Brawl Sports
Ultimate Fighting and More with Steve Sievert

Although HDNet Fights' Reckless Abandon show Saturday night at American Airlines Center in Dallas was the fledgling promotion's second event, it was my first taste of Mark Cuban's brand of MMA.

A scheduling conflict prevented me from attending HDNF's first show in October and, quite frankly, I'm just too cheap to pop for the high-def package on my satellite system, so I had yet to experience the sport's newest creation.

After getting a look, I can sum up HDNF's second go-around in a word: impressive. Cuban and Co. have set a course to be a decidedly different player on the MMA scene, and, so far, mission accomplished. However, charting a new path is not without risk. More on that and how HDNF can further refine itself a bit later in this review.

On to the show ... once I settled into the best seat I've ever had at a fight event —I could literally stand up and grab the cage with an outstretched hand — the first thing I noticed about the atmosphere of the in-house production is how dissimilar it is from a UFC or EliteXC show. There's no glass-cracking music, no scantily clad ring-card girls or dancers gyrating cageside and zero theatrics.

Fighters first HDNF is presented as a true sporting event, with the emphasis of the show placed on the fighters and what happens inside the cage, not around it. It's a type of "thinking man's" approach to the sport supported by two elements of the production I saw for the first time at an MMA event: fight commentary designed for the arena crowd and the use of real-time fight statistics.

The commentary came from Matt Lindland and Tim Hughes (IFL's ring announcer), who were stationed on the arena floor by the stands. Lindland and Hughes set the table for bouts by discussing fighters' backgrounds and also offered commentary between rounds, dissecting what went down in the five minutes of action. Between fights, the pair also interviewed several personalities in attendance, including Cuban, Randy Couture, Andrei Arlovski and Ken Shamrock.

The approach essentially replaces the fighter sound-bite packages that the UFC and other promotions use to set the scene for bouts, and fans seemed to enjoy hearing from the likes of Cuban and Couture. Apparently, they could have done without Shamrock. He was met with a smattering of boos.

The stats, provided by CompuStrike, gave fans an at-a-glance look at the percentage of connects landed by each fighter and tracked takedowns and submission attempts. It's a helpful tool, especially for fans new to the sport.

As for the action in the circular cage, the main event - a rematch of a 2003 bout between Jason Miller and Tim Kennedy - was an entertaining scrap. There was a good pace to the bout, with both fighters scoring their share of points and a gash over the bridge of Kennedy's nose added some intrigue to the affair. (By the way, per the promotion's rules, elbows are not allowed in HDNF fights.)

When Kennedy was on his back, the blood was making it difficult for him to see. The cage-side physician examined the cut on two occasions, and each time the bout was allowed to resume. Kennedy raised his hands after each stoppage to urge on the crowd, which roared with approval. Attendance was announced as 6,754, although I don't have the breakdown on how much of that was paid.

Miller evened the score against Kennedy, who won their first fight, in winning a unanimous decision. The "Mayhem" victory sets up what will be the biggest fight in the short history of HDNF, when Miller meets Frank Trigg, who easily dispatched of Edwin Dewees by Kimura in the first round of Saturday night's co-feature.

Trigg stopped Miller by TKO a year ago for the Icon Sport middleweight crown. HDNF has booked Feb. 15 for its third show, but there's no word yet as to whether Trigg and Miller will connect on that card.

Against the grain

Now, back to the risk I mentioned earlier.

While I appreciated the more cerebral approach to the in-house production of the show, I am not in the target age demographic. I'm a guy who grew up watching more traditional sports like football and basketball. I enjoyed the focus on the fighters and the fights, but I've also come to value the entertainment elements that are baked into MMA shows.

Cuban called the October card a "beta test," and it's clear that the promotion is still sorting out what it wants to be when it grows up. Based on Saturday's show, a solid foundation has been formed, but the promotion would be well served to close the gap between its "all about the fights" approach and the entertainment-driven style used by other promotions.

Here are a few unsolicited tweaks HDNF might want to consider as a means of resonating with fans in the MMA "sweet spot" of men ages 25 to 35.

Pump up the volume: Some shows overdo it with the event soundtrack, and I am all for letting a show "breathe" from time to time. However, music is vitally important in revving up the energy in the arena, which was lacking during periods of the show. Using louder music as more of a central element to the show could help provide a spark and maintain the energy level from fight to fight.

Mix in a female: Ring-card girls are as much a part of fighting as punches. While I don't need cheerleaders, dancers or screaming female ring announcers, I do need to see a girl between rounds holding a placard with a number on it. It just seems right.

Be original : While the use of legendary ring announcer Michael Buffer added some class to the proceedings, it reminded me of boxing - and that's so 1980s. Mixed martial arts is (relatively) new, cutting-edge, extreme ... give me a ring announcer who fits that persona. Buffer is the best boxing ring announcer ever, but an MMA organization needs to be an originator not tie itself to boxing, a sport most MMA fans find tired and boring.

The uber-successful Cuban says he wants HDNet Fights to be a player in mixed martial arts, and with two events in the books, the promotion appears on its way. But will HDNF's unique approach to its in-house production appeal to the MMA masses used to rock-concert productions?