Fighting Current, ‘Mayhem’ Meets Salmon on HDNet
Scott Holmes Nov 15, 2007
On Saturday, Dec. 15, Mark Cuban's HDNet FIGHTS returns to the
American Airlines Center in Dallas. After the promotion's debut
event on Oct. 13, which Cuban called a "beta test," matchmaker
Guy Mezger (Pictures) has brought in some notable names
to help bump up the talent on HDNet FIGHTS roster.
Middleweight standouts Frank Trigg (Pictures) and Jason Miller will be fighting separately but sharing top billing in the event titled "Reckless Abandon." Should both fighters win it could be a prelude to a rematch after Miller's loss to Trigg a year ago.
Fighting Trigg and Salmon respectively in three-round bouts are UFC
veterans Edwin Dewees
(Pictures) and Sean Salmon (Pictures).
"These guys are two very well-known respected middleweights," Mezger said during a conference call with media Wednesday. "Frank is ranked in the top 10 and I believe Jason should be ranked in the top 10; both of them are very exciting."
"These new organizations are just a little too happy with who they think they are and they have these titles and to be honest, people criticize boxing for having ABC titles and stuff -- MMA makes boxing look sane when it comes to that," Mezger said. "I get a thousand emails from fighters that are the "ABC" champion, the "monster" champion, the "super monster" champion; that doesn't mean anything to me.
"We want to get the respect from our fan base first so when we have a title, it means something, not the fact that we just went out and purchased a shiny belt and strapped it on the first guy who won it."
Salmon and Miller spoke on Wednesday about the match-up and their styles.
"It's a good style match-up to make for an exciting fight you know because I have a feeling that Sean's going to come at me straight forward and try to take it to the ground and I'm going to probably have no part of those shenanigans," Miller said.
On "Mayhem," Salmon said: "He presents a lot of problems especially with his flexibility, his ground game and his standup. He throws a lot of kicks and he's going to have a for sure reach advantage on me. I've been spending a lot of time training on my submission defense, staying in the guard."
Salmon talked about how important it will be for him to stay patient and not rush things while in top position. He also discussed his successful move from light heavyweight to middleweight.
"Coming down to 185 was just kind of a natural move for me," he said. "I was a small 205-pounder. I never felt like I got pushed around at 205, but 185 is a weight class I can make and recover by just being more disciplined with my diet and stepping up my cardio."
The next month will be busy for Salmon who will also face Dennis Hallman (Pictures) this weekend in a Strikeforce event. The Ohioan promised he's not overlooking either opponent.
"I decided after my two losses in the UFC that for me to be successful I need to fight frequently that keeps my mind right and keeps everything in perspective for me," he said. "There's no way I can overlook either one of these two, I mean Dennis can finish me Friday night just as easily as ‘Mayhem' could on the 15th. To say that this has added some excitement and motivation to my training would be an understatement. I've never been more focused in my life and for me to come through both of these fights 2-0 not only do I think is a real possibility, I think that's what's going to happen."
While Salmon talked shop, it was vintage "Mayhem" as he comically discussed the approach HDNet took on hiring him.
"It was a really strange thing," he started. "I was on the freeway and I got a phone call for me to look out my window and I look out my window and there's Mark Cuban on a helicopter and he's hanging off of a rope ladder and I was like ‘What the hell?' and he had a contract in his hand and he was swinging it back and forth and I was like ‘This is serious business.'"
‘Mayhem' also addressed what drew him to HDNet after he and Zuffa parted ways despite having one fight left on his World Extreme Cagefighting contract.
"I have a short amount of time to get a maximum amount of money beating people up for a living and you know if I hurt my pinky toe this might all be over, so I have to build for my future because I have no other job skills," Miller said.
The mood was light hearted between both fighters on Wednesday, but come Dec. 15 that should all change.
Rounding out the rest of the card, Yves Edwards (Pictures) fights Alonzo Martinez. Also, local fighters Pete Spratt (Pictures), Chris Bowles (Pictures) and Jason House (Pictures) will be on the undercard.
Middleweight standouts Frank Trigg (Pictures) and Jason Miller will be fighting separately but sharing top billing in the event titled "Reckless Abandon." Should both fighters win it could be a prelude to a rematch after Miller's loss to Trigg a year ago.
Advertisement
"These guys are two very well-known respected middleweights," Mezger said during a conference call with media Wednesday. "Frank is ranked in the top 10 and I believe Jason should be ranked in the top 10; both of them are very exciting."
When asked about this fight being a set up for a title fight down
the road, Mezger cautioned that HDNet was in no rush to just throw
out crowns.
"These new organizations are just a little too happy with who they think they are and they have these titles and to be honest, people criticize boxing for having ABC titles and stuff -- MMA makes boxing look sane when it comes to that," Mezger said. "I get a thousand emails from fighters that are the "ABC" champion, the "monster" champion, the "super monster" champion; that doesn't mean anything to me.
"We want to get the respect from our fan base first so when we have a title, it means something, not the fact that we just went out and purchased a shiny belt and strapped it on the first guy who won it."
Salmon and Miller spoke on Wednesday about the match-up and their styles.
"It's a good style match-up to make for an exciting fight you know because I have a feeling that Sean's going to come at me straight forward and try to take it to the ground and I'm going to probably have no part of those shenanigans," Miller said.
On "Mayhem," Salmon said: "He presents a lot of problems especially with his flexibility, his ground game and his standup. He throws a lot of kicks and he's going to have a for sure reach advantage on me. I've been spending a lot of time training on my submission defense, staying in the guard."
Salmon talked about how important it will be for him to stay patient and not rush things while in top position. He also discussed his successful move from light heavyweight to middleweight.
"Coming down to 185 was just kind of a natural move for me," he said. "I was a small 205-pounder. I never felt like I got pushed around at 205, but 185 is a weight class I can make and recover by just being more disciplined with my diet and stepping up my cardio."
The next month will be busy for Salmon who will also face Dennis Hallman (Pictures) this weekend in a Strikeforce event. The Ohioan promised he's not overlooking either opponent.
"I decided after my two losses in the UFC that for me to be successful I need to fight frequently that keeps my mind right and keeps everything in perspective for me," he said. "There's no way I can overlook either one of these two, I mean Dennis can finish me Friday night just as easily as ‘Mayhem' could on the 15th. To say that this has added some excitement and motivation to my training would be an understatement. I've never been more focused in my life and for me to come through both of these fights 2-0 not only do I think is a real possibility, I think that's what's going to happen."
While Salmon talked shop, it was vintage "Mayhem" as he comically discussed the approach HDNet took on hiring him.
"It was a really strange thing," he started. "I was on the freeway and I got a phone call for me to look out my window and I look out my window and there's Mark Cuban on a helicopter and he's hanging off of a rope ladder and I was like ‘What the hell?' and he had a contract in his hand and he was swinging it back and forth and I was like ‘This is serious business.'"
‘Mayhem' also addressed what drew him to HDNet after he and Zuffa parted ways despite having one fight left on his World Extreme Cagefighting contract.
"I have a short amount of time to get a maximum amount of money beating people up for a living and you know if I hurt my pinky toe this might all be over, so I have to build for my future because I have no other job skills," Miller said.
The mood was light hearted between both fighters on Wednesday, but come Dec. 15 that should all change.
Rounding out the rest of the card, Yves Edwards (Pictures) fights Alonzo Martinez. Also, local fighters Pete Spratt (Pictures), Chris Bowles (Pictures) and Jason House (Pictures) will be on the undercard.
Related Articles
