About Us

Celebrating Heart, Endurance, Aggression and Technique both in the cage and in entertainment, MMA H.E.A.T. is a half-hour show for fans of mixed martial arts, combat sports and pop culture. With her unique blend of journalism, hotness and humor, host Karyn Bryant brings you closer to the established stars and rising prospects in MMA, as well as the Hollywood celebs who love the sport.

MAVTV puts the Telly Award™ winning MMA H.E.A.T. in front of over 35 million homes, thanks to the network's carriage on 7 out of the 10 top national distributors: Comcast, Time Warner, DISH Network, Charter, Cablevision, Brighthouse, and Verizon’s FiOS.

MAVTV’s Senior Vice President of Programming, Rob Stevens, says, “Through her depth of experience, Karyn Bryant is one of the most established names in the MMA world and we’re excited about the way MMA H.E.A.T. will be able to cover the top stories in the sport.”

Episodes of MMA H.E.A.T. will premiere on Wednesday nights in primetime, and encore in multiple dayparts throughout the week, providing maximum exposure.

MMA H.E.A.T. is headquartered in Los Angeles, California and operates worldwide through partnerships and affiliates. It was co-founded by Wade Eck and Karyn Bryant.

Karyn Bryant - MMA H.E.A.T.^TM / Co-Founder & Executive Producer

Upon graduating from Brown University with a double major in political science and sociology, Karyn began her professional broadcasting career as a VJ for MTV. Aided by a sharp personality, and a profound passion for music, Karyn was tapped by the then fledgling FX Cable Network to host the live, daily music show 'Sound FX'.

Using live television to hone her skills as a broadcaster, Karyn was chosen by TNT to host an interstitial series of entertainment vignettes called 'Rough Cut.' The success of the vignettes prompted TNT to turn 'Rough Cut' into a weekly television series hosted by Karyn. Moreover, this marked the beginning of Karyn's professional relationship with Turner Broadcasting.

TBS soon launched the wraparound series 'Movies, For Guys Who Like Movies.' Strong enough for the action, and sexy enough to be a Bond girl, Karyn could be seen engaging the enemy in simulated dogfights, or piloting a Navy LCAC Hovercraft.

Ted Turner wasn't the only industry titan enamored with Karyn. Impressed with her on camera presence and her encyclopedic knowledge of music, Lorne Michaels hand picked Karyn to host his new daily game show for VH1, 'Name That Video'.

As Karyn's peers became stereotyped, or locked into fluff opportunities, it was time for Karyn to elevate her game. A stint hosting CNN's 'Talk Back Live' gave Turner further insight into this remarkable woman's capabilities. Thus, in 2004, Karyn was chosen to co-anchor CNN's revamped 'Showbiz Tonight.' 'Showbiz' was the country's only live, primetime, hour-long daily entertainment news show. When the series premiered in early 2005, Karyn earned the distinction of being the only African American woman anchoring in primetime on any cable news channel.

Music, entertainment and news are still not the whole story for Karyn. Growing up in the suburbs of Boston, Karyn became a rabid Patriots and Red Sox fan. That passion drew ESPN into her media fan base and she soon joined them for their first live New Years show as the countdown to 2006 began.

In 2006 Karyn joined the Showtime Championship Boxing announce team of Steve Albert, Al Bernstein and Jim Gray. Karyn was then invited by CBS to join their Elite Xtreme Combat announcer team, debuting mixed martial arts for the first time on primetime network television May 31, 2008.

Additional videos/information can be found on KarynBryant.com

Wade Eck - MMA H.E.A.T.^TM / Co-Founder & Executive Producer

Wade is responsible for the technical aspects of MMAheat™. He is an accomplished computer programmer and consultant well versed in MS SQL databases, ASP, Flash Action-Script and video production. He founded ECKinc.com in 1999, and his extensive portfolio includes Lieberman Research Worldwide, The City of Los Angeles' Mayor's Office, Justice Howard and Lou Ferrigno to name a few.

But perhaps more importantly, (at least as far as MMAheat.com is concerned), Wade is also an accomplished martial artist and athlete. His study of martial arts began with Tae Kwon Do in 1984. He earned his 1st Dan Black Belt nearly five years later from Grand Master Bok Man Kim. Black Belt magazine called Grand Master Kim the "father of Tae Kwon Do;" praising him for pioneering the international development of traditional Tae Kwon Do.

Wade's background also includes four years as a varsity athlete in gymnastics, as well as aikido and kick-boxing training. While attending New Mexico Military Institute, Wade served as assistant Tae Kwon Do instructor and qualified for the United States Fencing Association Nationals in 1992.

In 2001 he began training in full-contact Jeet Kune Do at the Combative Arts Academy in Los Angeles, and in 2002 was awarded the rank of Level 1 in the original Jun Fan Gung Fu curriculum by Sifu Jerry Poteet and Sifu Edward Monaghan. At the same time he studied Muay Thai under Kru Surapuk Jamjuntr and superstar Malaipet Sitpraprom. Adding to his arsenal, Wade also trained in Brazillian Jiu-Jitsu with Fabio Vinelli. In 2003, Wade was awarded his Jeet Kune Do Apprentice Instructor Certificate by Sifu Edward Monaghan.

Since 2007 Wade has been under the tutelage of Terry Claybon, professional boxing coach and owner of the LB 4 LB Boxing Gym in Los Angeles. In 2009 he also headed back to the mats and began training with Lars Wallin; from whom he's earned his BJJ blue belt.