HDNet FIghts, Inside MMA & Fedor

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If you are an HDNet subscriber, you already know that HDNet is heavy into Mixed Martial Arts.

MMA has been a staple of our Friday night lineup and this past October we launched HDNet Fights with our first event at the American Airlines Center in Dallas. In November we launched the first News and Information show dedicated to MMA, Inside MMA which airs every Friday at 9:30pm and 1:30 EST The response has been so strong , we have decided to ramp it up even further.

Our next live event is HDNet Fights Reckless Abandon. Its going to be December 15th at the American Airlines Center. You can see the card here. its led by Mayhem Miller vs Tim Kennedy. Not only is this going to be a great rematch, but in the know MMA fans will recognize that Tim Kennedy is an IFL fighter. This is the first of hopefully many unified fights that we put together.

Also headlining will be MMA legend Frank Trigg vs Edwin Dewees. This along with the entire card look to be fullon.

Those of you who can make it to Dallas and the American Airlines Center can click here for tickets and as an extra bonus, the sponsor of the event, Rob Zombie’s Halloween, will be giving away a free Halloween DVD to all who attend, BEFORE its available in stores. For those who can’t make it , you can catch it all LIVE on HDNet,

HDNet Fights is just the beginning of the live MMA fun in December.

Just yesterday we announced that HDNet will be broadcasting the IFL World Grand Prix Finals on December 29th, 9:30 EST LIVE from the Mohegan. No question it will be a great event.

Last, but certainly not least ,HDNet Fights and HDNet just announced a deal with M1, you can read the details below:

HDNET FIGHTS: FEDOR EMELIANENKO TO FIGHT LIVE ON HDNET!

“Inside MMA’s” top ranked heavyweight, and the undisputed #1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world, Fedor Emelianenko returns this New Year’s Eve on HDNet Fights

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

DALLAS (December 7, 2007) – Andrew Simon, CEO of HDNet Fights, announced today that HDNet will feature the man considered by many to be the greatest fighter in any weight-class, Fedor Emelianenko in a LIVE bout from Japan only available in the United States on HDNet.

“HDNet Fights: Fedor Returns” will air LIVE on Monday, December 31 on HDNet.

This LIVE broadcast is made possible by a partnership between M-1 Global and HDNet Fights.

“Today’s announcement with M-1 Global/Fedor clearly demonstrates that HDNet Fights is committed to working on a unified basis to deliver the best fighters and the best fights,” said Simon. “HDNet is clearly becoming the home for MMA action and this amazing LIVE event featuring the return of Fedor is our holiday present to HDNet Fights fans. We are working hard every day improving HDNet Fights and this is a great first step in the process.”

Mark Cuban, owner of HDNet Fights said, “This announcement reinforces our commitment to becoming the home for LIVE MMA action. No one else but HDNet will have the return of Fedor LIVE from Japan. On December 15th, we’ll also have HDNet Fights: Reckless Abandon LIVE from Dallas featuring superstars Jason “Mayhem” Miller and Frank Trigg and then we’re ending the month halfway across the world in Japan with the return of the world’s best fighter – Fedor. What could be better?”

“Once again, M-1 Global’s commitment to working with others has produced major results as MMA fans throughout the U.S. will be able to watch heavyweight sensation Fedor Emelianenko compete live on New Year’s Eve on HDNet,” said M-1 Global CEO Monte Cox. “The Yarennoka event in Tokyo features a stellar lineup of fighters and will cap the year with Fedor in the main event.”

Mitchell Maxwell, Chairman of M-1 Global, stated, “We’re elated to be working with Mark Cuban and HDNet. Mark is a big fan of Mixed Martial Arts and Fedor. Our partnership in bringing this Japanese event live to the US meets our mission of promoting the sport and its athletes worldwide.”

For more information on HDNet Fights, please visit www.hdnetfights.com.

MEDIA CONTACT

Colette Carey

303-542-5576 (office)

303-875-7275 (cell)

ccarey@hd.net

###

About HDNet Fights

HDNet Fights (www.hdnetfights.com) is one of the leading Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) organizations in the country. Founded by Mark Cuban, HDNet Fights promotes, produces and airs over 24 live MMA events annually for broadcast on HDNet. HDNet Fights is unique as a unifying force in the MMA industry partnering with leading promoters, including M1, Sportfight, IFL, Ring of Combat and others to offer the quality match-ups and productions that MMA fans demand.

Founded in 2007, HDNet Fights is led by CEO Andrew Simon while company

operations are handled by Dallas MMA legend and former UFC champion,

Guy Mezger.

