You’ll never guess who I bumped into in cyberspace over the weekend. No, it wasn’t “To Catch A Predator”’s Chris Hansen. It was super-owner Mark Cuban! It’s strange meeting a billionaire in cyberspace and, as you can imagine, he doesn’t have much time for shenanigans. However, I was able to ask him a few interesting questions…

Ariel Helwani: What do you think of Floyd Mayweather’s involvement with World Wrestling Entertainment?

Mark Cuban: Love it. Floyd knows how to build a fan base he can take with him to
anything he does.

Ariel Helwani: Have you seen the clips of his work in the ring thus far? If so, what did you think of it?

Mark Cuban: Hysterical. (Ed. note: I told you he didn’t have much time.)

Ariel Helwani: Are you still talking with Floyd about competing for HDNet Fights? If so, how have the talks been going?

Mark Cuban: Yep. We have ongoing talks. He is talking to a couple of our partners about working on cross-training. He would teach striking/boxing skills and learn more about the sport of MMA.

Ariel Helwani: Has the WWE ever contacted you about doing a wrestling angle? If not, would you ever be interested in that?

Mark Cuban: We have talked about various things.

Ariel Helwani: Can you elaborate on that?

Mark Cuban: Can’t…sorry.

Ariel Helwani: In his blog, WWE announcer Jim Ross mentioned a rumor that there may be “a partnering of resources” between you and the McMahons? Any truth to this and if so can you explain?

Mark Cuban: See above (Ed. note: Damn.)

Ariel Helwani: Are you happy with the progression “Inside MMA” has made as well as the production of the HDNet Fights live events?

Mark Cuban: Yes. Inside MMA is unquestionably the leading show on MMA. And the combination of Inside MMA and our fight cards confirms that HDNet is the leading TV network for MMA. I do want to thank everyone who has been calling their cable and satellite providers to sign up for and ask for HDNet and to ask them to continue. Its definitely being noticed!

And just like that he disappeared…

* Three-time NCAA champion. He won the 184-lbs title in 2003 and 2005 and 197 in 2006.

* Four-time All American at Oklahoma State University

* A Big XII champion

* Three-time state champion in high school

Then, consider the fact that he finished his rookie year a perfect 3-0 after winning two fights via TKO and one by submission. Finally, consider that the 25-year-old Stillwater, OK, native currently trains at Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas. Mix that all together and you have, without a doubt, one of the brightest young Middleweights in MMA.

And here’s some good news: The Team Takedown member will look to continue his winning ways on March 15 in Tulsa, OK, when he faces Chad Jay (7-1) in one of the top matches on Dale Cook’s Extreme Fighting League event. If you can’t make it to Tulsa don’t fret as that card will air live on HDNet.

Rosholt stopped by The Park to talk about his affiliation with Team Takedown, why he entered the world of MMA, his upcoming bout and Brock Lesnar’s chances come Saturday night.

[See post to listen to audio]
Jake Rosholt – 01/30/08

* He does an interview with JarryPark.com and finds out that his opponent at HDNet Fights Reckless Abandon, Pete Spratt, thinks he’s talking smack about him when he claims he never was.

* He fails to make weight for his bout against Spratt.

* They end up fighting anyways and he is forced to quit 1:25 into the fight due to a cut he sustained over his eye. Although, as you will hear in our interview, Yunker claims he never verbally submitted.

* In the post-fight conference he announced that he will be taking off 6-12 months from competing to avoid burn out.

Hopefully, this past weekend treated you a little better, Tristan.

I caught up with Yunker to discuss the events leading up to his fight against Spratt and what the future holds for his still-promising career. Something tells me we’ll be seeing a better Tristan Yunker whenever he decides to resume fighting.

[See post to listen to audio]
Tristan Yunker – 12/26/07

“UFC’s champions can’t handle boxing. That’s why they are in UFC. Put one of our guys in UFC and he’d be the champion. Any good fighter, he’d straight knock them out…Take Chuck Liddell, put him in the ring with a (boxer) who is just 10-0 and Chuck Liddell would get punished.”

