Mezger tried to put together a reality TV show with MMA fighters. Unfortunately, it never got picked up . . .
Mezger Looking for the Great American Bad Ass
By Ken Pishna
After going years without a television deal, mixed martial arts could be on the cusp of a breakthrough. Just last month, the Ultimate Fighting Championship announced that they have signed a deal with Spike TV to run a 13-week series entitled "The Ultimate Fighter�." And now, Guy Mezger is producing another MMA related television show, "Bad Ass."
While The Ultimate Fighter� will follow young fighters through their development and training, culminating in an appearance in the Octagon. Bad Ass is a reality series of a whole different sort. "This is not a hardcore MMA show. It's more like an American Gladiators type of show," according to Mezger.
"This is the most extreme reality tv show. This is real, there's no safety net," Mezger asserted.
Unlike The Ultimate Fighter� which uses athletes with at least some mixed martial arts experience, Bad Ass uses only amateur athletes.
Actually, they don't have to be athletes, just tough guys out with something to prove. With 3 episodes already in the bag, the bad asses of Bad Ass already include a rapping cowboy dancer, a hockey enforcer, an extreme motorcycle rider, a delusional tae kwon do competitor, and a jiujitsu guy that doesn't like the tae kwon do guy. To break it down into simple terms: Bad Ass wants colorful, entertaining guys that think they can throw down, no prior experience required.
How does it work? Basically, the participants (a group of twelve) take part in a round of activities that they can score points in. So far, the activities have ranged from dodge ball with the professional fighters on the show (more on them in a minute) to bull riding to measuring the force of their punches. When done, they total up the points that each competitor has scored.
Through a lottery system, three competitors are chosen and of the three, the one with the highest point total is granted his choice of options. He can either choose to fight a professional fighter for one 5-minute round under UFC style rules (minus elbows) for a shot at $25,000 if he wins and an automatic birth into the series finale tournament even if he loses or he can fight one of the other two finalists facing a tougher road to the tournament, but an easier road away from the clutches of a professional fighter.
Who are the professional fighters? Easy, low-level guys you think? Uh, no. According to Mezger, "We've got Pete Spratt, Tra Telligman, Alex Andrade, Travis Lutter, Derek Panza, Chris Bowles, and Hiro Kamikozono."
Also on the roster, though not fighting, are Bas Rutten as the Bad Ass referee, Guy Mezger is the host of the show, and Lion's Den founder and quintessential Bad Ass Ken Shamrock is a commentator and resident tough guy expert.
Mezger's Beat Down Productions has filmed 3 episodes in Dallas to date with plans for 6 more there. They have plans to then move on to New York, Atlanta, and either Miami or Los Angeles.
Though they have been shopping the idea around, no tv contract has been finalized yet.
"We've had a few offers to buy the idea of the show, but without bringing us on board. It just wouldn't be the same [show] if we did that. Our producers understand that," said Mezger.
So the plan right now is to move forward and shoot all 22 episodes of the show, with or without a deal in hand. "That's pretty ballsy, but we're doing it," crowed Mezger.
It isn't the MMA show that the UFC is bringing to the table, nor the show that most MMA fans probably wanted, but it wasn't intended to be. In fact, the idea grew from a confrontation that Mezger had with a camera man on the set of a non-related tv show. The guy basically told Mezger that mixed martial arts wasn't that impressive and didn't believe the athletes involved were all that tough.
Of course, Mezger colorfully defended his position. A producer that witnessed the argument later told Mezger that it was hilarious and seemed to find it entertaining. Thus, the idea of taking an average guy like the camera man and putting him in with a professional fighter was born.
If they can work a tv deal, this may not be the "fight night" type of show that MMA fans have been waiting for, but The Ultimate Fighter� isn't either. Both shows are a step in the right direction though as they should get mixed martial arts and its athletes into the mainstream public's eye. And that can only be a good thing... right?
If you want to be a Bad Ass, check out their web site at
www.americanbadass.tv or call 214-749-7767.
That was back in 2004, before Mayhem Miller's "Bully Beatdown"
Wonder if any of the episodes made it on the web anywhere.