HDNet (www.hd.net) is the home for HDNet Fights and is the leader in offering live MMA broadcasts and the leading news and information show for MMA fans, “Inside MMA”.

In addition, HDNet provides viewers with the best in original news, sports, music and entertainment programming. From “Dan Rather Reports”, to championship sports coverage from the NHL, NASCAR and Major League Soccer to “Guys Night In” every Friday and the HDNet Concert Series every Sunday, HDNet offers great programming with the world’s best picture quality.

Launched in 2001 by Mark Cuban and General Manager and COO Philip Garvin, the HDNet networks are available on AT&T, Bright House Networks, Charter Communications, DIRECTV, DISH Network, Insight, Mediacom, Time Warner

Cable, Verizon and more than 40 NCTC cable affiliate companies. For

more information visit www.hd.net.

If you don’t already have HDNet, call your local cable, satellite or video provider and order it today!

39 thoughts on “HDNet FIghts, Inside MMA & Fedor”

  1. Thanks so much for bringing the Fedor to fight to us in HD! Also

    Comment by Programs -

  2. I would love to be on your PR list, My MMA show \”The Ultimate Podcast\” and also \”The Combat Zone\” covers many of the HD Net fighters, but really get no news from you guys. I would love some more info!
    Thanks for getting involved back in the day with the old WEC!

    Comment by Gary Alexander -

  3. Hey Tim Kennedy fans, check out Digital Funtown, (www.digitalfuntown.com) his proud sponsor for the recent HDNet TV fight, Reckless Abandon. Digital Funtown features fresh, original comedy updated weekly.

    Comment by Digital Funtown -

  4. I waiting to see if they will have a good opponent for fedor.

    Comment by Portland Real Estate -

  5. i consider fedor as the best pound for pound fighter at this era..really amazing to see him fight.

    Comment by hero -

  6. Mark, thanks for bringing some solid cards. Tim Kennedy is definitely the best unknown 185 pound fighter out there. There are three or four bouts that could just as easily be on a UFC card.

    *Please buy the Cubs, we just got Fukedome!

    Comment by mma blaster -

  7. Wow…

    Mixed Martial Arts – awesome!

    HDNet programming – awesome!

    MMA on HDNet – snooze fest.

    How is this possible?

    Inside MMA is definitely an awesome concept, but to me, it does not come off well. Kenny Rice comes off as a used car salesman. He\’s marginally better as a play-by-play guy on HDNet Fights, but he seems out of his league as a host of a talk/information show.

    Bas is OK. His fight knowledge is excellent and he brings a lot to the table, but some of his jokes are just horrible and make him look like an amateur.

    The weekly panel varies dramatically from week to week. Sometimes they are excellent, sometimes they make me change the channel. Most of the time, they seem unprepared and have no idea what topics will be discussed on the show. Some pre-interviews can go a LONG way.

    And PLEASE, get everyone out from behind those desks. I\’m not sure if the intent is to have something similar to NFL Countdown with Chris Berman, but it comes off as dated and boring. Put them in a \”round table\” or \”living room\” scenario. Think \”Sports Reporters\” or \”Rome is Burning\” (ugh, I hate Jim Rome, I can\’t believe I suggested a similar format).

    If it were up to me, HDNet would get Max Kellerman from HBO and make him the center of all MMA programming. He would host Inside MMA and would be part of the live event team. He is younger, cooler, and has great credibility as a fighting historian. Mark, if you are serious about competing in MMA, I think you want a guy like Max!!

    As for the fights themselves, I honestly put my TV on mute.

    See my comments above on Kenny Rice. Jeff Blatnick? Seriously? He has to be there ONLY because of his early days with the UFC, but listening to him is the ultimate cure for insomnia. And Ron Kruck is an unpaid intern, right?

    Imagine how much fun a fight would be, called by Max Kellerman and Bas. Do you need a \”sideline reporter\” that appears to be Kruck\’s role? I don\’t know. I much prefer a nicely produced segment with the fighters over a live pre-fight interview. The interviews remind me of the old WWF days. But if such production isn\’t available, then I think it would be better to have someone from the MMA community conduct them – a current or recently-retired fighter or coach. Many have shown great ability in front of the camera – Mayhem Miller, Frank Trigg, Stephan Bonnar, just to name a few.

    OK, I think I\’ve blathered on enough. I only make these comments because I would like HDNet to become a serious competitor to the UFC. I\’m not a UFC-hater, but if they don\’t have any serious competition, then the whole sport will suffer. So, please Mark, please do for your MMA organization what you did for your basketball team. Make it fun, exciting, and fan-focussed.