-Floyd Mayweather Jr.
April 2007

To those who follow mixed martial arts, Floyd Mayweather’s latest flirtation with the sport is actually old news. Think back to the weeks leading up to De La Hoya-Mayweather. At this point, the boxing vs. MMA debate was the talk of the combat sports world and naturally Money May felt compelled to dress down MMA (while Mayweather mentions the “UFC” in his quote I have to think that he was talking about the sport in general. Contrary to what the UFC says, there are, in fact, other viable MMA organizations out there).

In light of his comments, UFC president Dana White reportedly offered up then-UFC Lightweight Champion (155 lbs), Sean Sherk, to face Mayweather and settle the debate once and for all. I mean, that’s why MMA was created in the first place, right? To see which form of combat sports would reign supreme in a given match or tournament. However, for one reason or another, any talk of an MMA vs. Boxing mega-fight quickly died down following Mayweather-DLH (and, no, Kimbo Slice vs. Ray Mercer doesn’t count).

Now comes news that Mark Cuban is trying to lure Mayweather to compete for his new MMA promotion – HDNet Fights. ESPN and every other sports news outlet under the sun is buzzing over this rumor but let it be known that it was in an interview with JarryPark.com that Cuban first mentioned his intentions of signing Mayweather to an MMA fight.

Truth be told, I have some mixed feelings about all this. I honestly don’t believe that we will ever see Mayweather fight an MMA match anytime soon. Maybe in five years when all his mega boxing fights have been accounted for but, right now, I wouldn’t hold my breath. The biggest issue with these discussions is that both sports are actually really different. Just because an athlete runs in a football match and a basketball game doesn’t make the sports similar. But I suppose that’s a different argument for a different day.

Let’s forget about my cynical ways for one second. Let’s just say he really is interested in settling this debate once and for all. In order for this fight to be presented properly there are several hurdles to conquer: First off, he will probably have to go up against a featherweight MMA fighter (145 lbs). While White offered Sherk as a potential opponent, I can’t see Mayweather fighting at 155 lbs nor could I see Sherk or any other MMA lightweight fighter move down to 145 or 147. Right now, the top 145-pounder in the world is the current World Extreme Cagefighting champion, Urijah Faber. He may also be the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world too. The problem with Faber is that his contract is owned by Zuffa (the parent company of the UFC). Cuban has 30 million dollars to spend on a guy like Mayweather. Zuffa doesn’t and it would never lend out one of its fighters to another promotion. Witness the fact that they would rather let Randy Couture sit on the sidelines than co-promote a bout between him and the universally recognized top heavyweight fighter in the world – M-1 Global’s Fedor Emelianenko.

The next problem is that the WEC is home to most of the top featherweight fighters in North America (Jens Pulver and Jeff Curran come to mind) so if Mayweather really wants to prove himself against the best, well, he is barking up the wrong tree by dealing with Cuban.

That said, they don’t call him Money May for nothing. If Cuban is really interested in signing him for 30 million dollars he could challenge a top Japanese fighter like Akitoshi Tamura or Takeshi Inoue. It would be like Inoki-Ali all over again! On second thought, maybe we would rather not see that again.

Anyhow, for the sake of this discussion, let’s just say Mayweather and Faber end up fighting each other. For Mayweather’s debut to truly mean something to MMA fans Faber needs to be the one representing the sport. The California Kid is almost as cocky as Pretty Boy Floyd (almost), holds an impressive record of 20-1 and is currently enjoying a 12-fight winning streak.

But here comes Mayweather’s next hurdle: Faber is a former Division 1 college wrestler, the all-time wins leader for UC Davis (how’s that for a coincidence Mr. Large?) and a two-time NCAA D-1 qualifier. Simply put, the man can wrestle. Mayweather, on the other hand, can’t.

So, the fight begins. Mayweather is dancing around feeling his opponent out and looking to work in his jab and then…BAM! Faber shoots on him and takes him to the ground. Unchartered territory for the boxing champ, indeed. MMA purists love to point out that you can always teach a wrestler how to box but it’s a lot tougher to teach a boxer how to wrestle. They just aren’t used to it. Furthermore, a former wrestling champion like Brock Lesnar will probably make a smooth transition into MMA (his UFC debut is on 2/2/08, by the way) because his wrestling skills will lead to a better understanding of jiu jitsu which is the foundation of MMA. You see, Faber’s wrestling skills will only take him so far in an MMA match. Once he is on the ground he then goes into jiu jitsu mode. He can look for the ground-and-pound or a whole host of different submissions. How in the world is Mayweather going to defend this? Does he know how to fight off his back? Does he know how fight off an arm-bar submission or a rear-naked choke? Of course not, although he could certainly learn.

