Brian B. Havens sent along the following:
HDNET FIGHTS CONFERENCE CALL RECAP:
*Mayhem is going to avenge a loss.
*”Excited about a long-term partnership with EliteXC.”
*Attendees of the event get a free Halloween DVD courtesy of Rob Zombie. Gee thanks.
Andrew Simon:
*”Let's open questions up to Andrew Simon.”
Dead silence. Nobody cares about Andrew Simon.
Andrew Simon: “Let's uh, remind them that they can ask questions. Do they have to hit a code or something?”
MODERATOR: “Yes, they have to hit 7. I would just like to remind everyone that if you want to ask a question to hit 7 on your phone.”
More silence. Poor Andrew Simon, nobody wants to talk to him.
*Any thought to when the next show will be?
Andrew Simon: “Feb 15th. In Dallas. More information in the next week.”
*Planning on doing anything for Sam Vazquez?
“We have no plans.”
Guy Mezger:
o “Most of the card speaks for itself. We got some really good matchups. Only major hiccup was Sean Salmon getting injured. Worked out better for us, we got Tim Kennedy.”
o “Number one thing everyone is talking about is Yves Edwards coming back from a low in his career – fighting Alonzo Martinez. These guys almost fought years ago, but nothing ever came of that. Pete Spratt is fighting, against a jiu-jitsu specialist. Obviously that's his weakness, you know, but he's working on it.”
1. Last call you talked about not rushing into establishing belts and titles with HDNet Fights. Has there been any more talk about this? “That's obviously what we want to do. You kind of took the secret out of the bag with that one. It's going to take a little bit of time for us to do that. Obviously the UFC has a bit of a lock on that now, but we're looking to change that.”
2. You mentioned earlier about Sean [Salmon] dropping out. This has been the second time Sean has had to drop out of an HDNets event. Can you talk a little about that? “I think he makes some very poor decisions. It is very difficult for us to want to build in or around him for what I feel are irresponsible decisions. He lets his manager influence some of his decisions, and that I think is causing him to make some bad choices.”
Tim Kennedy:
o 8-1 from North Carolina, IFL Standout.
o “I've been up to a lot of training. Had a lot of weight to cut. Got some phenomenal training partners that I'm working with. It's hard to get my heart rate up, so they line 10-15 guys up, and I go back-to-back-to-back-to-back with them. I think all around I'm feeling really strong, really-really explosive. Probably the best shape I've been in for a long time.”
o “I like Mayhem. I think he's fun, and hilarious, and I think he knows how to put on good aspects for the fans. He's also good in the ring. He's unconventional, and awkward. We're similar in a fight, neither of us leave much in the ring. I think it will be a good, competitive fight – and we're both looking for a good finish.”
1. Tell us about what you thought of the first fight. “That fight was a long time ago. I am stylistically a very different fighter. How the fight went, every time he'd go for something I would throw up the heaviest punches I could. The way I throw punches, they're to knock you out. We were on the ground, on the feet. It was a back and forth war. He's hard to hold on, and hard to hit on the ground. I had to come at different angles and try some different stuff on the ground. Rules are a little different (than the first time we fought), and I think you'll see a much different fight this time.”
2. Have you watched any of his recent fights, any of his tape, and if so what do you think of Mayhem as a fighter? “I've seen a lot of his fights. He's really dangerous on his back, has pretty good takedowns. He makes some really good decisions in the ring. He knows when to push, and knows when to rest. He's really smart and very experienced.”
3. You want to make a prediction for the fight? “My prediction is pretty much the same for all my fights. I'm going to feel the guy out, and then be looking for the knockout. So it's either going to be a knockout, or a really long bloody fight.”
4. Tell us about the time you took off, your time in the military. Taking your tour duty, and then coming back to the fight game. “My family is very patriotic. 9/11 happened, and that kind of hit home with me. It should have affected every American. A lot of compounding factors contributed to me wanting to do a little more for my family, something we could all be proud of.”
5. What has it been like, with the progression in MMA as far as training and competing? Did you notice any big differences coming back after your time in the military? “The competition has really gone through the roof in a few years. Everyone had their own bag of tricks, but now everyone knows that. Now it's all about how much you train, who they train with, and how good they're training. Now you've got guys who are phenomenal athletes, you know, they're athletes in addition to the technique they have.”
