''Inside MMA'' was a live
mixed martial arts
Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, inc ...
news magazine, which aired on
AXS TV
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 ...
, immediately following the network's live
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 re ...
broadcasts. Hosted by
Mauro Ranallo
Mauro Domenico Ranallo (born December 21, 1969) is a Canadian sports announcer, commentator and mental health advocate. He is currently signed as a play-by-play announcer with MMA organization Bellator, and also performs play-by-play duties for b ...
and
UFC Hall of Famer 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 ...
, the series provided an in-depth look at the world of MMA, with live breakdowns, talk, highlights, and analysis from major MMA organizations such as the
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 ...
,
Bellator, and the
World Series of Fighting
The Professional Fighters League (PFL) is an American mixed martial arts league founded by Venture capital, venture capitalist Donn Davis in 2017 and launched in 2018, following the acquisition and restructuring of the former World Series of Fight ...
. ''Inside MMA'' debuted on AXS TV, then known as HDNET, in September 2007, and was the longest-running MMA news show on television.
Hosts
''Inside MMA'' was hosted by combat sports personality Mauro Ranallo and UFC Hall of Famer, former
UFC heavyweight champion
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships.
Historical notes
At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight classe ...
, and
King of Pancrase Bas Rutten, along with correspondent Ron Kruck. Kruck also filled in as co-host on occasion.
For the first nine seasons, sports commentator
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 ...
hosted the series alongside Rutten.
Content
''Inside MMA'' aired immediately following ''
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 re ...
'' broadcasts. Each show began with highlights and analysis of the night's event with ''AXS TV Fights'' commentators UFC Hall of Famer
Pat Miletich
Patrick Jay Miletich (; born March 9, 1966) is a retired American mixed martial artist and former sports commentator. He is known for his fights in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, where he became the first UFC Welterweight Champion and UFC ...
and "The Voice"
Michael Schiavello
Michael Schiavello (born 10 April 1975) is an Australian sports commentator and journalist. He has commentated for AXS TV, K-1, Dream, Maximum Fighting Championship, King of the Cage, ONE Championship and '' The Contender Asia''. He has also w ...
. Hosts Ranallo and Rutten also provided highlights from MMA and other combat sport events from around the world, featuring promotions such as UFC, Bellator, World Series of Fighting, and
One FC
ONE Championship (formerly ONE Fighting Championship) is a Singaporean combat sports promotion. Founded on 14 July 2011 by entrepreneur Chatri Sityodtong and former ESPN Star Sports senior executive Victor Cui, its events have featured mixed ...
, as well as many other regional MMA promotions. Each episode also included a viewer submission segment, featuring highlights submitted by ''Inside MMA'' viewers.
Correspondent Ron Kruck provided on-site coverage of major MMA events, feature stories on issues facing the sport, and interview segments with fighters, coaches, trainers, and others who contribute to and influence Mixed Martial Arts.
Guests
‘’Inside MMA’’ frequently featured in-studio, on-site, phone and satellite interviews with guests from all facets of the sport, including fighters, promoters, managers, officials and journalists. Notable guests included
Dana White
Dana Frederick White Jr. (born July 28, 1969) is an American businessman who serves as president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a global mixed martial arts organization. In August 2019, White's net worth was estimated at $500 milli ...
,
Ronda Rousey
Ronda Jean Rousey (; born February 1, 1987) is an American professional wrestler, actress, former judoka and mixed martial artist. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the SmackDown brand and is the current SmackDown Women’s ...
,
Daniel Cormier
Daniel Ryan Cormier (; born March 20, 1979) is an American former professional mixed martial artist, amateur wrestler, and current commentator for the UFC. He is a former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Light Heavyweight and Heavyweight Ch ...
,
Nick Diaz
Nickolas Robert Diaz (born August 2, 1983) is an American professional mixed martial artist who competes in the middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Diaz is a former Strikeforce, WEC and IFC welterweight champion ...
,
Conor McGregor
Conor Anthony McGregor ( ga, Conchúr Antóin Mac Gréagóir; born 14 July 1988) is an Irish professional mixed martial artist. He is a former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) featherweight and lightweight double-champion. He is the first ...
,
Gilbert Melendez
Gilbert Melendez (born April 12, 1982) is an American mixed martial artist who formerly competed in the Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He is a two-time Strikeforce Lightweight Champion and a former WEC Lightwe ...
,
Tito Ortiz
Jacob Christopher "Tito" Ortiz (; born January 23, 1975) is an American mixed martial artist and politician. He is currently signed to the Combate Americas promotion. Ortiz is best known for his stints with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UF ...
,
Georges St-Pierre
Georges St-Pierre (; born May 19, 1981) is a Canadian actor and former professional mixed martial artist. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest fighters in mixed martial arts (MMA) history. St-Pierre was a two-division champion in the Ult ...