And that’s where the next and final hurdle comes in. For Mayweather to successfully compete in MMA he needs to learn at least two (maybe three) fighting disciplines. Learn them. From scratch. We’ll give him a pass on kickboxing but there is no way he can enjoy the kind of success he is used to in an MMA cage without mastering the art of wrestling and jiu jitsu. Faber has been at this for several years now. He’s also been honing his boxing skills since making the transition from wrestling to MMA. This could be one of his easier fights ever.

Mayweather has been actively competing in professional boxing for over eleven years. As witnessed in 24/7, his body has experienced its fair share of bumps and bruises. Is he even able (or willing) to learn two new fighting disciplines at this stage of his career? That remains to be seen.

Floyd, you won’t be fooling anyone by taking a fight against another boxer turned MMA fighter where they never go to the ground once yet are competing inside a cage. That’s not MMA. If you really wants to excel in your new-found “interest” go away for 18 months – at least. Learn jiu jitsu, learn how to wrestle and while your at it learn how to throw some kicks. Then we can talk. Until then, shut up and fight Miguel Cotto already.

For the next couple of weeks, JarryPark.com will countdown the 15 most memorable combat sports moments of 2007. Some will be positive while others will be negative. Some will have happened in a ring or cage while others on the outside. Every day, we’ll feature a single moment as we bid adieu to ‘07. As we present each moment, feel free to agree or disagree with any of our selections in the comments section below.

Oh, and in case you’re wondering why we chose fifteen the answer is quite simple: You take the “7″ from ‘07 and the “8″ from ‘08, add them together and you get 15. Duh. To see the rest of the countdown click here.

#14: Mark Cuban Joins The Party
What: Mark Cuban’s HDNet starts covering and broadcasting whole lot of MMA
When: September 2007
Where: Dallas, TX

I know HDNet Fights has been getting a lot of coverage around these parts lately but it’s with good reason. When it comes to MMA in 2008, we honestly feel as though Cuban’s presence in the sport will be the story to watch. With two shows under their belt, I think they are doing everything right and for anyone who thinks that Cuban alone can not make a promotion successful just look at what he did with the Dallas Mavericks. Before he bought the franchise they were universally regarded as one of the biggest laughing stocks in sports. Now, they are a perennial favorite to win the NBA title every single year.

He currently has the combat sports world buzzing over the news that he is trying to lure Floyd Mayweather to MMA (NOTE: Cuban first told us about this earlier in the week but I guess some people out there chose to ignore it). The best part about Cuban is that he doesn’t come from the world of combat sports. He comes from the media/business world and it’s skills in those departments that many promoters lack nowadays. In addition to starting his own promotion, Cuban’s network, HDNet, broadcasts the only hour-long weekly MMA news show in North America and is showing more live MMA events this month than any network this side of the globe has every done before.

Further Enlightenment:
Cuban Sees Bright Future For MMA [ESPN]
Cuban’s Slow Brew [Yahoo!]
Mark Cuban Looks To The Future [JarryPark]

Ariel Helwani: After the first HDNet Fights show you were somewhat critical of the overall production of the event – what were your thoughts on this weekend?

Mark Cuban: I thought it was far far better. The pacing was better, the integration with all the technology in the arena was better. I think we have some areas to improve on but now we are into optimizing rather than inventing – which is a good thing

AH: What, if anything, are you looking to improve for the next show in February?

MC: I think we need to do a better job of mic’ing the ring so the people away from the cage can hear what is going on better. It adds a lot of energy to the experience. I think we can improve the entrances of the fighters starting at the locker rooms rather than where they appear on stage and a couple other little things.

AH: What did you think of Mayhem Miller’s entrance?

MC: I love everything Mayhem does for entertainment. He is a pro at it. I put him up there with Paris Hilton.

AH: How long have you been interested in MMA?

