Abstract:
This invention provides a method and system for administering and playing a mixed martial arts fantasy sports game. The game is based on the statistical performance of mixed martial artists fighting in real-world sporting events. Game play occurs by means of a database configuration supporting an electronic listing of fighter information, fantasy game player and team information, and fantasy game scoring information, as well as one or more electronic user interfaces for game participation and fantasy team selection. The game proceeds by selecting a team of mixed martial arts fighters whose fights are predicted to end prior to a judge&#39;s decision. The game is scored based on the speed of the fights of each of the winning fighters on each team, where the shorter the fight duration, the greater the scoring value to the team, and, in certain embodiments, is also scored based on the manner of the conclusion of the fights.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     None 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The following is a table of certain prior art that presently appears relevant. 
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     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a fantasy sports game, and in particular, to a method and system for administering and playing a mixed martial arts fantasy sports game. The game is based on the statistical performance of mixed martial artists fighting in real-world sporting events. Embodiments of the invention are suitable for a wide array of applications, including a multi-player, web-based fantasy mixed martial arts game based on a group of fights from a single mixed martial arts event. 
     2. Description of the Prior Art 
     Fantasy sports games are skill games predicated on tracking the statistical performance of athletes in real-world sporting events. In a typical fantasy sports game, each game player selects a group of athletes from a particular sport to constitute his or her fantasy team. Two or more teams then compete against one another, with teams accumulating points based on the statistical performance of their rosters of athletes in multiple real-world contests. The statistics of the athletes are measured and compiled across a series of categories, and teams are awarded points for performance in each category. The team whose roster of athletes compiles the most points in a given time frame wins the game. 
     Millions of fans participate in fantasy leagues organized around various sports, including “fantasy baseball,” “fantasy football,” “fantasy basketball” and others. Today, fantasy sports are most often played on the world wide web via personal computers, but they may also be played by participants in person, or through electronic devices such as mobile phones, personal digital assistants and video game consoles. 
     Game providers procure and compile the sports performance statistics that enable game play. The statistics may be obtained by the fantasy game provider directly, by observing the performances and tallying the attributes, or else by third party statisticians at a cost. In either case, the statistics are obtained either by attending live events or by viewing the events on television or the internet. 
     Mixed martial arts (or “MMA”) is a hybrid combat sport that combines elements of traditional martial arts disciplines into a single fighting system. MMA can be practiced recreationally for fitness and self-defense, or viewed as a spectator sport. Professional MMA prize fighting is a popular attraction, with events hosted by top fight promotions such as the Ultimate Fighting Championship (the “UFC”) broadcast internationally to large audiences. 
     In MMA prize fights, two combatants are pitted against one another in a ring, cage or other enclosure, and fight under a set of governing rules. The fighters utilize various striking techniques, including kicks, punches and knees, as well as grappling holds such as joint locks and chokes. Most MMA fights end in one of three ways: by knockout (“KO”); by “submission” (“SUB”), in which a combatant is forced to concede; or, if the allotted time runs out, via a judges&#39; decision (“DEC”). A typical MMA fight card can involve anywhere from five to fifteen or more separate bouts. Each fight&#39;s outcome is independent of the other fights on the card. 
     Mixed martial arts bouts in the United States are generally regulated and sanctioned by the state athletic commission or equivalent entity of the state in which the fights take place. Sanctioned MMA events include referees, ringside judges and doctors, weight divisions, set rounds of action, fixed time limits, protective gloves and other protective gear, predefined scoring, and a predefined set of fouls. Fight outcomes are not scripted or predetermined. 
     As evidenced in the prior art, typical MMA fantasy games require each player to select a roster of fighters for his or her team and then receive points throughout a fantasy season which may last for many months or longer, and in some cases lasts indefinitely. 
     The statistical categories for fantasy MMA games typically include some combination of: the number of strikes attempted or landed against an opponent; the percentage of strikes landed; the type of strikes attempted or landed, such as a kick versus a punch; the number of “power” or impact shots landed; the number of grappling moves, such as a takedown or a joint lock, attempted or successfully landed; the number of successful reversals of an advantageous position; successfully knocking out or submitting an opponent; and winning a fight. MMA games and entertainment based predominantly on correctly selecting the winners of fights, including fixed-odds wagering games, are not typically categorized as fantasy games because they do not emphasize the statistical performance of athletes in multiple categories and across multiple contests. 
