MMA Fighter Tristan Yunker is tired of talking trash. Makes sense considering the fact that in the weeks leading up to his last fight (against Rob Kimmons) he appeared to have spent more time smack-talking than focusing on his game plan.

Unfortunately, the 22-year-old lost his bout to Kimmons in the first round via rear naked choke. Did the trash talking have anything to do with his defeat? Who knows but Yunker (11-6) is certainly taking another approach to his upcoming fight against Pete Spratt at HDNet Fights Reckless Abandon this Saturday night. A more respectful approach.

When we spoke to Spratt (16-10) last month he seemed convinced that Yunker was calling him out but, as you will hear in our interview, Yunker denies everything. And you know what? I believe him. Actually, he was rather complimentary of the former UFC star.

Needless to say, both men must focus on the task at hand because they need a win in the worst way. Yunker will look to erase the memory of his loss to Kimmons and Spratt, who appears to have his heart still set on returning to the UFC, will have to build on his last HDNet Fights win against TJ Waldburger to get noticed all over again.

Take a listen as Yunker breaks down his fight against Spratt, the loss to Kimmons and his failure to land a spot on The Ultimate Fighter twice.

Tristan Yunker – 12/13/07

A few months after re-opening JarryPark.com, we’ve decided to take this show on the road. First stop: Dallas, TX. Yeehaw.

We’re jumping on a plane tomorrow to cover the sights and sounds of HDNet Fights from the Lonestar State. Things to looks out for are: a weigh-in report, stories involving people we bump into around the hotel and a live-blogging extravaganza directly from cage-side to your home come Saturday night. Spread the word and tell all your pals that we will have all the up-to-date info on the action inside the American Airlines Center from the first bout up to Kennedy vs. Miller.

If anyone out there is also going to be in attendance, drop me a line at ariel@jarrypark.com or in the comments section below. I would love to meet you.

Park Pilgrimage I (as we like to call it) doesn’t mean that we won’t be posting our general slew of interviews. Don’t worry, there’s plenty of those yet to come.

***12/13 update: My flight was cancelled today due to bad weather. This means I will miss tomorrow’s weigh-ins. Sorry to the one guy in Des Moines who was anxiously awaiting a report on it. 

On the surface, here is what you need to know about Jason “Mayhem” Miller:

* He holds a professional record of 19-5.
* He is a member of Team Quest.
* Since losing to Georges St. Pierre at UFC 52 in April 2005, he has won seven of his last eight fights.
* After leaving the WEC he signed a three-fight non-exclusive deal with HDNet Fights.
* He hopes to avenge a loss to Tim Kennedy this Saturday night at HDNet Fights: Reckless Abandon.

However, perhaps more so than any other MMA fighter, there is so much more to Mayhem than meets the eye. Love him or hate him you can’t deny that he is one of the most charismatic and entertaining fighters around. One of the few mixed martial artists who understands the pure art of selling himself and selling a fight.

Miller is known for posting funny videos of himself on the Internet. Most of those can be found here. But before you check those out listen to another classic example of why Mayhem is, well…Mayhem. We discuss his upcoming fight, his infamous videos and what it’s like to work under Mark Cuban.

Jason “Mayhem” Miller – 12/12/07

Mark Cuban’s HDNet is quickly establishing itself as a leader in MMA programming. Witness the fact that they’ll be showing four solid events in the month of December alone. Things start off with HDNet Fights: Reckless Abandon this Saturday night followed by Sportfight XXI on 12/22, the IFL World GP on 12/29 and the Yarennoka! new year’s eve show on 12/31. They also air Inside MMA the best weekly MMA news program on North American television (and the only one to my knowledge) as well as are sporting a new website.

As I mentioned earlier in the week, JarryPark will be travelling to Dallas to cover HDNet Fights in person this Saturday night in what is shaping up to be a pretty solid card. We’ll have more on that later in the week.

The main bouts for Reckless Abandon are:
Tim Kennedy vs. Jason Miller
Frank Trigg vs. Edwin Dewees
Yves Edwards vs. Alonzo Martinez
Pete Spratt vs. Tristan Yunker
Freddie Espiricueta vs. Nissan Osterneck
Krzysztof Soszynski vs. Robert Villegas
Chris Bowles vs. Cory Mahon
Patrick Castillo vs. Jay White
Jason House vs. Liam McCarty
Lee King vs. Marcus Lanier

The promotion held a press conference earlier today to preview the card. Among the notables on hand were HDNet Fights CEO Andrew Simon, President Guy Mezger, Tim Kennedy and Jason “Mayhem” Miller. Take a listen below.

HDNet Fights Press Conference

MMA veteran Yves Edwards has been forced to overcome a lot of adversity throughout his ten-year fighting career. But nothing will ever compare to fighting less than three weeks after the death of his friend, Sammy Vasquez.

Vasquez (1-2), a 35-year-old mixed martial artist from Houston, Texas, died on November 30, 47 days after suffering a third-round knockout loss to Vince Libardi during a Renegades Extreme Fighting bout in Houston, TX. While the official cause of death has yet to be released his tragic passing is the first official one resulting from a sanctioned MMA fight.