MC: About 5 years.

AH: The Internet has been buzzing over all the MMA celebrities that attended the event – some of which are soon-to-be free agents. Will your company look to break the bank in order to sign a guy like Randy Couture or Andrei Arlovski or is it important to be cautious with your spending at this point?

MC: We aren’t break the bank types. That doesn’t work in MMA. You have to build a business and introduce the right fighters and treat them well and make sure the fans get a great show. Where the opportunity is right, we will certainly match the best fighters available and try to make sure they want to always come back and fight on our cards or the cards of our partners. I’m the say way I am in the NBA – opportunistic. If there is an opportunity that makes sense, I will make whatever investment is necessary to be successful

AH: At some point, will you look to sign your fighters to exclusive contracts?

MC: We may sign exclusives but there will always be mutual outs. The problem with exclusives is that if a fighter loses it can kill his career. There have been many great fighters who have been upset or lost two in a row. In an exclusive contract arrangement, its hard to fight them because of the pressure to put together the best possible card. Thats a problem UFC fighters have. If you win, life is good. If you lose, you never quite know how you are going to work your way back to the top (unless you are a huge PPV draw name). With non-exclusives, we can partner with other promoters and let someone who lost on HDNet Fights work their way back up, build some momentum and if they have truly gotten better, compete again at the top. It goes the other way as well. Someone who lost in the IFL, Pro Elite etc. can fight on our cards. Particularly if they are local and work their way back up to being part of a marquee match-up.

AH: What’s up with the UFC not allowing you to show footage of their events on “Inside MMA?” Are you surprised at how guarded they are?

MC: Ask them. The only thing I have seen from the UFC is that they have a lot of lawyers that they pay more than many of their fighters

AH: Finally, did you enjoy walking out to the ring with Pretty Boy Floyd last weekend?

MC: It was a blast. I was thrilled to see Floyd win. He is truly a great guy and we are talking about how to get him involved in MMA. But, honestly, watching Mayhem vs. Kennedy was better. I just like MMA a lot more than boxing.

Some of the topics discussed include:

* What he would like to change for the next show in February

* Mayhem Miller’s unique entrance

* The Robert Villegas flopping incident

* Who he is looking to sign for the next event

* Who is the next big free agent headed to HDNet Fights (in light of all the big stars in attendance)

* The promotion’s PPV plans (he hopes to debut on PPV at the end of ‘08)

As always, Mezger was very candid with his answers and we appreciate that. Take a listen below.

[See post to listen to audio]
Guy Mezger – 12/18/07

(Can’t listen to the interview right now? Download this one and all of our great interviews by clicking on the iTunes or Odeo link at the top right of the page.)

As promised a couple of days ago in my HDNet Fights live-blog

Some of the highlights include:

* Mayhem being Mayhem. He definitely has some great lines but do you ever get the sense that he sometimes tries a little too hard? Nonetheless, his performance here was great. Definitely worth listening to.

* Sam Hoger, of all people, asking a ton of hard-hitting questions.

* Robert Villegas trying to save his career by claiming a broken leg suffered in the middle of his bout made him flop several times en route to getting DQ’d. By the way, I watched the fight last on TV and the man wasn’t limping at ALL during or after the bout.

* Randy Couture talking about his future.

* The Andrew Simon coming out party.

The audio begins with Tim Kennedy’s assessment of the fight.

[See post to listen to audio]
HDNet Fights Post-Fight Press Conference

Part two of Press Conference Monday comes at you later this afternoon as the IFL presents the “who is the latest opponent scheduled to face Chris Horodecki at the GP Finals.” Stay tuned.

We’re just a few hours away. Can you feel it?!?!?
____________________________________________________________________

5:40 CST – I’m here. So, they kind of promised me cageside seating but its more like 3 rows from the cage. Oh well, one day I can dream of working for Sherdog. Anyways, here is proof of the Park’s arrival onsite.

As you can see, it’s pretty empty up in here…and I still couldn’t get a better seat! Anyways, I’m still impressed they gave me a media pass after the whole IFL GP Finals on HDNet debacle so I’m not complaining.

Right now, Yves Edwards is warming up in the cage. I never realized how small he was. He needs a win tonight. Badly.

