HDNet Fights was a US based television outlet for various MMA and combat sports promotions. Its broadcast lineup included

DREAM A dream is a succession of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that usually occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. Humans spend about two hours dreaming per night, and each dream lasts around 5 to 20 minutes, althou ...

Sengoku The was a period in Japanese history of near-constant civil war and social upheaval from 1467 to 1615. The Sengoku period was initiated by the Ōnin War in 1467 which collapsed the feudal system of Japan under the Ashikaga shogunate. Various s ...

K-1 K-1 is a professional kickboxing promotion established in 1993, well known worldwide mainly for its heavyweight division fights and Grand Prix tournaments. In January 2012, K-1 Global Holdings Limited, a company registered in Hong Kong, acquired ...

Strikeforce Strike Force may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Games * ''Strike Force'' (video game), a 1991 arcade game *'' Commandos: Strike Force'', a 2006 video game *'' Dynasty Warriors: Strikeforce'', a 2009 video game *''Marvel Strike Force'', ...

Adrenaline MMA Adrenaline MMA was a mixed martial arts organization that operated primarily in North America. It was formerly part of M-1 Global but became independent in October 2007 with Monte Cox as its head. History Foundation In October 2007, Sibling E ...

M-1 Global M-1 Global (Mixfight-1) or MMA-1 (Mixed martial arts-1) is a mixed martial arts promotion based in St. Petersburg, Russia which organizes between 10 and 20 competitions per year. It hosted its first major show (rather than co-promoting with othe ...

Ring of Honor Ring of Honor (ROH) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Jacksonville, Florida. The promotion was founded by Rob Feinstein on February 23, 2002, and was operated by Cary Silkin from 2004 until 2011, when the promotion was so ...

Maximum Fighting Championship Maximum Fighting Championship is a Canadian mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion based in Edmonton, Alberta. MFC’s former home, in Canada, is the River Cree Resort and Casino in Enoch, Alberta, located just outside Edmonton, Alberta, but has also ...

Affliction Entertainment Affliction Entertainment was an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company created by Affliction Clothing in 2008. The UFC prohibited its fighters from wearing Affliction clothing after learning Affliction was applying to become an MMA f ...

Urban Conflict Championship HDNet Fights was a US based television outlet for various MMA and combat sports promotions. Its broadcast lineup included DREAM, Sengoku, K-1, Strikeforce, Adrenaline MMA, M-1 Global, Ring of Honor, Maximum Fighting Championship, Affliction ...

BAMMA BAMMA (British Association of Mixed Martial Arts) was a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United Kingdom. It premiered on June 27, 2009, and was shown on the television channel Bravo. BAMMA events were shown live on ITV4 in the UK and Ire ...

XFC Xtreme Fighting Championships (XFC) is a premier international mixed martial arts (MMA) organization based in Spring Lake, Michigan, with offices throughout the United States and South America. The XFC showcases both male and female fighters, ad ...

, Superior Challenge, CFA,

Titan Fighting Championships Titan Fighting Championship (Titan FC) is an American mixed martial arts promotion based out of Pompano Beach, Florida. Their shows were originally run in and near Kansas City and have since expanded to include venues all over North America and e ...

and the now defunct

IFL IFL may refer to: ;American football *Intense Football League, (2004–2008) in the United States, merged into the Indoor Football League *Indoor Football League, (2008–present) in the United States *Intercontinental Football League, a European l ...

among others. As of February 19, 2010, it has promoted two events of its own and broadcast 60 events by other promotions. After July 2, 2012, when HDNet re-branded itself as AXS TV, HDNet Fights was re-branded as

AXS TV Fights ''AXS TV Fights'' is the brand name of AXS TV's live mixed martial arts (MMA), Muay Thai and kickboxing broadcasts. Formerly known as ''HDNET Fights'', the program's name was changed to ''AXS TV Fights'' in July 2012, following the network's rebra ...

History

HDNet Fights was founded in 2007 by

HDNet AXS TV is an American cable television channel. Majority-owned by Anthem Sports & Entertainment, it is devoted primarily to music-related programming (such as concert films, documentaries, and reality series involving musicians) and combat sport ...

owner and founder, billionaire entrepreneur

Mark Cuban Mark Cuban (born July 31, 1958) is an American billionaire entrepreneur, television personality, and media proprietor whose net worth is an estimated $4.8 billion, according to ''Forbes'', and ranked No. 177 on the 2020 ''Forbes'' 400 list ...

