MMAPredictions

Quietly discussed for the past few weeks, HDNet yesterday formally announced that they will be airing six fight cards from DREAM, FEG’s newest mixed martial arts endeavor. The first two events from the Japanese MMA promotion, DREAM 1 and DREAM 2 have already taken place and will be rebroadcasted on HDNet at the following times:

• DREAM 1: Friday, May 2 at 10:30 p.m. ET.
• DREAM 2: Saturday, May 3 at 10:30 p.m. ET.

DREAM 3, FEG’s next event, is right around the corner and will be broadcast live on on HDNet on Sunday, May 11 at 3:00 a.m. ET with two encore presentations - one scheduled for Sunday, May 11 at 4:00 p.m. ET and Saturday, May 17 at 9:30 p.m. ET. Four fights have been formally announced on the DREAM website, and are already posted here on MMAPredictions for you to make your picks.

Andrew Simon, the HDNet Fights CEO (pictured), stated:

“We’re thrilled to announce this blockbuster deal with FEG. MMA fans have been emailing and posting on message boards non-stop, wanting to see the DREAM Grand Prix. Once again, HDNet is THE place to go to catch all of the action. This latest deal continues our commitment to making HDNet the ‘Home of MMA’ with more MMA events than any other television network.”

So far DREAM has been up and down in how predictable its fight cards are. The average predictor on MMAPredictions.com correctly predicted 70% of the fight outcomes on the DREAM 1 card. However DREAM 2 was less predictable, with the average predictor here on the site correctly guessing 36% of the fight card’s fight outcomes.

Among the four fights currently announced, DREAM 3 contains the return of Philadelphia slugger Eddie Alvarez, who will take on Joachim Hansen.

As always, we will announce every addition or modification to fight card changes on its dedicated MMA Fight Card Changes & Updates thread in the MMA Predictions forum!

- Caleb

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HDNet’s mixed martial arts show Inside MMA will announce big news regarding Randy Couture this evening at 9:30 p.m. ET. Also on the show will be Randy’s wife Kim and MMA fighter-turned-American Gladiator Gina Carano.

MMAPredictions contacted the press squad at Inside MMA to see if there were any more details to be had regarding the announcement that would be made this evening. The understandably tight-lipped representative only offered, “there’s a reason Randy is going to be there“.

So, dear readers, speculate away. Since October 2007 when Randy announced he was leaving the UFC despite having previously won the heavyweight title from Gabriel Gonzaga at UFC 74, “Captain America” has repeated his desire to fight Fedor Emelianenko, in spite of the UFC’s protests. The UFC’s lawsuit against Randy Couture has attempted to prevent his involvement with other MMA organizations like the IFL and HDNet, but Couture has continued to resist.

Could tonight’s announcement regarding the MMA superstar represent a new chapter in the RandyGate saga?

- Caleb

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For those who were unable to catch the showing of HDNet Fights: Reckless Abandon because you don’t receive HDNet at home, HDNet Fights has provided MMAPredictions.com some photos of the event!

Remember too that HDNet will be showing two great fight cards this month, the 2007 IFL Grand Prix on December 29th from Mohegan Sun Arena in Connecticut and M-1 Global: Yarennoka on December 31st from Japan.

Without further ado…

Jason “Mayhem” Miller, HDNet Fights owner Mark Cuban, and Tim Kennedy.

Jason “Mayhem” Miller attempts a guillotine on Tim Kennedy.

A bloodied Tim Kennedy goes for a footlock on Jason Miller.

Frank Trigg lands a kick on Edwin Dewees.

Pete Spratt fighting from a bleeding Tristan Yunker’s guard.

Nissen Osterneck (l) sizes up Freddie Espiricueta.

Robert Villegas (l) prepares for the incoming Polish-Canadian Krzysztof Soszynski.

Heavy underdog Jay White sets up his successful armbar on Patrick Castillo.

Marcus Lanier lands the takedown on Lee King.

Alonzo Martinez falls prey to the rear naked choke from Yves Edwards.

Chris Bowles’s back is taken by Cory Mahon.

Jason House (l) defends the striking of Liam McCarty.

