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How to play next season

• The camp name is Mania1, which is the same as the Playground camp name.
• Fees have to be received by the date of Event 2 (UFC on FX 3), which is May 15th.
• Entry fees will as always be $20.
• No late fees can be accepted so sign up to fantasysportsvault.com and pay your entry fee ASAP.
• International people can sign up to the site. Anyone that does not live in the US or Canada has to enter the FSV Corporate Office address as their place of residency. This address is 3210 California Avenue, Seattle, Washington, 98116.
• Payments can be made by e-check or paper check for domestic users and by credit/debit card for all users.
• First, second and third placed players will be paid out.
• There will be payouts for event winners.
• Funds can be transferred internally so you can transfer money to other players if you make side bets but you need to have funds in your account so that the admin can make the transfer for you.

Tonight proved to be one of consolidation rather than change for the money pool as the top 4 and bottom 2 remain unchanged. This means that DetroitDrew is still in the lead, which he has now increased to 37 points. Without TBranson is there anyone that can stop the Darkside? And how did I end up betting against 3 of the top 4? Well there is some hope at least as we have another new event winner and he isn't one of the dastardly 7. Oh and yes Ulf and Mike there is a recap. Don't like it? Then skip to the jump. For everyone else, read on.

Recap

3 guys have a hardon for the Wet Dream

As usual unambig was crude but correct as only 3 players picked Diego Sanchez, with the rest of us all backing hometown boy Jake Ellenberger in the main event. However despite Jake's status as the firm favourite I was no means expecting a massacre, in fact this is what I had to say just before the fight.

I think Diego will survive and finish the fight stronger but already be too far behind

Jake’s going to have a strong opening round though.

Perfect call if I do say myself. The hard hitting wrestler Ellenberger always starts fights off strongly but also has a habit of fading in the latter stages of a fight. Diego on the other hand thrives in the later rounds thanks to his endless cardio, relentless attack and undying will to win. So it should have come as no surprise when Ellenberger got the better of the striking and wrestling exchanges in the opening 2 rounds and bloodied Diego with vicious knees, punches and elbows on the feet and ground. However once he started to slow down Diego as always took advantage and was even able to take Jake's back in the final minute of the fight and attempted to finish the fight from mount. Ultimately Jake survived and earnt himself a long awaited (for me at least) rematch with Interim Champion Carlos Condit. As for Diego he lost the battle but put on a war and in my opinion would have won a 5 round fight between the 2. Much respect to both men.

via mmaaddicts.com

With only 2 of their combined 52 fights going the distance it seemed to be a logical conclusion that the Heavyweight clash between Stefan Struve and Dave Herman was not going to go to the distance. And so it proved, as Struve picked up a 2nd round TKO finish. Sasquatch (Big Foot is already taken) was expected to have the superior striking (especially because Stefan still seems unable to utilise his reach advantage) whilst (just for you Mike) Struve had the grappling advantage. But after a typical slow start for Struve he was able to pick up the pace in the second, landing a nice uppercut to floor a tired Herman and the former Pee Wee had no answers for Struve's mount. Maybe Josh Rosenthal stopped the fight too soon but in all honesty if you're not effectively defending punches from the mount or looking to get into a better position then you're in trouble. For the second consecutive time I changed a Struve 2nd round submission pick to a 1st round KO for his opponent and again it cost me. Damn you Struve.

The fight that really split the camp (other than the prelim that got cancelled) was the Middleweight clash between Aaron Simpson and Ronny Markes. And the fight proved to be as close as we expected, with both guys cancelling each other out in even clinch exchanges especially in the final 2 rounds but ultimately it was Ronny's takedowns that were enough to squeak out a split decision win. Aaron did come close to finishing the fight in the first, knocking down Markes with a brutal right uppercut and he pounced with ground and pound but Ronny was able to recover and ultimately neutralise Aaron's offensive striking and grappling to take a tight victory.

Guess what happens when a BJJ practitioner tries to stand and bang with a Golden Gloves Champion? David W-S scores 11 points. At least unambig no longer doubts the hype behind Stipe Miocic.

Wrestling is unnecessary huh?

Yan put it better than I could as TJ Dillashaw dominated Walel Watson, utilising superior wrestling, ground and pound and BJJ to dominate the fight, neutralising the dangerous submissions of Watson and leaving him fighting for survival throughout the fight. To his credit Watson never gave up and did everything he could to try to get a finish in the third round, including a flying triangle, guillotine and leg lock but in truth he was outclassed from the opening bell. TJ's 172 landed strikes tell the story of the fight better than I can.

The event started off in perfect fashion with a thrilling back and forth battle between Ivan Menjivar and John Albert. It may seem crazy to say this about a fight that ended in less than 4 minutes but this fight had everything. Both guys traded strikes and submissions and both had the opportunity to finish the fight. Albert attacked relentlessly off of his back with submissions including an omoplata and heel hook before battering Menjivar with punches and knees against the fence that came close to forcing a stoppage but the veteran Ivan was able to recover and took advantage of a tiring Albert to take his back and secure a fight ending rear naked choke. Awesome stuff, this is why I love Bantemweights.

Event Winner

In his first event victory to date ShivanTiger earns himself $20 and a spot on the PG front page leaderboard with a very good score of 81. Shivan got 8/9 fights correct, only missing out on Tim Means, and scored full points on 4 fights which were Justin Salas (hot bout), TJ Dillashaw, Ivan Menjivar and Jake Ellenberger plus he was one of only 9 people to correctly pick Stefan Struve. Good job man, now you've moved into the top 10 and with 4 events to go are in realistic contention for the money spots.