    Peace!

    Comment by Bad Man -

  8. Mark,

    I happen to be Deaf and I read closed captioning (CC) on TV all the times.

    I cannot find a way to contact people (email addreess?) that I need to report that MMA on HDNET channel with captioning is not working properly.

    Please advise. Email me.

    gwlj

    Comment by Grant Laird Jr -

  9. thanks for posting that event.. Keep on postings dude.. 🙂

    Comment by Lisa Marie -

  10. Thanks Mark for this event… Luv your two station

    Comment by Michael Corvin -

  11. Hey guys what\’s up?
    Great fight last night by Mayweather. The guy just seems to be unbeatable. Maybe if they let him fight some real fighters he won\’t look so good. I\’m not sure if Mayweather and Hopkins are in the same weight class but if they are, that\’s the only fight I would look forward to.

    Mark,
    I haven\’t really watched wrestling for a while now but if you say this is good stuff, I\’ll check it out and let you know what I think. (Not like you care)….

    My New York Knicks are having a horrible season.
    I swear I could run that franchise better than Dolan.

    Comment by DaVonn Jefferson -

  12. Still no HDNet in Seattle??? 🙁

    Comment by Jon -

  13. Hey Mark!

    Thought you did great on Dancing with the Stars, there was a lot of tough competition. So, I am a big Jerry Stackhouse fan and there aren\’t any women\’s Stackhouse jerseys, what\’s up with that? I am sad that Jerry doesn\’t get the same love as Dirk. Is there any way that ya\’ll can come up with those? And thanks for keeping Arrested Development on HDNet, it\’s awesome! Have a good holiday, Go MAVS! Go STACK!!!

    Sincerely,
    Myra

    Comment by Myra S. -

  14. Too bad you dont show any K-1; It seems to have a more high quality fighters from around the world and is less limitted than the mostly USA focussed MMA.

    http://www.k-1.co.jp/k-1gp/btop.htm

    bring us some K-1 and I will start watching

    Comment by Marc -

  15. A boxing ring leads to tentative MMA fights because the fighters are afraid of falling through the ropes. Everyone is jumping on the MMA bandwagon. I love MMA, but I am getting tired of watching guys with tattoos and big muscles that can\’t fight. I hope there is someone in your organization who can scout out fighters and make good matches.

    Comment by Monk -

  16. It was a nice suprise to see you walk PBF into the ring sat night. I am sure that was a new experience for you. That really is a dream to walk with a major fighter in Vegas, to the ring holding his belt. I guess you can cross another one off the list.

    sportsshit.blogspot.com

    Comment by Junior -

  17. Mark, your first show was a test and the audience wasn\’t happy. I think the second show has a lot of good matches and look forward to a better presentation. One thing I felt was ironic was the fact that the audience went crazy over the girls when they passed out shirts when Cuban played down \”girl\” earlier on. C\’mon…there\’s nothing wrong with girls, they have their place and certainly add some color, but should not be exploited. After all, look at your own girls during the Maverick games. Plus, there are a lot of nice looking ladies who happen to fight in MMA as well. Thus, the comments were a little premature. There\’s nothing wrong with ring girls or girls to promote, but there\’s certainly no need to go overboard. Anyway, I\’m paying for the second installment of HDNET Fights because I\’m a fan and I love the fact I\’m getting a copy of HALLOWEEN to boot. It should be a great event and I hope you keep doing more stuff in Dallas.

    Comment by Clyde -

  18. Guy Mezger is running operations! We\’ve met on occasion in Dallas and he\’s a great guy, glad to see him still in the game. Saw a screening David Mamet\’s film \”Redbelt\” set in that world. I won\’t give anything away but wow, MMA is everywhere these days.

    Comment by BigTex -

  19. Mark, this is great news!

    Have you consider adding a channel called HDNet Music to the lineup? This seems like a logical progression considering all the CONCERTS already recorded, Matt Pinfield interviews, etc.

    Comment by nolan -

  20. Love what your doing with MMA and bringing it to dallas. Not to mention the great MMA programming on HDNET. Keep it up. Your a blessing to MMA!

    Comment by IROD -

  21. Hey Mark,

    Thanks for picking up the IFL GP and the NYE event! I was just watching Inside MMA and Ron Kreuk said that it will only be shown on HDNET in the United States.. what about us Canadian HDNET subscribers (and MMA fans)?

