This is the 2nd part of my 2014 review where I’ll be looking back over the last year to review my best bets, my worst bets, my luckiest wins and also my unluckiest losses.
I’d love to pretend that I was a total MMA betting badass that never makes mistakes and never gets anything wrong, but then I’d be lieing to you. The fact is, we all make mistakes and we all get lucky from time to time. In this article, I’m going to be looking back at the top 5 bets where lady luck saved my ass from losing a ton of money…
Click here to checkout my 5 unluckiest wins of 2014…Click here to checkout my 5 worst bets of 2014…
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5. JAMES VICK vs NICK HEIN [VICK TO WIN]
I had to include this bet in my top 5 luckiest wins of the year, because I honestly cannot remember too many other occasions where I won a bet on a fight that went to a split decision. In fact, I think I might have lost every other split decision that didn’t make it into my top 5 luckiest bets of this year.
I can see how the judges would’ve scored this fight in favour of James Vick, but I personally feel like Nick Hein won. Winning a bet via split decision was truly a remarkable achievement in a year where I seemed to constantly get shafted. This win saved me from having an even crappier set of results in November and it also gave me confidence that the betting gods hadn’t damned me to gambling hell.
James Vick vs Nick Hein Betting Tip
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4. LUKE BARNATT vs SEAN STRICKLAND [STRICKLAND TO WIN]
This bet sits at number 4 in my luckiest wins of the year, because I still believe that Sean Stickland would have dominated Luke Barnatt, if he hadn’t have broken his hand in the 1st round.
That said, Strickland did absolutely nothing to win this fight and the judges basically awarded him the decision win after he ran away from Barnatt for 3 rounds. Luke Barnatt didn’t do that much to deserve the win either, but he certainly did more than Strickland.
Lady Luck took care of us with this bet and the underdog odds on Strickland to win made this winning bet feel a little sweeter…
Luke Barnatt vs Sean Strickland Betting Tip
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3. KING MO LAWAL vs RAMPAGE JACKSON [RAMPAGE TO WIN]
I was just as surprised as Rampage when the judges declared him the winner in his fight against King Mo Lawal. Don’t get me wrong, I believe a fight should be scored for damage as opposed to control, but historically judges have favoured control and by that sentiment King Mo should have won this fight.
I agree with what Rampage said when he directed comments like “Look at yo face homie”, “It’s a fight” and “Put some steak on your eye” in the post fight press conference, but this is MMA, not a street fight and I felt that King Mo should have won based on control.
You should check out the post fight press conference if you haven’t already seen it, it’s pure comedy…
King Mo Lawal vs Quinton Rampage Jackson Betting Tip
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2. LIZ CARMOUCHE vs MIESHA TATE [TATE TO WIN]
Miesha Tate spent the whole of this fight on her back and whilst she was very active from the bottom, Liz Carmouche stuffed all of her submission attempts. We’ve seen judges award the win to the more aggressive fighters who do the most damage countless times this year, but I believe this fight was the first time that it happened…
I completely agreed with the judges decision because Liz Carmouche tried to shamefully lay and pray the whole fight, but it still doesn’t change the fact that she would have won by normal MMA judging standards.
This fight proved a turning point in the way that MMA fights were judged in Las Vegas and we’ve seen countless fights scored in similar ways since. I like it and I hope that it continues, but it still doesn’t change the fact that I felt really lucky when I won this bet…
Liz Carmouche vs Miesha Tate Betting Tip
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1. KAZUKI TOKUDOME vs YUI CHUL NAM [OVER 2.5 ROUNDS]
I bet on this fight to go over 2.5 rounds because Kazuki Tokudome and Yui Chul Nam both lack finishing power and they both fight to a lot of decisions. If you haven’t watched this fight, you need to go check it out, because these guys damn near killed each other.
This was undoubtedly one of the best fights of 2014 and if Herb Dean had been the referee, he would definitely have stopped it in the first round.
I don’t know how many knock downs there were and I don’t know how closely it came to getting stopped, all I know is that this fight was wild and I still have no idea how it went the distance.
This was definitely my luckiest win of the year…
Kazuki Tokudome vs Yui Chul Nam Betting Tip
