debuting Erohkin. Yes, he's giving up some height on Viktor Pesta, and the younger Polish heavyweight has just lost one decision in his career, but Erohkin hasn't lost since his MMA debut, and has stopped eight of his last nine opponents in the first round. There are points to be found if he pulls off an impressive debut, and he's got the power to do just that. This is risky in its own right, but it seems like a must-play.
Fighter to Avoid: Phil Davis ($5200) - Davis' win over Glover Teixeira was impressive, and he's certainly capable of defeating Ryan Bader. That said, if and when he beats Bader, it's almost certainly going to come by decision, and that would probably be after a close fight in which he doesn't score a ton of points. Add in the fact that Ryan Bader could very well beat Davis, and there's not a lot of upside to Davis here. If he wins, the points aren't likely to pan out for you, and there's no guarantee he gets past Bader, either.
Risk/Reward Dog: Sultan Aliev ($4500) - The 13-1 Aliev has stopped ten of his opponents by (T)KO, including his last four into this UFC debut, so his finishing power is not in question. However, the level of competition those wins have come against leaves plenty to be desired, and his two higher end fights in Bellator were two of the four times he's ever gone to decision. His opponent Kenny Robertson also isn't an easy out. However, Robertson is a highly skilled grappler, and if Aliev can keep the fight standing, he could put him away, and that possibility of a stoppage, along with the low price tag here, makes that an attractive option in building your team.
Join our $50 freeroll on Kountermove for Saturday's event at the link below, but hurry because the 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
Interested in joining MMATorch's writing team? Send idea for a theme to your column (for Specialist section) or area of interest (i.e. TV Reporter) along with a sample of writing to mmatorch@gmail.com.