     As a number of the embodiments described herein will demonstrate, there are important disadvantages in the prior art for playing an MMA fantasy game. These disadvantages make fantasy MMA games less fun and engaging for players to participate in: 
     (a) MMA fantasy leagues suffer by taking place over extended periods, because unlike some other major sports, there may be no significant or high-profile MMA events held for weeks or months at a time. During this time fantasy players may become disinterested, and the excitement of the game as a whole is diminished. 
     (b) MMA fantasy game play suffers when organized into fantasy seasons because the sport of MMA is generally not organized by season. The number of MMA events in any given time frame can be inconsistent, making long-term fantasy game play more confusing and less engaging. 
     (c) Fighters on a fantasy MMA team will often fail to fight within a given time period because of a high rate of injury among the fighters, as well as the relative infrequency with which some top fighters compete. This, too, reduces fantasy player engagement and enjoyment. 
     (d) MMA fantasy game play suffers because some of the statistical categories utilized for game play, such as certain grappling maneuvers, are difficult for novice MMA fans to grasp and identify. This makes fantasy MMA games more difficult to learn and play. 
     There are also a number of disadvantages with the related art for administering an MMA fantasy game, as a number of the embodiments described herein will show. These disadvantages make it more difficult for game providers to maintain the game, while also making such games less fun, less transparent and less reliable for players to participate in: 
     (a) The statistical categories utilized in the prior art are difficult for game providers and statisticians to capture because a high number of kicks, punches and other techniques can be performed within a matter of seconds, and with varying rates of success. This results in errors and omissions in gathering the statistical record. 
     (b) The statistics are difficult for game providers and statisticians to tabulate and report in a timely fashion, because so many techniques are utilized that conveying them results in a time lag that hinders timely or “real time” fantasy game tracking. 
     (c) The statistics are imprecise and susceptible to interpretation, for example, when measuring a “power” strike versus a “non-power” strike, or the degree of success of a grappling maneuver. 
     (d) The statistics fail, from time to time, to capture the real-world performance of the fighters, by rewarding fighters who utilize a greater range or frequency of fighting techniques even when such techniques are not utilized effectively. 
     Patents have issued previously based on methods and systems for organizing fantasy game play based on combat sport entertainment. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 7,303,472 issued to A. Guagliardo (“Interactive Professional Wrestling Fantasy Contest System”) describes a fantasy game play system for use with televised professional wrestling shows. For many reasons, the method in U.S. Pat. No. 7,303,472 is completely limited to use in professional wrestling, and details a system of scoring specific to professional wrestling, including theatrical or non-sporting elements such as “speak[ing] on a television microphone” and “strik[ing] a person of authority [such] as a referee, announcer or promoter.” 
     U.S. Pat. No. 7,736,219 issued to D. Gottlieb (“Method of Playing An Interactive Fantasy Boxing League Game”) describes a method of playing a fantasy boxing game. The method in U.S. Pat. No. 7,736,219 is completely limited to use in boxing contests for many reasons, including that MMA and MMA-specific statistical categories are not mentioned or contemplated, and that statistical categories such as “Divisional Ranking” and “Alphabet Belts” referenced in the method do not apply to MMA. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Embodiments of the invention are directed to a method and system for administering and playing a fantasy mixed martial arts game that substantially obviates one or more disadvantages of the prior art: 
     (a) One object of embodiments of the invention is to enable MMA fantasy game play that is easy for game players to learn and play. 
     (b) Another object of embodiments of the invention is to enable an MMA fantasy game to be played more easily based upon a single MMA event (the event itself being comprised of multiple bouts). 
     (c) Another object of embodiments of the invention is to enable an MMA fantasy game that is fun, exciting, engaging and transparent to observe and participate in at the same time that an MMA event is taking place or very shortly thereafter. 
     (d) Another object of embodiments of the invention is to reduce the amount of statistical data MMA fantasy game providers and statisticians need to capture to support game play, and to allow them to tabulate and report relevant statistical data for game play quickly, simply and with limited error. 
     (e) Another object of embodiments of the invention is to enable an MMA fantasy game to be based upon statistical categories that are not susceptible to subjective interpretation by game providers and statisticians. 
     (f) Another object of embodiments of the invention is to enable MMA fantasy game play that is aligned with the real-world performance of the fighters. 
     Additional features and advantages of embodiments of the invention will be set forth in the description, appended drawings and claims which follow, and in part will be apparent from them, or may be learned by practice of embodiments of the invention. 
     To achieve these and other advantages through various embodiments, the method and system for administering and playing an MMA fantasy game is comprised of a scoring methodology whereby, among other game criteria, game play is based upon each player&#39;s skill in selecting a fantasy team of MMA fighters from one or more upcoming or concurrent events who will win their respective fights the fastest, preferably before such fights reach a judges&#39; decision. Players will assemble teams of fighters that accumulate points (or other units of value as defined in the embodiment) based upon the correctly selected fights which end prior to a judge&#39;s decision, the speed of such fights, and, in certain embodiments, the manner of the conclusion of such fights. 
