(We may look odd, but at least we know a little bit about MMA.)
In our ongoing effort to provide the Potato Nation with the best interactive reader experience in the MMA blogosphere, we’re happy to announce a new addition to the site.
Starting this Thursday, we’ll be streaming a weekly live video edition of “Ask the Potato” and we’d love for you guys to get involved. If it catches on, we may even start doing “Ask the Potato Live” shows on a regular basis with actual guests. No promises though. We know how disappointed kids are when their parents let them down.
More details after the jump.
(We may look odd, but at least we know a little bit about MMA.)
In our ongoing effort to provide the Potato Nation with the best interactive reader experience in the MMA blogosphere, we’re happy to announce a new addition to the site.
Starting this Thursday, we’ll be streaming a weekly live video edition of ”Ask the Potato” and we’d love for you guys to get involved. If it catches on, we may even start doing “Ask the Potato Live” shows on a regular basis with actual guests. No promises though. We know how disappointed kids are when their parents let them down.
Here’s how you can join in:
1. Check out the site Thursday for a post with an embedded streaming player that will allow you to watch live.
2. If you want to join us on the show to ask a question, debate a topic, or just to tell us how much we suck, sign up for a free Spreecast account and click on the show link we provide when it’s live on Thursday. Pretty simple.
3. If you’re too gun shy to show your face on the air for fear of revealing that you’re really Sean McCorkle (I’m looking at you, Xenophon) you can chat with us on the show page and pose your questions there as long as you have a Spreecast account.
We hope to see some familiar faces and look forward to the inevitable glut of insults hurled our way about how we all have faces for radio.
Like with most other major sports, fantasy games are becoming integral to the MMA fan experience. Fantasy MMA adds to the enjoyment experienced while watching MMA events by enabling fans to compare their knowledge against others — either for bragging rights or for cash prizes. In addition to adding more enjoyment to the fan experience, fantasy games promote the sport in general by engaging fans with fighters they may otherwise ignore.
As a coach on season one of The Ultimate Fighter, Randy Couture recognized the similar multi-faceted promotional value that the show had, which prompted him to partner with Kountermove, the newest fantasy MMA website on the block that has grown immensely in popularity since going live four months ago.
“The great thing about The Ultimate Fighter is that it drives fan interest to lesser-known fighters,” Couture explains. “I got involved in Kountermove for that reason.”
Kountermove boasts more than 5,000 players, has paid out over $50,000 in cash prizes thus far and has steadily increased its prize pools to keep up with its membership boon. Since launching in November of last year, Kountermove has quickly become one of the most popular of the MMA fantasy sites and one of a select few that allows play for cash prizes. The site is neither a “pick ‘em game,” nor a “betting simulation,” unlike the other major fantasy sites, as it uses actual fight data, such as strikes landed and takedowns, to determine the winner.
Find out how the Kountermove is hooking up the Potato Nation after the jump.
Like with most other major sports, fantasy games are becoming integral to the MMA fan experience. Fantasy MMA adds to the enjoyment experienced while watching MMA events by enabling fans to compare their knowledge against others — either for bragging rights or for cash prizes. In addition to adding more enjoyment to the fan experience, fantasy games promote the sport in general by engaging fans with fighters they may otherwise ignore.
As a coach on season one of The Ultimate Fighter, Randy Couture recognized the similar multi-faceted promotional value that the show had, which prompted him to partner with Kountermove, the newest fantasy MMA website on the block that has grown immensely in popularity since going live four months ago.
“The great thing about The Ultimate Fighter is that it drives fan interest to lesser-known fighters,” Couture explains. “I got involved in Kountermove for that reason.”
Kountermove boasts more than 5,000 players, has paid out over $50,000 in cash prizes thus far and has steadily increased its prize pools to keep up with its membership boon. Since launching in November of last year, Kountermove has quickly become one of the most popular of the MMA fantasy sites and one of a select few that allows play for cash prizes. The site is neither a “pick ‘em game,” nor a “betting simulation,” unlike the other major fantasy sites, as it uses actual fight data, such as strikes landed and takedowns, to determine the winner.
Another unique aspect of Kountermove is that the scoring data from the fights flows into the site in real-time, so players can track their fantasy game progress as they watch bouts live. Prior to the event, players purchase 5 fighters of those fighting on the card using a $25,000 artificial salary cap. A winner is determined by which player’s five fighters scored more strikes, takedowns, submissions, and so on than the opposition. The data used in calculating a fighter’s score is provided by an independent third party, and is verifiable and transparent, which is important for fantasy sites that offer cash play.
Couture is especially excited about MMA fantasy game for TUF Live.
“Fans that play will have a vested interest in fights and fighters that may not be the focus of the show,” Couture points out.
You’re probably asking: “So how does the Potato Nation benefit from this?”
We know how much you miss playing our FightPicker (RIP) game. We all do. That’s why Kountermove created a free UFC 145 tournament specifically for us with an actual cash payout for the winner so we can relive the glory days of rubbing in our MMA picks and having bragging rights for picking some of the correct outcomes of fights.
