Posted by Jake Rossen/Sherdog.com
I have seen many, many stupid things on television: the last two seasons of "Oz," the entirety of MTV, a dwarf climbing a street lamp to evade capture by an officer on "Cops." None of this, apparently, has prepared me for what Blair Thein is planning.
According to PokerNews, Thein is currently prepping a show titled "Pool, Poker and Pain" -- a reality series that will feature contestants playing cards, billiards and finally drumming each other's heads senseless in an MMA bout. Think of it as chess boxing,
only much, much stupider.
"The show's format will have contestants begin a match by playing pool," wrote PN's Michael Friedman. "After a winner is declared, contestants will head to the poker felt. After a contestant annihilates an opponent at the poker table, he [will] put on gloves and mix it up in the 'Circle of Truth,' a 32-foot combat cage." Thein is said to have had this idea marinating in his head for four years. I think "The Godfather" took less than one to write, shoot and edit.
If "Pool, Poker and Pain" is a hit, there might be no end to the number of mash-ups with potential. Why not MMA interspersed with cooking? Wanderlei Silva can make a lovely cream frappé with pine nuts and then kick Gordon Ramsey until he passes an organ. Or perhaps a hunting program with Brock Lesnar stalking Shane Carwin with a bow and arrow. Midseason replacements just got much more interesting.
ESPN.com Mixed Martial Arts blog