Meanwhile, Edwards, one of the most celebrated fighters to come out of Houston, is forced to prepare for his fight against Alonzo Martinez (20-8) at HDNet Fights: Reckless Abandon this Saturday night.

Following three tough loses in a row, the American Top Team member returned to his winning ways with a victory over Nick Gonzalez at the November Elite XC show. He has signed a six-fight deal with the promotion but is free to fight with likes of HDNet Fights if he chooses.

This Saturday night, Edwards will be competing in his backyard of Dallas, TX, and will surely have more on his mind than submissions and striking.

I spoke to Edwards about his association with HDNet Fights, his future with Elite XC and, of course, the passing of his friend.

Yves Edwards – 12/11/07

When it comes to the sport of mixed martial arts, Pete Spratt has seen and done it all.

He has fought on the biggest stage, the UFC, for several years and picked up wins over the likes of current Elite XC Middleweight champ, Robbie Lawler, along the way. Spratt was even a cast member on The Ultimate Fighter 4: The Comeback and while he would have liked to have advanced further within the competition it did give Spratt the opportunity to re-enter the UFC after a two-year hiatus.

Today, Spratt is one of the top free agents in MMA and can be seen fighting for HDNet Fights. He avenged a loss to TJ Waldburger on HDNet’s inaugural show and will now face Tristan Yunker (12-6) on December 15 at HDNet Fights: Reckless Abandon.

I spoke to Spratt earlier today about his experiences with HDNet Fights, his upcoming bout against Yunker and if he is looking to get back in the UFC anytime soon. He certainly had some interesting things to say about how much fighters are earning nowadays.

Pete Spratt – 11/23/07

In a JarryPark.com exclusive, HDNet Fights President/Commissioner, Guy Mezger, announced that the 12/29 IFL World Grand Prix Finals would air live on HDNet. Mezger is still unsure as to whether or not they will also air on MyNetwork TV but he believes his network will be the sole carrier of the event. This is part of a new agreement where HDNet will begin airing IFL events come 2008.

Speaking of Mezger, he has been quite the busy man lately.

First, he only had five weeks to put together his promotion’s first card on October 13. Now, with a little more time on his hands to book HDNet Fights’ next event on December 15, Mezger is certainly flexing his matchmaking muscles. The two big fights on the card were originally Jason “Mayhem” Miller vs. Sean Salmon and Frank Trigg vs. Edwin Dewees.

However, Mezger confirmed a fiveouncesofpain.com report that Salmon has now been forced to withdraw from the fight due to the injury he suffered at last week’s Strikeforce event and will be replaced by Tim Kennedy (8-1-0).

Last seen fighting for the Red Bears of the International Fight League, Kennedy is undefeated in his previous eight fights with one of those victories coming over his opponent on 12/15 – Jason “Mayhem” Miller. According to Mezger, Miller specifically asked for this rematch. Like Kennedy, some more IFL fighters may also soon appear on future HDNet Fights cards but no firm agreement has been completed.

Click below to listen to my interview with Guy Mezger or download it to your mp3 player or IPod by clicking on the link to the right.

Guy Mezger – 11/21/07

(Update: While the IFL has yet to officially announce the airing of the GP finals on HDNET, the Fight Network is reporting that an IFL source has confirmed it.)

HDNet Fights‘ first foray into the world of Mixed Martial Arts was, well, a mixed bag.

Their 10/13 card was put together on very short notice (described as a “trial run”) and while some of the fights were certainly entertaining it is believed that their upcoming show on December 15 will be the true test as to how good this promotion can and will be.

Needless to say, this card is a major improvement from their last one. The promotion, which is owned by Dallas Mavericks owner, Mark Cuban, held a conference call to announce the entire 12/15 card and introduce some of their newest acquisitions – Jason “Mayhem” Miller, Sean Salmon, Frank Trigg and Edwin Dewees.

The main fights on the card include:

Middleweight:
Jason “Mayhem” Miller (19-5-0) vs. Sean Salmon (14-4-0)

Middleweight:
Frank Trigg (15-6-0) vs. Edwin Dewees (34-10-0)

Lightweight:
Yves Edwards (30-13-1) vs. Alonzo Martinez (20-8-0)

Welterweight:
Pete Spratt (16-10-0) vs. Tristan Yunker (11-6-0)

Some notes from the call:

- There will be 22-24 shows in 2008; three in Dallas and the rest will be held throughout the country.

- Recent signees Jason Miller and Frank Trigg have both signed a three-fight non-exclusive contract with the promotion.

- They are working very hard to getting HDNet on as many major cable platforms as possible.

- They are interested in signing guys like Ken Shamrock but are very cautious as to how the spend their money.

- No plans to crown any champions…yet. Commissioner Guy Mezger is not a fan of all the belts in MMA and you know what? Neither am I.

- No word on why they chose such a horrible name for the promotion, though.

In any event, I am really looking forward to this card. “Mayhem” Miller is one of the most entertaining fighters in the game and it will be interesting to see how much “Twinkle Toes” Trigg has left in the tank.

While the jury is still out on how good HDNet Fights will be I have a weird feeling that of all the new promotions out there these guys may be in the best position. Why? Two words. Mark. Cuban.

Below is the audio of conference call.

HDNet Fights Press Conference