     In particular, in one exemplary embodiment, of which many others are possible, a game player might login to a hosted online game application before an MMA event begins, and join a particular instance of the game. The game in the embodiment would be open to any group of players wishing to join, though other embodiments might operate through private invitation or be open to only a single player. Each game player would, in this embodiment, join and assemble his or her fantasy team independently, absent a live “fantasy draft” during which all of the game players need to be available and playing at the same time. 
     The game player would select a limited number of fighters from an overall group of fighters scheduled to compete in an upcoming event, based upon the game player&#39;s belief as to which fighters will win their fights the fastest. In this exemplary embodiment, this could entail the game player selecting a total of nine fighters from a total pool of twenty four fighters scheduled to compete in a particular MMA event. 
     The game player would rank his or her selection of fighters by subdividing them into multiple groups or “tiers,” with the first tier representing the sub-group of fighters the game player believes is most likely to win their respective fights the fastest, the second tier representing the sub-group of fighters the game player believes is second-most likely to win their respective fights the fastest, and so on for all of the fighters constituting the game player&#39;s roster and all of the tiers provided in the embodiment. In this exemplary embodiment, this could entail the player subdividing his or her roster of nine fighters into three tiers of three fighters, with the first tier considered most likely to finish their fights the fastest, the second tier considered the second most likely, and the third tier the third most likely. 
     The player of this embodiment would select the technique by which each of his or her roster of fighters will win the fight prior to a decision, for example, via knockout or via submission. 
     The player of this embodiment would be permitted to select either or both of any two fighters scheduled to fight one another in a particular bout, which is to say, a player would not need to predict one and only one fight winner for any or all of the given fights, or to predict a fight winner for every fight. 
     The process of selecting fighters, grouping fighters and assigning fight finishing techniques to fighters would be repeated independently by each of the players in the game. Fighters would remain available to be selected for the rosters of multiple players, even if they had been selected by other players previously. 
     Once the real-world MMA event begins, players are awarded units of value, such as game points, game currency, game awards, prizes or other value units, each time fighters they have selected for their team win fights “inside the distance,” which is to say, prior to a judges&#39; decision. The game provides bonus value units or multiples of value units based upon: the duration of the fight (in inverse proportion to its duration); the tier to which the selected fighter was assigned by the player; and in certain embodiments, the manner in which a given fight ended, provided the player&#39;s initial selection of a fighter to win “inside the distance” was correct. In this exemplary embodiment, the fantasy teams would compete based on this single MMA event. At the end of the event, the scoring methodology is applied and a winner is tabulated and declared. In alternative embodiments, game play could be based on two or more separate MMA events. 
     This and other embodiments of the invention bear several advantages over the prior art. Game providers and statisticians would need to capture, tabulate and report only the winner of each fight, the time in which each fight was won, and the technique by which each fight was won. The rules required to learn the game would be simple and intuitive. The statistics would be reported to the game provider more quickly, more accurately and with less effort than the statistical categories utilized in the prior art. Players would receive updates to their game status quickly, efficiently, and closer to “real time” than the prior art, with game standings able to be recalibrated during and after each fight. The frequency of fighters on player rosters failing to fight due to injury or rescheduling would be reduced from the prior art. The game winners could also be determined based upon a single MMA event. 
     It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory and are intended to provide further explanation of embodiments of the invention as claimed. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the embodiments of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and together with the description serve to explain the principles of embodiments of the invention. 
         FIG. 1  is a flow chart illustrating the administration and play of a fantasy MMA game according to an embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a diagram illustrating the sending, receiving and storing of fantasy MMA game-related electronic data in conjunction with game play, according to an embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 3  is a flow chart illustrating a system and method of MMA fantasy game play according to an embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 4  is a diagram illustrating various available methods of MMA fantasy game scoring according to one or more embodiments of the invention; and 
         FIG. 5  is a series of graphs illustrating various available numerical methods of awarding MMA fantasy game points as a function of fight duration, according to one or more embodiments of the invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Reference will now be made in detail to certain embodiments of the invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. The invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the concept of the invention to those having ordinary skill in the art. 