,
José Aldo
José Aldo da Silva Oliveira Júniorhttps://pbs.twimg.com/media/CI3oOc0VAAAr_iv.jpg (, born 9 September 1986), commonly anglicized as Jose Aldo, is a retired Brazilian professional mixed martial artist. He last competed in the Ultimate Fight ...
,
TJ Dillashaw
Tyler Jeffrey Dillashaw (born February 7, 1986) is an American retired professional mixed martial artist who competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is a former two-time UFC Bantamweight Champion.
Dillashaw competed on ...
,
Dominick Cruz
Dominick Cruz (born March 9, 1985) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Bantamweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is a former two-time UFC Bantamweight Champion. Cruz ha ...
,
Jon Jones
Jonathan Dwight Jones (born July 19, 1987) is an American professional mixed martial artist currently signed to the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), in which he has competed in the light heavyweight division. He is a former two-time UFC L ...
, and
Mickey Rourke
Philip Andre "Mickey" Rourke Jr. (; born September 16, 1952) is an American actor and former boxer who has appeared primarily as a leading man in drama, action, and thriller films.
During the star of the 1980s, Rourke played supporting roles i ...
.
Guest hosts
Occasionally, MMA fighters filled in as special guest hosts on ''Inside MMA''. Past guest hosts include
Johny Hendricks
Johny Harvey Hendricks (born September 12, 1983) is an American former mixed martial artist and collegiate wrestler. He competed in the welterweight and middleweight divisions of the Ultimate Fighting Championship and is a former UFC Welterwei ...
,
Roy Nelson,
Phil Davis,
Miesha Tate
Miesha Theresa Tate ( ; born August 18, 1986) is an American professional mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist. She currently competes in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), in which she is a former UFC Women's Bantamweight Champions ...
, and
Urijah Faber
Urijah Faber (born May 14, 1979) is an American mixed martial artist and actor who is signed to the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He competed as a bantamweight and formerly competed as a featherweight. He is also the founder of Team Alpha Male, ...
.
History
On August 15, 2014, UFC fighter
Krzysztof Soszynski
Krzysztof Soszyński (; born August 2, 1977) is a Polish–Canadian actor and retired mixed martial artist. An 11-year competitor from 2003 until 2014, Soszynski fought in the UFC, Strikeforce, the Los Angeles Anacondas of the IFL, and was a co ...
officially announced his retirement from the sport, citing memory loss, in a live on-air exclusive, while appearing as a guest on an episode of ''Inside MMA''.
In late 2014,
AXS TV
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 ...
announced that the show would move time slots to after the network's weekly live
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 re ...
broadcasts. The move would take place starting Friday, Nov. 7, 2014.
In May 2015, UFC President
Dana White
Dana Frederick White Jr. (born July 28, 1969) is an American businessman who serves as president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a global mixed martial arts organization. In August 2019, White's net worth was estimated at $500 milli ...
appeared on the show to announce that Rutten would be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame in July.
Inside MMA aired a special episode dedicated to UFC Women's Bantamweight Champion and
Legacy Fighting Championship
Legacy Fighting Alliance is an American mixed martial arts promotion, created as a result of the ''Legacy Fighting Championship'' and ''Resurrection Fighting Alliance'' merger in early 2017.
History Resurrection Fighting Alliance
On October 11, ...
's first ever women's titlist
Holly Holm
Holly Rene Holm (born October 17, 1981) is an American mixed martial artist, who competes in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. She is the former UFC Women's Bantamweight Champion, and a former professional boxer. She was a multiple-time wor ...
on Nov. 20, 2015 following her defeat of former undefeated champion Ronda Rousey. The special included interviews with Holm, her coaches and teammates, along with analysis of her fight plan and highlights from her matches on
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 re ...
.
On March 9, 2016, Inside MMA announced that combat sports personality Mauro Ranallo would be the new series host alongside Bas Rutten beginning March 25, 2016, taking over for longtime host Kenny Rice. Rice would continue as a special correspondent for the show. When Mauro Ranallo was absent due to his announcing duties for
WWE
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...
, he was replaced by
Josh Barnett
Joshua Lawrence Barnett (born November 10, 1977) is an American mixed martial artist, submission grappler, professional wrestler and color commentator currently signed to Bellator MMA, where he competes in their Heavyweight division. Barnett p ...
on June 17, 2016 until June 24, 2016. Barnett hosted the show on August 19, 2016, replacing the absence of Bas Rutten.
On Sept. 19, 2016, AXS TV announced that 'Inside MMA' would air its final episode on Sept. 30, 2016, ending a 9-year, 10-season, 433-episode run.
See also
*
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 re ...
*
MMA Live
''MMA Live'' was a sports show about mixed martial arts. It was seen on ESPN2. The show featured analysts such as Franklin McNeil, Pat Miletich, and others. ''MMA Live'' was originally an Internet show, but made the move to television after posi ...
References
External links
Official Website*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Inside Mma
Mixed martial arts television shows
2007 American television series debuts
2000s American television news shows
2010s American television news shows
HDNet original programming