The TUF Tournament Fantasy game begins on Jan. 22 - sign up now
The Ultimate Fighter has always been a way to showcase new competitors that hope to one day call the UFC Octagon their home, but now you have a chance to interact as well with the new TUF Tournament Fantasy game.
The fantasy game is open to viewers of the new season of the reality show, which kicks off on January 22, featuring UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones and Chael Sonnen as coaches, along with a team of middleweight fighters hoping to earn a shot at a six-figure UFC contract.
To register for the new fantasy game, visit http://fantasy.ultimatefighter.com.
Now you can join the game during any part of the 13-week season leading to the finale, but the earlier you get in to gain points, the better chance you have at securing victory and winning UFC prizes.
The game works similar to any tournament bracket you've ever seen for past games like NCAA March Madness, but in this game, getting one game (or in this case, one fight) wrong doesn't necessarily doom you for an entire season.
The first picks will be available after the debut episode airs on January 22, following the Pacific Time airing of the episode. At that time, you first have the chance to pick the fighter you believe will go through the entire season and win the tournament.
If you're correct at the end of the season, you'll receive a 300 point bonus, and the only way to get that bonus is to pick the fighter before the second episode airs the following week.
At the end of the first episode of the new season of the Ultimate Fighter, the first fight for the following week will be announced and you can immediately go into your selections for who you believe will win the match-up.
Now the difference between this tournament and let's say the NCAA tournament is that you can get bonus points in the second round and beyond if you've picked a fighter correct from round to round. If you pick a fighter to win an opening round match-up, he then becomes a "bonus fighter" for you in subsequent rounds, and if you pick him correctly again and he wins, you will receive a bonus. The bonus will only count if you pick that fighter correctly in round one, so get those picks in early because after that just getting the fight picks correct in round two won't earn any additional bonus points.
From that point on, each round breaks down like this for scoring:
Correct picks in Round 1: 100 points
Correct picks in Quarterfinal round: 100 points or 200 points with a bonus
Correct picks in Semifinal round: 200 points or 400 points with bonus
Correct picks in the Final Round: 400 points or 800 points with bonus
For the finale fight that will air live on FX, you can then pick the fight, but you will also be asked an additional three questions at that time to gain bonus points to help separate the field from potential ties at the end. There will be a skill-based tiebreaker question as well that you will select and can be used to help choose a final winner based on who answers the closest to the actual answer.
For instance, the question may be to predict the time on the finish for the final fight and if you pick 13 minutes and the fight ends at 13:01, you'll probably have a great chance at winning the tiebreaker.
You are encouraged to register and get started picking as soon as the season starts, and while you can join and participate at any time during the season, remember that to gain bonus points for the fighter who will ultimately win the show or the bonus fighters after the first round, getting in early counts.
Now is your chance to prove who you believe wants to be a fighter by playing along with the TUF Tournament Fantasy game for Ultimate Fighter: Team Jones vs. Team Sonnen.