Guy Mezger is walking around. He appears to have transitioned nicely from the cage to the front office. The American Airlines Center is pretty nice. That’s all I got right now. Be back in a minute.

5:50 pm – I really wish they gave me better seats. This annoys me. More importantly I just found out that Frank Trigg’s first name is actually Dewey. Dewey vs. Dewees tonight on HDNet!

5:53 pm – Remember in our Pete Spratt interview when he said he would be pissed if they made him walk out at the same time as his opponent? Well, he is going to be pissed again tonight. I actually agree with him. This is a dumb idea. I know they want to be different but sometimes it’s just better not to be. Speaking of entrances, I wonder if Mark Cuban will be walking out with anyone like he did with Pretty Boy last weekend. Something tells me he won’t.

6:00 – Here is a photo of the entrance ramp. If you look to the right you can see Ron Kruck pacing back and forth. Very exciting stuff.

They are playing a Kennedy-Mayhem preview video. I like that they are trying to build this up as a huge grudge match but anyone else find it weird that Kennedy is going from a main eventer tonight to curtain jerker at the IFL GP Finlas on 12/29? Somewhere, Sean Salmon weeps.

6:03 – Breaking News…I may be moving seats. Someone from the Fight Network just came to sit next to me and they moved him. Don’t they know The Fight Network and The Park are practically family? Speaking of the The Fight Network, I will be a guest on Fight Network Radio this Monday. Can’t wait for that.

Sorry for the blurry photos, by the way. These are from my phone so they will have to do.

6:08 – Not much going on right now so I thought I would mention the tragic death of Ryan Gracie. Very sad stuff.

6:14 – Bad news. I’m not moving. Let us never speak of this again. Elsewhere, it’s freezing in Dallas. So, I went to see “I am Legend” today. Weird film but it was OK. I would give it a C.

6:26 – Wow, a lot has just happened. First, in a drastic change of events I’m sitting cageside. No, really I am. Eat your heart out…no one. Even better, I’m sitting right next to reps of the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. This should be fun. And even better, Mark Cuban is in the house! What a cool guy. Just walking around mingling with the folks. At the risk of looking completely unprofessional, I snuck in a photo of him (he’s the guy with the white collar).

6:32 – I’m also sitting next to a writer from the Dallas Morning News, Damon L. Sayles. Great guy. He loves my Pete Spratt interview. Clearly I am important. Across the cage sits the Sherdogs and MMAJunkies of the world. Ha.

6:33 – Wow, Michael Buffer is in the house. Bruce better watch out. Buffer is looking good but kind of old. I hate to say it but it’s true. He needs a cane to walk around. I hope he just had surgery or something because we need the Buff for many more years.

6:40 – Andrei Arolovski is sitting behind me. I wonder if I should tell him I interviewed his lovely girlfriend last week? First fight is about to start…Lee King vs. Marcus Lanier. Tell all your friends!

6:42 – Good news, Pete, the fighters aren’t walking out together.

Lee King vs. Marcus Lanier

Holy crap. I’m sitting right next to and I mean right next to the bell keeper (the guy who rings the bell). Geez, that’s some loud ringing. That said, no place I’d rather be than right here. Glad your with us.

Round 1: Not much going on in the first few minutes. They are just hugging each other up against the cage. Kenny Rice even appears to be bored. Nothing much for Round 1.

Round 2: Sorry, I was talking with Andrei Arolovski…more on this later. Anyhow, Marcus Lanier is clearly a Hardcore Holly fan because he tried to pull an Alabama Slam. It didn’t look as smooth as Holly’s version but still effective, nonetheless. He then ended up applying a pretty armbar and got King to tap at 2:59. This is one of those 3 minute per round fights, by the way. Arlovski is coming to the Park later this week!

Winner: Marcus Lanier via armbar @ 2:59 RD2

Next up, Liam McCarty vs. Jason House

Round 1: That bell is killing me. This is another five three-minute round bout. And the first was pretty solid. I would score it 10-9 for House. McCarty threw almost double the amount of punches but landed half.

