The mixed martial arts (MMA) fantasy website Kountermove is back with another exclusive game for MMAOddsBreaker.com readers. If you’re not familiar with how the site works, here’s a brief snippet from the site owners, themselves.
Kountermove brings the traditional fantasy format to MMA. Accumulation of points and a salary cap make fantasy MMA more intriguing than your basic “pick ’em” contest. With other industry pros on the site it is the place to be if you know your MMA. The game is fairly simple on its face, games are played over a single night during one event. Prior to the event, players get a total of $25,000 fantasy dollars to pick five fighters for your team. Each fighter is given a specific salary by Kountermove. Kountermove assigns a value for each fighter based on how we believe the fight will go. Points are scored if a fighter scores a finish, wins a round, lands significant strikes, knocks an opponent down, scores takedowns, secures dominant positions or attempts submissions. The more dominant your fighters’performance, the more points you’re going to score. If you score more points than your opponents, then you win the money.
To enter the free $100 tournament for MMAOddsBreaker.com readers, just click the link below: http://www.kountermove.com/draft/40918-mma-oddsbreaker-100-tourney-on-ufc-on-fox-15-machida-vs-rockhold-T-free/506789/ If you don’t have an account, don’t worry, you can create one for free, but do it quickly, spacing is limited! If you’re interested in a few pointers on potential fighters to pick, I’ll be offering my analysis and potential picks to click. In case you have your doubts, I have a very nice track record of success with the website, having won plenty since its inception. Before I get to my picks, remember that to get the best value out of your team, you have to try to get an average of $5000 per fighter with your team of five fighters and your $25,000 salary cap. That means if you want to pick a big favorite from UFC on Fox 15 like Luke Rockhold ($5500) you have to balance it out by picking some underdogs that you think will perform above and beyond. Sometimes it’s not worth it to pick the overwhelming favorite. Without further ado, here are some of the picks that stand out for me: Ronaldo Souza ($5400): Souza comes with a bit of an expensive price tag, but it’s completely worth it, in my opinion. First off, they’ve already fought once before, and Souza crushed Camozzi the first time with a first round arm triangle choke. That was worth well over 100 points on all the Kountermove teams, and if Souza had been booked to face Camozzi initially instead of short notice, he’d probably be $6000 here, but we’re getting him at a discount because this is the price from his fight that was initially booked against Yoel Romero. This is nearly a guaranteed finish for Souza and that’s well worth paying a bit of a tax for him, especially if you can make it up by putting a cheap other option on your team later. Underdog Pick of the Night Beneil Dariush ($4400): Dariush is taking this fight on short notice against Jim Miller, but I think he’s going to be in really good shape vs the veteran. Dariush has shown rapid development in his overall striking game while working with Rafael Cordeiro at King’s MMA alongside UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos. Dariush has good power with his punches and body kicks and his ground game is one of the best in the entire lightweight division. He showcased it in his last fight against Daron Cruickshank and I think he actually has a better ground game than even the BJJ black belt Miller. Dariush is also much younger, so he’s in a really good spot here against a fighter who might be on his way out of the sport after 19 fights in the UFC. Fighter to Avoid Diego Brandao ($5200): I actually think Brandao will win his fight against Jimy Hettes, but he’s so incredibly inconsistent and unreliable that it’s painful. Brandao is a bit of a head case overall and he also has a pretty bad gas tank. If Brandao can’t put Hettes away quickly, he’s likely going to gas or begin to doubt himself. Either way, he’s just not the type of fighter that I want to trust with my money at this point. There are 10 other fights taking place with so many more dependable options, just stay away from this guy. Even if he comes through here, it’s just setting up for future failure. Complete UFC on Fox 15 Preview If my fantasy preview isn’t enough for you, Fight Scientist Reed Kuhn, MMA Oddsmaker Nick Kalikas and myself did an extensive preview of the fight card on The Premium Oddscast, which was posted earlier this week. Feel free to check out our latest episode. There’s plenty of combinations for great teams with 11 total bouts this event: UFC on Fox 15 Preview
Thanks for reading and good luck!