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Mayhem vows big show for fellow 'Hawaiians'


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POSTED: Thursday, April 16, 2009

It's got everything.

Trash-talk galore. Ring girls. Money. Comedy. Justice and vengeance.

And, of course, fighting.

Saturday's mixed martial arts card?

Yeah, we'll probably see some of that at the Blaisdell.

But what I'm talking about is “;Bully Beatdown,”; the MTV show hosted by Jason Miller—yes, the same “;Mayhem”; who used to dominate MMA in Hawaii. And Mayhem is back, headlining Saturday against Kala Hose.

In his TV show, bullies get their payback with lickings from a pro fighter. I haven't even seen it yet, but it's primed to replace “;Family Guy”; as my favorite program just by its premise and the fact that Mayhem's involved.

Shouldn't surprise anyone that Mayhem's entertaining personality landed him in Hollywood. He insists he's still a fighter at heart, and plans on Saturday to add Hose to the long list of local tough guys he has crushed.

But he says it's not his top priority.

“;Job number one is putting on a show,”; Mayhem says. “;Job number two is beating the hell out of Kala Hose.”;

The not-so-subtle implication is Mayhem believes himself so superior to Hose in every phase that he'll have to toy with him to give the fans their money's worth.

It's hard not to laugh at Miller, he's so naturally funny and so cleverly over the top. Is his eye twitch a wink, or a nervous reaction from too many blows to the head?

A combination, I think.

He's a promoter's dream, but he's the real deal in the ring, too. That misshapen nose and cauliflower ear tell you all you need to know in the authenticity department. He's famous for his iron jaw.

“;I'm pretty good at getting punched in the head. And not many jobs out there give me that opportunity,”; he says.

And he has to talk for two to pump up this fight. Reporters held a pool yesterday on how many words Hose would utter at the press conference. He hit a career high with 69 in response to seven questions.

Hose seemed as amused by Mayhem's act as anyone, grinning and trying to keep from cracking up.

“;I'm getting so angry I'm getting acid reflux,”; Mayhem shouts at one point, congruous to who knows what.

Promoter T. Jay Thompson is banking on Mayhem-Hose to draw the crowd. The rest of the card is amateurs.

“;I think MMA is going to make a comeback in Hawaii,”; says Thompson, the guy who brought us SuperBrawl in the '90s, riding ahead of the wave.

Mayhem, who considers himself Hawaiian at heart, says the sport's here to stay.

“;Hawaii, to me, is the leader in MMA. It's at the grassroots level. Fighting's in the blood.”;

It's not hard to figure out its popularity here.

Our ethnic melting pot not only makes for wondrous potlucks and physically beautiful people. It also creates a combat sports smorgasbord.

History shows boxing thrives in tough economic times. Will this fight pull MMA out of its local doldrums?

“;We'll always see peaks and valleys,”; Thompson says. “;Everything's cyclical. I've decided to ignore the recession. I won't participate. Call this my bailout, my stimulus package.”;