Round 2: Rumor has it, friend of The Park, Patrycja Mikula, will be in attendance. More as this develops. I’m not sure how I feel about the three-minute rounds. Just goes by too quickly. Pretty uneventful round. McCarty landed 4 more strikes than House (10-6) and was the aggressor for most of the round. 10-9 McCarty.

Round 3 – I wonder what Buffer thinks of MMA. Is this totally foreign to him? Furthermore, when is TNA going to completely transform into WCW and hire him to call their main events. I would guess that there are 5,000 people here. Tops. House is bleeding above his right eye. House had McCarty’s back a couple of times. Wow, the doctor just stopped the fight due to the cut. Crowd is kind of upset. McCarty wins…M-c-c-c-C-a-rty wins.

Winner: Jason House via TKO in Round 4

Between rounds they have Tim Hughes and Matt Lindland(!) talking on the PA and giving some analysis with regards to the last round. Hughes is awesome and Lindland is doing a great job, as well. Is Lindland headed to HDNet Fights? This excites me.

Excuse me, I need to stand for the national anthem. I hope the sing the Canadian one too. They didn’t.

Tracy Lee of Napkin Nights is sitting next to me too. Clearly I have the best seat in the house, y’all.

Next up, Jay White vs. Patrick Castillo

Randy Couture in the house, he trains Jay White. What a great guy that Couture is. This is another three five-minute rounder – Heavyweight style.

Round 1 – Wow, awesome performance by White. White wins via armbar at :50 into Round 1. He went for a shoulder lock and thn Castillo actually flipper him over but then White locked in the armbar. Randy is very happy.

Winner: Jay White via armbar at :50 in Round 1.

Next up, Freddie Espiricueta vs. Nissen Osternick

Lindland just called Freddie a veteran of HDNet Fights. That might be a bit of a stretch. Anyhow, this is a welterweight showdown and we are also back to our usual three five-minute rounds. I hate the guy to my right ringing the bell but love Hughes and Lindland on the PA. This really works well.

Round 1: Nissen is dominating, side control which lead to the mount and then the stoppage. Hughes just said that elbows are illegal but House’s cut came via an elbow. I smell controversy. Anyhow, Nissen looked good and Freddie, well, not so good.

Winner: Nissen Osternick via TKO @ 2:30 RD1

Next up, Cory Mahon vs. Chris Bowles

Battle of 155ers.

Round 1 – Great round. Bowles dropped Mahon with a right hand and had him on his back for the majority of the round. Mahon went for a couple of guillotines but to no avail. Tough round to call but I score it 10-9 Bowles.

Round 2 – My man Damon from the Morning News is hailing this the fight of the night, thus far. I agree. Every minute another guy seems to be in control. Mahon almost got the rear-naked choke but eventually won via armbar. Amazing round. Amazing fight. HDNet had high hopes for Bowles. Oh well.

Winner: Cory Mahon via armbar @ 4:20 RD2

Couture was just announced to the crowd. They love him in Dallas. Couture made a point to say he WASN’T retired and is just waiting for his UFC contract to expire. He said he will be fighting Fedor. Oooh doctor. Cuban – make this happen pronto.

Next up, Tristan Yunker vs. Pete Spratt. The Battle of the JarryPark Interviewees!

Spratt isn’t happy with all the smoke in the air. He is covering his face with his shirt. Breaking news: Yunker cut his hair! Weak Yunker, weak. I dug the Weezer haircut. More big news. Michael Buffer is ring announcing now.

Dan Henderson is out with Spratt. The crowd loves Spratt. Yunker need a tan. Oh, they are having a face off and Spratt makes a joke about how Yunker’s height (he’s taller). I guess they don’t hate each other after all.

Round 1 – Yunker shoots and takes down Spratt. Spratt then took control and nailed some vicious punches. He eventually cut Yunker atop his left eye and Yunker quit at 1:38 of Round 1. Spratt looked good and very quick. Spratt is definitely the crowd-favorite thus far. Yunker will want to forget this weekend.

Winner: Pete Spratt via TKO at 1:38 Rd 1

Ken Shamrock is in the house. I want to ask him about the WM XII double turn but will resist.

Just spoke with Patrycja. She says hi to everyone.