To play, all you have to do is sign up HERE and then head on over to our tournament page and make your picks.
As an additional bonus, everyone who signs up for an account on the site and emails us their Kountermove user name by 5:00 p.m. ET on Monday at [email protected] will be entered into a draw to win one of three prizes: UFC Undisputed 3 for Xbox 360, UFC Undisputed 3 for PS3 or a $100 credit to use towards any of the KM cash tournaments. Just specify which draw you want to be entered into in your email.
While you’re checking out the site, have a look at the TUF Live and UFC 145 games, which offer substantial payouts.
In spite of his disappointing loss at UFC 144 to former number one UFC welterweight contender Jake Shields, Yoshihiro Akiyama is still cool in our books.
We just got a note from Sexyama with his winning picks from the TrauMMA Sexyama UFC 144 Photoshop Contest, so we figured we’d make three lucky readers’ weekends a whole lot better by letting them know they’ve each won an autographed version of the walkout shirt he wore that night.
Big thanks to TrauMMA Combat Apparel and Yoshihiro for partnering with us for this awesome contest. If you didn’t win, you can pick up one of the shirts HERE.
Check out the winning entries after the jump.
(“What has one thumb up and is sexy as hell?”)
In spite of his disappointing loss at UFC 144 to former number one UFC welterweight contender Jake Shields, Yoshihiro Akiyama is still cool in our books.
We just got a note from Sexyama with his winning picks from the TrauMMA Sexyama UFC 144 Photoshop Contest, so we figured we’d make three lucky readers’ weekends a whole lot better by letting them know they’ve each won an autographed version of the walkout shirt he wore that night.
Big thanks to TrauMMA Combat Apparel and Yoshihiro for partnering with us for this awesome contest. If you didn’t win, you can pick up one of the shirts HERE.
And the winners are….
Rudy Bekeschus
Leon Travis
Frances Courtney
Congratulations, you guys.
Send us your mailing addresses at [email protected] and we’ll get your prizes out to you ASAP.
Just a friendly reminder for you to set your PVR for 9:00 p.m. ET tonight so you don’t miss the acclaimed two-hour Bruce Lee documentary SPIKE TV is airing.
The film, “I Am Bruce Lee,” is a theatrical release currently playing in select theatres in Australia, the U.S. and Canada this month, and by all accounts it’s definitely worth watching, especially if you’re a fan of the late great martial artist and actor’s work.
Just a friendly reminder for you to set your PVR for 9:00 p.m. ET tonight so you don’t miss the acclaimed two-hour Bruce Lee documentary SPIKE TV is airing.
The film, “I Am Bruce Lee,” is a theatrical release currently playing in select theatres in Australia, the U.S. and Canada this month, and by all accounts it’s definitely worth watching, especially if you’re a fan of the late great martial artist and actor’s work.
(Video courtesy of SPIKE TV)
Featuring interviews with several MMA luminaries, including Dana White, Gina Carano, Cung Le, Jon Jones and Stephan Bonnar, the movie is a retrospective look at Lee’s legacy and how his films and dedication to martial arts affected those who experienced the cultural icon’s talents.
(Video courtesy of YouTube/SuperMovietrailers20)
Many fighters point to Lee as the reason why they got into martial arts and eventually fighting, so it’s no wonder they had so many mixed martial artists in the film.
Your assignment is to design a new Punch Buddies-style t-shirt for Urijah Faber. (Check out some of PB’s past designs here for inspiration; they usually include a pun or phrase based on the fighter’s name/nickname/persona, and an insane, cartoonish illustration. Easy as pie.) E-mail your work to [email protected] by Wednesday, March 21st. We’ll announce our favorite design by the end of that week.
The winner will get two tickets to watch Faber complete his trilogy against rival TUF coach Dominick Cruz at UFC 148, July 7th at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. But wait, it (potentially) gets even better…
(Hint: Incorporate gigantic women whenever possible.)
Your assignment is to design a new Punch Buddies-style t-shirt for Urijah Faber. (Check out some of PB’s past designs here for inspiration; they usually include a pun or phrase based on the fighter’s name/nickname/persona, and an insane, cartoonish illustration. Easy as pie.) E-mail your work to [email protected] by Wednesday, March 21st. We’ll announce our favorite design by the end of that week.
The winner will get two tickets to watch Faber complete his trilogy against rival TUF coach Dominick Cruz at UFC 148, July 7th at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. But wait, it (potentially) gets even better…
If your winning design is really, really good — like good enough for Punch Buddies to actually produce it — they’ll arrange for you to present the design to Urijah Faber himself, and maybe, just maybe, he might even wear it on The Ultimate Fighter. How incredible would that be? Honestly, that would be the #1 highlight of your entire life. And don’t give me any of this “the birth of my first child” bullshit.
I’m sure your heads are spinning right now, so please drop any questions you might have in the comments section. Otherwise, you have two weeks to produce the greatest t-shirt design of your life. Good luck. We’re all pulling for you.
