Overall Stats Straight Fight Picks Props Parlays Right 46 (55%) Right 23 (79%) Right 20 (43%) Right 3 (38%) Wrong 38 (45%) Wrong 6 (21%) Wrong 27 (57%) Wrong 5 (63%) Ave Odds 1.97 Ave Odds 1.76 Ave Odds 2.01 Ave Odds 3.03 Units Bet 162.0 Units Bet 73.0 Units Bet 76.0 Units Bet 13.0 Units Profit 23.03 Units Profit 27.55 Units Profit -7.62 Units Profit 3.10 ROI % 14% ROI % 38% ROI % -10% ROI % 24%

: What’s your real name and how long have you been handicapping MMA?

: Matt White, and it’s been around 3 years now.

: What do you do in real life as a job?

: I work in Sports betting for a large Sportsbook.

: How would you describe your handicapping style in general?

: I’d say I approach from a fan perspective, I don’t charge for tips so I look for things I like not just quick profits. I’ve always been a prop man but went through a poor run and needed to change something, so I moved to Straight, Prop and Parlay; also ramped up the units.

: So, presumably as a fan, you have a good base knowledge but how much tape watching do you do specifically for picks? And would you say that tape watching often changes your initial gut instinct pick?

:  I watch every event and have a vast library of Pride and UFC to pick from. I tend to go with my gut for most picks, referring to tape if I am in any doubt. I also work out what I fancy before looking at any odds, that way I don’t get swayed by the oddsmakers; given that they are so frequently wrong.

: When the odds are heavily one way and you think the other way, is your prediminant emotion excitement or self-doubt? 😀�

: Doubt, briefly. You always think whether you have missed something obvious. But sometimes the bookies are caught up in the sort of hype that a handicapper can’t possess. Just look at recent dog bets on Karolina Kowalkievicz (sic) Rose Namajunas and Ryan Bader. All decent dogs but should have been favs.

: So, it’s 23 fights since you got a straight pick wrong, including 7 underdogs. That’s pretty sweet. Have you done anything differently recently to hit that run?

: Nothing, my mates always say Blind Squirrels and Broken Clocks. Toss a coin often enough and you’ll go on a decent run. I always get concerned about streaks as regression to the mean is a bitch.

: I think that runs a bit more than luck, so let’s hope the graph keeps pointing in the right direction Anyway, going back to the underdogs thing. Do you look at specific types of fighter that might offer value? By that specifically, I mean that I personally seem to have started picking unbeaten fighters to lose their first fight. Is there a certain category of fighter that you think offers potential value?

: I tend to fade the fighter who has been on lengthy layoff. Im also keen to look a first timers facing more established fighters. KK was a standout v Markos. Also, previous winners with a poor performance is an auto fade; mikael Lebout for example.

: That’s easy, starting out I got Ross Pearson over George Sotiropoulis in the 3rd round at 22/1

: Do you have any fighters that you keep going back to bet on again and again? And conversely, anyone who’s burned you mutiple times?

: Repeat bets are Lawler & Rockhold, the burner is Overeem. He’s done me too many times. I’ll bet Rockhold against pretty much anyone, huge fan. I’d bet Mighty Mouse over Overeem, he’s done me that many times.

: Yeah, heavyweights are a tricky pospect. I tend to steer clear. Looking at your stats though, you seem to spread your picks across all weight classes. Mostly lower main card guys. Is that deliberate or just happenstance?

: Coincidence I’d say. For FO I cover all on the main card, so I’ll always get a decent mix. Occasionally I’ll not get a chance to do a write up so I’ll end up putting my instinct picks out; eg TUF cards.

: Do you tend to look at stats much? Have the BetMMA stats pages provided any helpful insight?

: I rarely look at stats unless it’s for an individual fighter, the past doesn’t predict the future. Or, at least I try not too.

: Well I’ll have to see if the can prove you wrong on that one 😀�

: Ha ha, bring it on.

: Does it bug you that you use a 1-5 unit scale and others use at 1-11 scale, which if you used, you’d be higher up the leaderboard? *N.B. I will be trying to do an adjusted table at some point to help with that.