Next up, Robert Villegas vs. Kyzysztof Soszynski

I really hate that the fighters come out alone. Hate it here and really hate it for WEC events. Seems too pro wrestling-like. Don’t get me wrong I love pro wrestling (as you all know) but MMA needs to mimic boxing more than wrestling when it comes to this stuff.

Best moment of the night: Kyzysztof telling Buffer he mispronounced his name. He really did. You can do these things when you’re the TKO light heavyweight champ.

Round 1 – Boxing match. Neither man is even attempting a takedown. Despite that, boring 1st round. Both are way too tentative. Very close to call but I will score round 1 10-9 for Soszynski – he landed more strikes.

Round 2 – Villegas went for an ankle lock but it really looked like a figure four. I yelled “woooooo.” The bell ringer looked at me but Damon loved it. Anyhow, Soz remembers he can shoot and does so. Several times. Wow! This is very weird. Villegas kept pretending to get hit and would fall down. This was worst than the Nash-Hogan one finger push. Villegas totally quit. He did this three times. Never seen anything like that before. The ref actually docked a point off Villegas and then after he did it twice DQ’d. Damon calls it the “lamest fight in HDNet Fights history.” Well said, my friend. He also thinks Cuban shouldn’t pay Villegas and I can’t say I disagree. Weird stuff.

Winner: Kyzysztof Soszynski via DQ @ 3:04 RD2

Arlovski is talking to Hughes and Lindland. All he said was “I will fight very soon.” We shall see.

Mark Cuban is talking to the crowd. He loves his MMA. No questions about his ring entrance last week. Typical.

Next up, Alonzo Martinez vs. Yves Edwards. Very much looking forward to this one.

Thugjitsu represent.

Round 1 – Fast-paced start. Martinez came out blazing but Edwards took him down. He now secured side control but that lead to nothing. Middle of the round was pretty uneventful. I expected more from Edwards. 10-9 Martinez. Martinez threw 64 strikes and connected 43. That’s 67%. Edwards, on the other hand, threw 12 and only landed 4.

Round 2 – Edwards knocked him down but was unable to finish. He then secured side-control which lead to a mount and finally the rear naked choke. Yves Edwards, welcome back (sort of). Tough loss for Martinez.

Winner: Yves Edwards via rear naked choke @ 3:04 RD2

The t-shirt throwing girls threw one to the TDLR rep. That’s weak. Speaking of girls, you don’t really notice the lack of a ring card girl around these parts.

Next up, Edwin Dewees vs. Frank Trigg.

Hey, we got our first comment. Bobo – thanks for stepping to the plate. Rest assured, lots are reading but I guess they are shy.

Anyhow, Twinkle Toes is out. He kind of looks Kurt Angle, eh?

Remember that Dewees vs. Ray TUF fight. That was a bloody one. Why do I get the feeling that Trigg is going to win in less than a minute?

Round 1 – Shamrock is in Dewees’ corner, btw. The man can coach. Dewees is very agressive. Threw some nice leg kicks but then, damn, Trigg applies the shoulder lock and Dewees eventually taps. I was 40 seconds off.

Winner: Frank Trigg via Kimura @ 1:40 RD1

Tough loss for Dewees but this was expected. One half of the next HDNet Fights main event is set. Trigg just gave Couture a lot of love for reinventing his career.

Next up, your main event, Tim Kennedy vs. Jason “Mayhem” Miller

Mayhem is wearing a luchador mask! I love this guy. In the pre-fight interview he called himself a wrestler from parts unknown. He is now my new favorite fighter. His corner is throwing out candies and parts of a pinata. Awesome.

Tim Kennedy is out. He looks like a young Guy Mezger. Maybe that’s why they signed him?

That entrance was tremendous. Jason “the dancing luchador” Miller. The question remains will this all be a distraction when it’s time to fight.

Round 1 – Kennedy got caught with a leg kick. Both men are happy to keep this one standing. Kennedy finally shoots at the four-minute mark and gets Mayhem’s back. Mezger is nervous. Kennedy is dominating on the ground. He had the rear naked choke and let go to throw some punches. Mayhem then gets saved by the bell. Wow. 10-9 Kennedy.