The honourary mention has to go to P-Dub who in a remarkable improvement goes from scoring the least (31) in the last event to the 2nd most (79) in this event. It may be nowhere near the record improvement (BNF's +70) but it is still a much needed step in the right direction and gives the Texan fresh hope that he can salvage an event win this season. Dubs also picked 8/9 fights correctly, earning full points on Salas, Dillashaw, Stipe Miocic and Menjivar only missing out on Ronny Markes.

Season Leader

The Dark Lord is still #1 and thanks to a third place finish this event (77), DetroitDrew managed to increase his lead at the top of the pool. He's still yet to win an event but when you're consistently picking high that doesn't matter. So far this season he has an 81% picking percentage with 48/59 fights picked correctly. Clearly forming the Darkside has worked so far. Come on Jedis, surely one of you can stop him (not you Stinky, you're officially 0-7 against the Darkside).

Worst Performer

i don't know if i should laugh or cry..but i have muthafucking zero points...

It's gone from bad to worse for the only girl in the pool as for the 3rd event this season sarah has finished with the lowest total, this time scoring just 23. This may not be the worst score of the season (TuffGong's 20 still holds that distinction) but these consistently bad displays have seen sarah slump to the bottom spot, 49 points below Dugout. Tonight she only picked 3/9 fights correctly, which were Miocic, Menjivar and a perfect on Ellenberger. And so far this season she only has a 53% win percentage with just 31/59 fights picked correctly. After a strong season last time it's sad to see you decline but at least you weren't daft enough to bet against 3 of the top 4 and the New York Giants in the SuperBowl like a certain Brit.

DetroitDrew suckerbet of the night

O and if anyone would like a sig bet against...

STIPE MIOCIC or DAVE HERMAN tell me. Im really big on both guys, title contenders in a few years!!! anyterms

The Pride is learning from the best of them on how to get a lopsided bet, challenging Mania to bet against 2 big favourites. In the end he took full advantage of grapplefan's attempt at humour and conned him into betting on De Fries for an hour long sig, then won the grudge match later in the night to take his sig again. Yet if grapple had have waited an hour then he could have beaten Pride and made him pay for daring to suggest that Pee Wee Herman was a future title contender. Really Pride?

Worst Reason for Picking Someone

fucking dickface, i blame vinny magalhaes for this. i only picked bernardo because he has vinny’s last name

Should we expect anything more from a duck living in Oregon?

Event Stats

Camp Rank	Points	Player	Picks
1	81	ShivanTiger	View Picks
2	79	P-Dub	View Picks
3	77	DetroitDrew	View Picks
4	73	unambig	View Picks
5	72	thepride	View Picks
6	70	jayw27	View Picks
6	70	Ulf_Murphy	View Picks
8	68	Agar	View Picks
9	67	scarnon	View Picks
10	66	ViolentMike	View Picks
10	66	DavidW-S	View Picks
12	65	freenow82	View Picks
12	65	ItalianStallion54	View Picks
14	62	TheGeneral	View Picks
15	61	BNF	View Picks
15	61	Rilly	View Picks
17	60	Yan117	View Picks
17	60	Rolandando	View Picks
19	59	Phasebook	View Picks
19	59	Loonz	View Picks
19	59	Thorazine_	View Picks
22	57	kg12	View Picks
23	55	NNR	View Picks
24	51	Deuce02	View Picks
24	51	wyldeman99	View Picks
26	50	goldmouth	View Picks
27	48	ricky-dooby	View Picks
27	48	Jido7	View Picks
29	45	Dugout	View Picks
30	44	TuffGong	View Picks
30	44	YouveGotGold	View Picks
32	41	Amos14	View Picks
33	40	Dlocc	View Picks
34	39	Two_Words	View Picks
35	32	newfie	View Picks
35	32	Scottidog	View Picks
37	23	sarah-	View Picks

Season Standings

Season
MMA Playground season 12: The Dirty Dozen 6 / 10 events complete
Rank	Points	Player	Previous Rank
1	438	DetroitDrew	1
2	401	BNF	2
3	400	ViolentMike	3
4	390	Yan117	4
5	387	Ulf_Murphy	6
6	377	ItalianStallion54	7
7	369	Jido7	5
8	367	ShivanTiger	14
9	366	Rolandando	8
10	355	Rilly	12
11	352	Agar	16
12	350	unambig	19
12	350	goldmouth	10
12	350	Thorazine_	13
15	346	thepride	21
16	344	freenow82	18
17	343	scarnon	20
17	343	YouveGotGold	11
19	341	Dlocc	9
20	338	DavidW-S	23
21	333	Deuce02	17
21	333	Phasebook	21
23	330	TheGeneral	26
24	328	Loonz	25
25	320	ricky-dooby	23
26	317	NNR	28
26	317	Scottidog	15
28	310	kg12	29
29	308	P-Dub	35
30	304	jayw27	31
31	296	newfie	27
32	284	wyldeman99	32
33	281	TuffGong	30
34	272	Amos14	34
35	271	Two_Words	33
36	262	Dugout	36
37	213	sarah-	37

Event Winners

1. Yan

2. BNF

3. Rolandando

4. Ulf Murphy

5. BNF

6. ShivanTiger

Season Stats

Highest score: BNF 101 UFC 143

Lowest score: TuffGong 20 UFC on FOX 2

Biggest lock: Charles Oliveira UFC on FOX 2 (picked by everyone)

Biggest underdog: Nate Diaz UFC 141 (picked by Ricky Dooby and TuffGong)

Most improved: BNF 31 UFC on FX 1, 101 UFC 143 (+70)

Fastest decline: Rolandando 96 UFC on FX 1, 47 UFC on FOX 2 (-49)