, as a staple of programming upon which to base the new network. Cuban has since expressed a desire to present MMA in a manner more in line with other professional sports, saying that he would eliminate ancillary details such as ring card girls. Despite speculation of how personally Cuban himself would be involved in the business and promoting of MMA, he has proven to be a vocal defender of MMA in his blogs and interviews since starting the promotion. HDNet Fights briefly promoted its own fights. The first was hosted on October 13, 2007, with the main event being a light-heavyweight contest between

Erik Paulson Erik Paulson (born June 28, 1966) is an American mixed martial artist. He is the first American to win the World Light-Heavy Weight Shooto Title in Japan. Biography Erik started his career in martial arts starting with Judo at age of 8. However ...

and Jeff Ford. Its second event, ''Reckless Abandon'', was held two months later.

Inside MMA

In company with the announcement of the new promotion, HDNet also began broadcasting its MMA-focused sports program called

Inside MMA ''Inside MMA'' was a live mixed martial arts news magazine, which aired on AXS TV, immediately following the network's live AXS TV Fights broadcasts. Hosted by Mauro Ranallo and UFC Hall of Famer Bas Rutten, the series provided an in-depth look ...

. Its first broadcast aired on September 14, 2007, and guests were former

UFC The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

light heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell and well known MMA fan and actor

Kevin James Kevin George Knipfing (born April 26, 1965), better known by his stage name Kevin James, is an American comedian and actor. In television, James played Doug Heffernan on ''The King of Queens'' from 1998 to 2007, and receieved a Primetime Emmy ...

. The show is hosted by

Kenny Rice Kenny Rice (born July 28, 1956) is an American sportscaster known nationally for his horse racing reporting with NBC and MMA coverage for HDNet. Biography Kenny Rice was born July 28, 1956 in McDowell, Floyd County, Kentucky. He grew up in the t ...

and

Bas Rutten Sebastiaan "Bas" Rutten (; born 24 February 1965) is a Dutch-American actor, former mixed martial artist, kickboxer and professional wrestler. He was a UFC Heavyweight Champion, a three-time King of Pancrase world champion, and finished his car ...

. Broadcasts and segments from the show can also be found on HDNet's

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

subscription,

Sherdog.com Sherdog is an American website devoted to the sport of mixed martial arts (MMA). It also has many forums and discussion pages on the many topics of MMA like records, promotions, etc. The site is a member of the CraveOnline network and provides MM ...

, and the HDNet Fights website.

Partnership with Dream and World Victory Road

HDNet acquired the rights to air Japanese

Fighting and Entertainment Group Fighting and Entertainment Group (FEG) was the leading Japanese combat sport promoter founded on September 3, 2003. Its last president was Sadaharu Tanikawa and it was the parent company behind the now-defunct mixed martial arts series Dream and f ...

's MMA promotion

Dream A dream is a succession of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that usually occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. Humans spend about two hours dreaming per night, and each dream lasts around 5 to 20 minutes, althou ...

and aired it for the first time in the United States with a repeat of

Dream 1 ''Dream 1: Lightweight Grand Prix 2008 1st Round'' was the inaugural event of the mixed martial arts promotion, Dream. It took place on Saturday, on March 15, 2008 at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama City, Japan. The event featured the firs ...

on May 2, 2008. A repeat of

Dream 2 ''Dream 2: Middleweight Grand Prix 2008 1st Round'' was a mixed martial arts event promoted by Dream. It took place on Tuesday, April 29, 2008 at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama City, Japan. The event hosted the opening round of the promoti ...

was aired the following day, while

Dream 3 ''Dream 3: Lightweight Grand Prix 2008 2nd Round'' was a mixed martial arts event promoted by Fighting and Entertainment Group's mixed martial arts promotion DREAM. The event took place on Tuesday May 11, 2008 at the Saitama Super Arena in Saita ...

was aired live on May 11. HDNet is scheduled to air all future Dream events. On February 6, 2009, HDNet also announced they had reached and agreement with another Japanese MMA promotion and competitor to Dream,

World Victory Road World Victory Road (WVR) is a defunct Japanese mixed martial arts (MMA) organization which promoted the Sengoku Raiden Championship (SRC) in Japan. The organization was formed in 2007 following the purchase of PRIDE FC by Zuffa. It operated in c ...

, to broadcast its "Sengoku"-events in the United States starting with WVR's first event of 2009 on March 20.

References

External links

Official HDNet Fights SiteInside MMA webcasts
{{Sports television in the United States , state=autocollapse 2007 American television series debuts 2012 American television series endings Mixed martial arts organizations HDNet original programming