Round 2 – I just realized that none of the fights went the distance. Kennedy is dominating again. He is trying for the rear naked choke but is unsuccessful. Mayhem is back in control but isn’t doing much on top. The ref finally decides to check on Kennedy’s cut. Please don’t call the fight. Phew, he doesn’t. This one is too good to end that way. Kind of weird he didn’t return them to the same position but oh well. 10-9 Mayhem.

Kennedy’s corner is saying that Mayhem head-butted Kennedy to open him up. Interesting.

Round 3 – We get our first traditional third round (if you know what I mean). Nice takedown by Mayhem. There is a guy screaming in back of me “C’mon Mayhem. I’ve got two dances on you.” Welcome to Dallas. Kennedy is bleeding. Ref would like to check on it. Nissen Osternick is sitting next to me breaking it down. The fans are afraid the fight will be stopped…and they are not disappointed. Great end to the night. The boys are back on their feet. Great action, Kennedy went for a triangle and an armbar but to no avail. Great final minute. 10-9 Mayhem. We go to the judges…

Hot-diggity all the judges scored it the same as me.

Winner: Jason “Mayhem” Miller via Unanimous Decision.

Mayhem called out Cuban. Great stuff. I’m headed to the press conference. Don’t leave!

Press conference notes:

* Sam Hoger is here and he gained a lot of weight. Maybe that’s why he “retired”

* Arlovski is sitting in the PC room. This is a little strange considering there are only 20 people here. Is there more to this relationship than meets the eye?

* HDNet Fights CEO Andrew Simon is holding court.

* Kennedy speaks first. He is pretty bloody.

* Kennedy and Mayhem love each other. Mayhem: “I’m running off at the mouth like Nick Diaz.” Awesome.

* Guy Mezger is very happy. He says he wants to see a third match between the two but first it’s time for Mayhem vs. Trigg.

* Someone asked Mayhem about his entrance. He said he didn’t like the fact that he had to stand next to Kennedy on the ramp. You haven’t live until you’ve witnessed a Mayhem post-fight PC.

* Hoger is asking questions?!?!

* I am recording the PC by the way, so you will get to enjoy it later.

* Trigg is at the podium texting someone on his phone. He is very humble and loves him some Xtreme Couture.

* Andrew Simon is the star of this press conference.

* Robert Villegas is in the house. He claims he broke his foot yet he is walking on it. Strange.

* He said he flopped down to his back to make Soz come to his guard. I guess that makes but, still, that could have been dealt with a little better.

* Yunker and Spratt are up. His eye is taped up. He is very apologetic for the loss but, more importantly, the weight deal.

* Spratt says his ground game is a lot better. He has some movie deals coming up. Don’t they all.

* Couture and Jay White are up. Mezger said that he usually wouldn’t have looked at a guy with White’s record (1-5) but the fact he is associated with Couture meant a whole lot.

* When Randy speaks the room listens. Seriously, you can hear a pin drop in here. I wonder if anyone will ask Randy about the contract situation…

* And guessed who asked it? Sam Hoger. This guy is great. We need to sign him up as an interviewer.

* Someone asked Randy about Hong-Man Choi. Couture wants Fedor to win so he can beat him.

* Andrew wants everyone to know that they treat the fighters with respect.

And with that we are done. That was fun. Park Pilgrimage I is in the books. Good night!

The breaking news coming out of today’s weigh-ins wasn’t that I couldn’t make it. No, the big news coming out of it is that friend of The Park, Tristan Yunker, was 4.25 pounds over the 170-pound limit. Tristan, my man, after our long inspirational talk just a couple of days ago you go out and do something like this? So sad.

Nevertheless, Spratt and Yunker will still get it on at a catch weight of 173 but this is certainly not what a 22-year-old rising star needs on his resume.

Anyhow, since I feel as though JarryPark.com has covered this event quite thoroughly I thought I would put up links to our interviews pertaining to it in this neat little post. They are presented to you in chronological order:

HDNets Fights Press conference #1

Guy Mezger interview

Pete Spratt interview

Yves Edwards interview

Press conference #2 featuring Simon, Mezger, Kennedy and Miller

Mayhem Miller interview

Tristan Yunker interview

Remember, we’ll be sitting cageside tomorrow night and will provide a complete (and I mean complete) play-by-play of all the action so make your way back to the Park in a few.