       FIG. 1  is a flow chart illustrating the administration and play of a fantasy MMA game according to an embodiment of the invention. As shown in  FIG. 1 , the opportunity to play a fantasy game is triggered by the announcement of a new real-world MMA event  100 . The game provider determines if the event in question meets certain eligibility criteria for inclusion in a fantasy game  105 . Eligibility criteria may include whether a sufficient number of bouts have been announced for the event to permit satisfactory game play, or whether the MMA event in question is adequately regulated, adequately organized or adequately publicized. 
     If and when a game provider determines the MMA event should support fantasy MMA game play, it creates a new instance of the game  110 . This will commonly take place via a centralized computer game server accessible by the world wide web, but may also occur through various other electronic and physical forms. A player then joins an instance of the game  115  by registering or by filling an open game slot. In certain embodiments, a player may be required to pass various authorizations to play, such as meeting certain age or residency restrictions, receiving an invitation to the game, or making a required payment  120 . Upon meeting any such requirements a player then selects his fantasy MMA team  125 . In certain embodiments a player may have the option to invite additional players  130  to join the game; in other embodiments the game may be a single-player game played against a central game server or “the house,” or else, may be a multi-player game in which no invitation element is available. A player will then be given an opportunity to edit his game selections one or more times  135 . Additional players are permitted to join the game in the event of a multi-player environment  140 , and will repeat the process shown in  115  through  135  for each game player. 
     Once the real-world MMA event begins  145  the fantasy game players and player selections are locked  150 . Statisticians compile and record information for each of the fights on the event billing  155  and relay them to the game host to calculate game points, rankings and/or standings  160 . At the conclusion of the fights, the game results are finalized and a winner is determined, along with any prizes for first place or other places  165 . 
       FIG. 2  is a diagram illustrating the sending, receiving and storing of fantasy MMA game-related electronic data in conjunction with game play, according to an embodiment of the invention. As shown in  FIG. 2 , statistical information is generated by combatants participating in a live MMA event  200 . A statistician  210  operates on behalf of a game host to capture, compile and report predetermined statistical data from the MMA event  200  to a game host  220 . 
     The statistical information is delivered to a database structure of one or more databases maintained by the game host which houses electronic information  225 . The database structure includes linked databases for the fighters available for game play  230 , the fantasy game players and their teams and composition  240 , and the statistics captured from the live sporting event and the scoring resulting from game play  250 . The game host engine  260  retrieves the statistical information, player and team information, and game scoring information from the database structure  225  and relays it via a game server  270  to each of the user interfaces utilized by game players  280 . The user interfaces may be web-enabled computers, mobile phones or other mobile devices, video game consoles, or other devices. 
     The game players  280  interact with the game host  220  by relaying electronic instructions to the game server  250  concerning their entry in the game, the composition and modification of their fighter roster, and other elements of basic game play. The game server then relays this information to one or more game databases  225  for storage and retrieval. 
     While an electronic, remote game host dedicated to facilitating game play is one possible embodiment of the invention, in alternative embodiments others are possible, including an electronic message board, chat room or online forum utilized as a repository for the event statistics, or a personal computer used in conjunction with telephone, email or other electronic communication devices. In alternative embodiments game players may also interact with the game database together via a single end terminal, for example, in the event that the players are together in person using a multi-player video game console, an interactive television device, or an electronic kiosk or other device at a live MMA event. 
     In addition, it will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the related art that the database structure displayed in the exemplary embodiment shown in  FIG. 2  is only one of various means for setting up a satisfactory database design for facilitating game play according to the invention. In alternative embodiments, the linked database structure shown in  225  could be combined into a single database repository for all fantasy game information, or divided into several more databases than the databases shown in  230 ,  240  and  250 , depending on how the relevant game data is organized, divided and deployed in a particular embodiment. 
       FIG. 3  is a flow chart illustrating a system and method of MMA fantasy game play according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention. As shown in  FIG. 3 , each fantasy game player is presented with a selection of fighters scheduled to participate in an upcoming mixed martial arts event  300 . Each game player, separate from each other game player, selects a subset of fighters from the available fighters  310  based upon the game player&#39;s judgment that such fighters will win their respective fights the most quickly among the available fights. Either, both, or none of the two fighters in each fight may be selected for a given team. Each game player then ranks his or her selection of fighters into a tiered system  320  which further represents the game player&#39;s judgment as to the fighters most likely (Tier 1  320   a ), second most likely (Tier 2  320   b ), and third most likely (Tier 3  320   c ) to win their fights the most quickly. Each game player then assigns the technique by which each of his or her selected fighters will finish their respective fights  330 , either via KO or SUB. Each game participant separately follows this process prior to the start of the MMA event. Fantasy game scoring is based upon the accuracy of the player&#39;s fighter selection, tier ranking, and technique selection as shown in  FIG. 4 , discussed below. 
