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/r/mma-oddsbreaker-tourney/686847/ 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 186 like Demetrious Johnson ($5700) 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: Thomas Almeida ($5200): Almeida is a bit of a striking prodigy. He’s entering this bout with an unblemished 17-0 record, having finished nearly every opponent via strikes. The talented Brazilian has extremely dangerous combinations on the feet and if he connects with anything solid against veteran Yves Jabouin, he’s going to likely put the Tristar fighter out. Almeida is a whopping 12 years younger than Jabouin and Jabouin has been hurt or knocked out in three of his last four losses. The most likely result of this fight is another Almeida knockout so I think he’s be a great addition to your Kountermove teams despite costing a bit extra. Underdog Pick of the Night CB Dollaway ($4500): This one comes with a bit more risk, but CB Dollaway is a very dangerous fighter, especially when he’s being underestimated. Michael Bisping does not have a good chin and he’s getting up there in age at 36 years old. Dollaway has good power with his strikes and his wrestling transitions are rock solid. Bisping has had issues in the past with opponents who repeatedly tried to take him down in Chael Sonnen and Tim Kennedy, and he could be in trouble if Dollaway commits. Dollaway could win a decision or score a TKO at some point, so I think he’s worth the risk here if you want to have some favorites on your team to help balance it all out. Fighter to Avoid Valerie Latourneau ($5200): Latourneau is dropping down to 115 for the first time and she looked like death on the scales earlier today at the UFC 186 weigh-ins. Her opponent, Jessica Rakoczy didn’t look that great either, but I have less faith in Latourneau dragging this fight to the ground now after seeing how bad she looked on the scales. This fight could get ugly and I just don’t think Latourneau is even close to worth the price at this point. With so many other fights on this card, there are plenty of other better options for your teams. Complete UFC 186 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 12 total bouts this event: UFC 186 Preview
Thanks for reading and good luck!