6. Now that you're back and have had a few fights, tell me what it's like to have seen how Mayhem's career has gone, and what you think of your own career and what you think about the exposure this fight could have for you. “I'm still full-time in the military. My motivation is a little different than for most other people. I am a pretty outspoken Christian, and my family comes first. The exposure is really nice, and I think I have a really promising career, but this career for me is about fighting the best guys. It's about the competition.”
7. Do you think being in the military has benefited you mentally, or given you an edge in any way? “I think it has. I am much more mentally relaxed before a fight. This is fun for me. I don't have to worry about walking out there and worrying about a round hitting me or one of my friends. I just have to put gloves on and hit people. I think I will always have an advantage because this sport is fun to me.”
They go to Trigg, he can't talk. He is 30 minutes late for a flight, has to go right now.
Jason “MayheM” Miller:
o “I think Tim did an ample job of laying down the groundwork for our fight. I think he was right when he said that we've both gotten a lot better since then. It's going to be explosive. Best fight ever. It's so great to have real respect for someone whose politics are so much different than me. From such a different walk of life. PRESS 7 TO ASK A QUESTION!”
1. Talk to us about your move from Icon to HDNet Fights. “I don't know if you heard the infamous story about Mark Cuban flying from the helicopter. But it was brass tacks awesome. I don't know, I'm happy. So far so good, we'll see how happy I am after December 15th.”
2. And about the change of opponents. Do you think this will give you some added fuel to fight someone that has a victory over you? “Yeah, of course. I want to avenge a loss. Is it weird to change opponents so soon before a fight? Yeah, it is. But I would fight a group of monkeys with bats if they paid me adequately.”
3. How's your training going with Quest? Can you talk about that? “I have a group of BEASTS down at Quest that help me train. [Dan] Henderson, Sokoudjou, a good solid group of guys. It's crazy to be able to be going in there. Iron sharpens iron, right? For lack of a better word, I am blessed to be able to go in there.”
4. Since you have a lot of guys in there, are you able to pick things up from some of those guys, like Gabe Ruediger, Henderson, Sokodjou? “Haha, uh, haha. Um, yeah. Well, Henderson yeah, Sokodjou yeah. Gabe Ruediger, not so much. But I have a lot of guys in there that I can learn from and it's great.”
5. You are known as one of the most colorful characters in MMA. How much of that is you and how much of it is for the fans? “I'm me. I don't know, I'm all me. Am I just turning it on to put on a show? Yeah, but that's just me. I'm just me. As I've gotten older my show has just gotten more complex, that's it.”
6. Which breed of bat-wielding monkeys would you take on first? “Um. Capuchin. Then work my way up. Because Capuchin monkeys are actually pretty small, and they throw feces.”
Edwin Dewees:
o “Frank is a good opponent. Had a good training camp, and I feel primed for this.”
o “Trigg is strong, and a good wrestler. His strength is takedowns, but that works out well for me. If he takes me down that's where I want to be, so I don't really care.”
o Tell us about your training camp. “The experience definitely helps. What's going to happen to me in the fight that hasn't happened to me in the last week, you know? It's just been great, learning to not waste energy and get in there. Great training partners.”
o It's been a little over a year since your last fight. What do you feel about such a long layoff? “I've had that question a lot actually. I've had a few fights this year that fell through, so I have actually been training and preparing. I had some time to take off, kind of lick my wounds you know? But I had some time off and was notified of this fight well in advance, so I've had plenty of time to train and get ready.”
o No matter the outcome, can we plan on seeing more of you in the coming year? “Oh yeah, I plan on fighting eight or nine times in the next year. I want to have a really active time in 2008. Now that I'm with the Lion's Den I've got some training partners and I'm getting prepared really well.”
o Where would you like seeing yourself at the end of next year? “I would really like to see myself in the top 10. When I took this fight I actually saw that Frank Trigg was in the top 10 and thought that I wanted to be there. Just so I can say I was there when I'm an old man.”
HDNet Fights emanates from the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas on December 15th and will air live on the HDNet cable television channel. For more information on the event, visit their official website.