- Caleb

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Okay. I am ready. After a long day at the first-ever Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu No-gi World Championship yesterday in Los Angeles and getting home late last night, I have a hot cup of joe next to me and we’re ready to talk about Mark Cuban’s newest endeavor, HDNet Fights.

HDNet Fights, Cuban’s Texas-based mixed martial arts promotion and broadcast platform held its second event last night. HDNet Fights: Reckless Abandon was comprised of ten fights, including the return of Jason “Mayhem” Miller, Frank Trigg, and Pete Spratt, all of whom were victorious in their respective fights.

A quick review of how we measure predictability of a fight card: we average how well all of our users predicted all the card’s fights as a way of seeing if it was easier or tougher to predict than other cards. So if I got, say, 25% of the fights on a card correct, my friend Luis got 75% of the fights on a card correct, and we’re the only two who predicted on the card, the overall prediction accuracy for this card would be 50% (the average of 25% and 75%).

That being said, here’s a little insight into how all our predictors did on the card tonight, which you can see by going to the card’s detailed results page.

• 211 MMAPredictions users predicted on tonight’s card.
• RagingBull831 predicted all ten of the fights correctly! Way to go RagingBull831!
• The average of all our users’ prediction accuracies for the card’s nine fights on MMAPredictions was 54.3%, which is dead even with the overall average predictability of all fight cards here on the site, which is 54.2%!

Most easily-predicted fight outcome: Yves Edwards vs. Alonzo Martinez. Ninety-four percent of our users knew that Edwards was going to win this fight. However the victories of Trigg and Miller were also very predictable, with around 90% of our predictors getting those correct as well.

Most surprising fight outcome: Jay White vs. Patrick Castillo. White, who trains with Randy Couture’s Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas, probably surprised even himself with an armbar victory that came in under one minute into the fight. Only eleven percent of our predictors had faith that White would win.

We have a brief MMA break at the moment for Christmas. But in between Christmas and January 1, there will be an orgy of MMA as all the promotions try to make their year-end statement with an impressive finale. We’ll see:

• Dec 29: IFL Grand Prix Finals
• Dec 29: UFC 79
• Dec 31: K-1 Hero’s Dynamite Fields Premium
• Dec 31: M-1 Global: Yarennoka!

Both the IFL event and Yarennoka will be televised on HDNet. UFC 79 and the IFL card are both currently up-to-date in the MMAPredictions system but Yarennoka and Hero’s need to have some fights added or modified. I will get that straightened out in plenty of time for you to get your picks in, don’t worry!

Okay - now it’s time for some breakfast! After which, I will begin working on this week’s episode of The FightWorks Podcast, a weekly internet radio show which covers the sport of Brazilian jiu-jitsu. Our show this week will include an audio interview with Jeff Monson, who won the black belt no-gi absolute division at the No-gi World Championships yesterday. If you’re a BJJ fan, check it out!

- Caleb

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Saturday evening brings us HDNet Fights: Reckless Abandon from Dallas, Texas. Just a quick note to remind you to get your picks in. Remember voting for who you think will win on a fight card closes one hour before an event is scheduled to start.

If it affects your predictions, you may want to know that MMAjunkie.com has reported that Tristan Yunker did not make weight.

Also, I will be at the first-ever Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu No-Gi World Championship in Los Angeles tomorrow, covering the event for The FightWorks Podcast. I wanted to give you a heads up that I may not be updating the fights as immediately as I would prefer. I can’t believe it but there are actually grappling matches scheduled to start at 8pm, and then I have to get back home to San Diego after the event concludes!

I will try to do my best to keep up with the fights and update the site as it happens from my iPhone but I can’t make any promises.

- Caleb

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If you are in the Dallas area, you can attend the weigh-ins on Friday for the fighters who will compete on Saturday at HDNet Fights: Reckless Abandon.

Friday, December 14 at 1 p.m. in the Ellipse Ballroom of the Renaissance Hotel. 2222 Stemmons Freeway, Dallas 75207. (I-35 and Wyclilff).

Fighters on the card include Frank Trigg, Jason “Mayhem” Miller, Edwin Dewees, and Pete Spratt.