    Comment by Mark -

  22. Hey, Mark. As IFL is a public company, we covered it in our daily show this morning http://smallcappodcast.com/2007/12/07/agoracom-small-cap-tv-december-7-2007/

    p.s. I\’ll be in Dallas next week for the Cowboys/Eagles game. Did a big favor for a friend a couple of years back – and he\’s paying me back by inviting me sit in Jerry\’s box for the game!

    If you have time to meet and discuss biz, kindly send me e-mail.

    Regards,
    George

    Comment by AGORACOM -

  23. Mark

    Love your 2 stations and watch them constantly, but I will have to avoid your Friday Night Fight Night fare. I think that type of violent programming is a sad comment on our culture. Wish you could fill that time with something a bit more attractive.

    Comment by Tom Milner -

  24. That NYE card is going to be stacked from top to bottom, and even a Fedor-Choi matchup would be fun to watch. One interesting side note is how many of the fighters are signed with different promotions. Hopefully if the show does well, more promoters will not be averse to cooperating in the future to set up superfights. Still want to see Gomi added though.

    The only problem I have with HDnet is a very similar one I have to XM Radio. There is so much quality content, but very little of it is exposed to non-subscribers. HDnet should partner/advertise with one of the big MMA websites like sherdog/mmaweekly/mmajunkie. Put up a widget with dynamically loaded video or audio highlights. At the bottom have links for upcoming events and subscription information.

    Comment by Jon -

  25. Wow… what an amazing card. I had been looking forward to seeing that rematch. Thanks for bringing that in HD and keep up the good work!

    Comment by SGiroux -

  26. What\’s going on with the Cubs, when will we get to see them on HDNet??

    Comment by Knox Real Estate -

  27. I wonder if/when MMA will start to get some major attention like boxing.

    Comment by asset protection -

  28. Hello Mark

    You may have heard about the modern day Boston tea party we are organizing for 12/16. The USA today article that can be found at http://www.rebelforacause.org is EXTREMELY PATRIOTIC.

    I would consider documenting the event as it will be remembered in the history books.Let me know is you need more info but one would have to act quickly

    Comment by rebelforacause -

  29. Thank you for bringing Mayhem Miller back to TV! Good luck with the new football league also. Hope to see some of those games on HDNet as well.

    Comment by Adam Narver -

  30. Mark,
    I am from Houston and I hate the Mavs. But thank you so much for picking up this event. I can\’t wait!

    Comment by Bryan -

  31. mark, i\’m pretty disappointed that directv will start charging
    an extra $5 per month to get hdnet. i\’m already paying a $10 hd
    access fee per month. i don\’t think it\’s worth
    it. yeah, it\’s only $5. but these little extra charges are driving my satellite bill way too much.

    Comment by jad -

  32. Great pickup with IFL too – five Championship fights. MMA in HD is amazing! Thanks…

    Comment by Jerry -

  33. Nicely done.

    I think that Kennedy is going to beat up on Jason Miller.

    Comment by penxv -

  34. As a business person, it seems you are missing a great opportunity to expand the reach of HDNET. You have a ton of new blog readers because of your Dancing with the Starts stint yet you are making little or no effort to advertise HDNET content that is relavent to those folks. Seriously, I understand that MMA is important to you and HDNET. It\’s a great niche. But there is a major opportunity here that you are squandering. Why not sponsor a dancing competition and put it on HDNET or another show relavent to the demographic?

    Comment by Anthony -

  35. Mark, great to hear there is a heavy presence of MMA on HDnet – Too bad, Comcast doesn\’t carry the network.

    War FEDOR

    Comment by Carlito -

  36. This is great news Mark! I\’m glad to see more players in the MMA arena. This sport will easily, if it hasn\’t already, overtake boxing in popularity. Nice job!

    Comment by Bob Wegener -

  37. Thanks Mark! Can\’t wait to see all this stuff in HD!

    Comment by Rudy Nemeth -

  38. Thanks so much for bringing the Fedor to fight to us in HD! Also, it\’s always great to see Mayhem fighting… I\’m looking forward to what HDNet Fights will become.

    Comment by John Gauger -

  39. Nice pick up Mark. If anyone else in the MMA world wants to make a legit name for themselves outside of the UFC, being able to show Fedor on TV (in HD no less!) is definitely one of the big steps that needs to be taken. He\’s easily the biggest non-UFC name in the business, and will certainly garner a lot of interest from the internet MMA fans, as well as any old Pride fans. Congrats again, big day for HDNet Fights.

    Comment by Mike Maloney -

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