     In the exemplary embodiment shown in  FIG. 3 , a single MMA event is shown with a total of twelve announced bouts, with two fighters per bout for a total of twenty four fighters on the fight billing  300 . The game player is shown to select nine fighters from the available pool of twenty four  310 , and to rank those fighters into three tiers of three fighters per tier  320 . The game player is shown to be permitted to select either or both of the combatants who are facing one another in a single bout in order to comprise his or her team  310 . The game player is also shown to be permitted to assign KO or SUB as a finish method for each fighter, but not DEC. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the prior art that various other embodiments of these aspects of the invention are available for variety and/or optimization of game play. 
     In other embodiments of the invention, the game may be based on multiple MMA events taking place over the course of weeks, months or years. The game rules may permit a player to select as few as four fighters from the available fighter pool, or as many fighters as the entire fighter pool, which itself may be comprised of as few as two bouts (four total fighters) or in some cases as many as twenty five bouts (fifty total fighters) or more. The rules may permit a player to rank fighters into fewer than three tiers according to the fighters&#39; likelihood of finishing their fights the fastest; or into more than three tiers; or to rank each fighter sequentially, from first to last, without the use of a tiered system. The rules may permit a player to include DEC among the available finish methods, in the event a fighter is unable to win his or her fight “inside the distance.” 
     The rules may also permit a player to assign more specific fight finishing techniques to his roster of fighters, including martial arts techniques such as “punch,” “kick,” “choke” and the like, in place of or in addition to the KO and SUB methods shown in  FIG. 3 . In another embodiment of the invention, the game rules may dispense with the use of assigning a fight finishing technique entirely, and include only the game player&#39;s selection of fighters and his or her ranking of fighters among the scoring criteria. 
       FIG. 4  is a chart illustrating various available methods of MMA fantasy game scoring according to one or more embodiments of the invention.  FIG. 4  illustrates that more than one method is available for scoring an MMA fantasy game based upon embodiments of the invention and that each game instance will utilize a single such scoring methodology. The scoring methodology may be selected either by the game provider or by one or more game participants, according to the embodiment  400 . In each such embodiment, game points are allotted based upon the ability of each fighter on a player&#39;s roster to finish his or her fight  410 ; to finish it as quickly as possible  420 ; and on the fighter&#39;s position in a tiered or ranked system  430 . In addition, scoring methodologies utilizing a method bonus  440  award further points for correctly selecting a finish via KO, SUB or DEC. 
     These elements may be combined variously in different embodiments to arrive at the scoring methodology. The methodology is then applied for each fighter (f) on the team of each player.  410  and  420  may be summed and then multiplied by  430  to arrive at total points-per-fighter  400   a . Alternatively,  410  and  420  may be multiplied and then multiplied by  430  to arrive at total points-per-fighter  400   b . Alternatively,  410  may be multiplied by  420 , then the product multiplied by  430 , and then the product multiplied by  440  to arrive at total points-per-fighter  400   c . Alternatively,  410  and  420  and  430  may be summed to arrive at total points-per-fighter  400   d ; or  410 ,  420 ,  430  and  440  may be summed to arrive at total points-per-fighter  400   e . As those familiar with the prior art will recognize, additional possibilities exist for alternative embodiments of the scoring methodology. 
     With each of these scoring methodologies, the total points-per-fighter are summed for each fighter on a player&#39;s roster of fighters to arrive at the total points-per-team  450 . The team with the most points wins first place, the team with the second most points wins second place, and so forth. 
       FIG. 5  is a series of graphs illustrating some exemplary methods of awarding MMA fantasy game points as a function of fight duration (as referenced more broadly in  FIG. 4  at  420 ), according to one or more embodiments of the invention. For each fighter selected on a given player&#39;s team, points are awarded to the team  510  based on how long the fight lasts  520 . By offering performance bonuses in game play that decrease as a fight progresses, game players are engaged and entertained in hoping to see fights end as quickly as possible for their roster of fighters. The points may be awarded on a scale that decreases linearly and continuously over the course of the fight  500   a . Alternatively, points may be awarded on a scale that decreases continuously according to a function which increases proportionately the value of the quickest fights and decreases proportionately the value of the longest fights, relative to one another  500   b . Alternatively, points may be awarded on a scale that decreases discretely in increments based upon each round of action in a fight  500   c , or in a similar embodiment, on a scale that decreases discretely in increments based upon the minutes or seconds of a fight. As stated elsewhere, such embodiments are not exhaustive and serve to convey broadly a portion of a range of approaches for awarding game points based upon fight time.