- Caleb

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PRESS RELEASE

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 15, 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.

In addition to losing one of the event’s headlining fighters after Sean Salmon was knocked out brutally by Jorge Santiago at the recent Strikeforce: Four Men Enter, One Man Survives, the Dallas based-promotion will be losing two more of the fighters scheduled to compete on the December 15th event, HDNet Fights: Reckless Abandon.

In separate posts by an administrator on the HDNet Fights website’s forum, we learn…

CB Dollaway suffered separated ribs during training recently and will be unable to participate in his match against Freddie Espiricueta.

More bad fighter news. For the second time in the span of a week a fighter has been forced to withdraw from our December event. Jay White suffered a fractured orbital during training and will not be able to participate in his match against Patrick Castillo.

- Caleb

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HDNet gave the press an opportunity yesterday to discuss its upcoming card, HDNet Fights: Reckless Abandon.

The new CEO of HDNet Fights, Andrew Simon lead the call. Simon recently joined HDNet Fights after leaving his executive role at Cox Communications. The veteran of the cable television industry is a long-time mixed martial arts fan and accepted the opportunity to lead HDNet Fights after a conversation with Mark Cuban in the Palms Casino in Las Vegas.

Part of Simon’s goal in building HDNet Fights will be expanding the distribution of its MMA content, which includes MMA fights and their MMA news program Inside MMA, beyond the HDNet channel and into more homes in the United States. As a first step to that end, HDNet Fights has secured a syndication agreement with Cox of Orange County, California, who will begin broadcasting HDNet Fights content in December.

Guy Mezger, HDNet Fights fight coordinator, concentrated his portion of the call on the matchups that have been secured for the upcoming December event. To that end, he introduced Sean Salmon and his opponent, Jason “Mayhem” Miller and let them discuss their thoughts on the matchup.

Sean Salmon stated that he is very excited to face Mayhem. Salmon said that Mayhem was one of the fighters he admired when he originally entered MMA and that it will be an honor to face someone whose career he followed for so long. However, Salmon said, that his is “impressed [by Miller], but not in awe of him”.

Jason Miller, for his part, did not disappoint those on the call who are accustomed to his unpredictable behavior. His first contribution to the conversation was his praise for Guy Mezger’s hair, which he referred to as “illustrious”, and a “mane”. Mayhem was asked if the decision to leave the Zuffa-owned WEC was difficult and Mayhem replied that it was not difficult as his goal was to earn as much money in the fastest time, and he implied that the money offered by HDNet Fights was superior to that from the WEC. Further, he added that competing in the WEC was “like fighting in front of 200 people” and in that regard he compared it to high school wrestling.

Both Salmon and Miller have signed three-fight deals with HDNet fights that are non-exclusive.

Another fighter that Mezger had good words for was Polish-Canadian Krzysztof Soszynski. Soszynski, who is 1-3 in his last four fights, will be taking on Robert Villegas on the HDNet Fights’ December 15th card. Soszynski is only contractually committed to HDNet Fights for the one event but Mezger reinforced that he would be happy to sign Soszynski to a longer deal.

…

Stick close to MMAPredictions this evening - as soon as the weigh-ins are completed and the matchups determined in their four-man MMA tournament Strikeforce: Four Men Enter, One Man Survives, we will update things here on the site!

- Caleb

It’s official - you predict MMA better if you’re wearing a MMAPredictions t-shirt!

Randy Couture, who announced two weeks ago that he had resigned from the UFC, will be holding a press conference from his Xtreme Couture gym in Las Vegas live Thursday, October 25 at 4:30 p.m. ET/1:30 p.m. PT on the HDNet show Inside MMA.

Many fans hope that Randy Couture will announce his plans as to where he will fight next, especially given yesterday’s M-1 Global press conference with Fedor Emelianenko. However as legal issues are clouding Couture’s status with the UFC, it is possible that that hope will remain unfulfilled for the moment. At a minimum, the press conference is to address Couture’s “reasons for resigning from the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) in every capacity”.

Update 10/24/2007 3:34PM: For those who don’t have HDNet, Proelite.com will also be broadcasting the Randy Couture press conference on their website.

- Caleb

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