Contenders went toe to toe on a hotbed of technology topics at Thursday’s Digital Fight Club, which capped off Dallas Startup Week 2022. The 17th Digital Fight Club was where 10 North Texas tech minds debated hot topics from cybersecurity to ESG to the metaverse. A bevy of innovators, digital professionals, and industry chiefs savored the battles that took place in five bouts at the Granada Theater.
Fighters strut their smarts and verbal chops in each gloves-off fight that lasts less than 10 minutes. But showmanship, charisma, and audacity can be the knockout: The referees, which includes a lineup of corporate heavyweights, and the audience cast their votes for the winner on a Fight Club app.
See the winners and get the blow-by-blow here.
GALLERY
Here’s a no holds barred look at what went down at Digital Fight Club 2022. All photos by Michael Samples.
Ready to Rumble
VIPs and fighters weigh in at the Sundown at Granada.
The Main Event
Digital Fight Club founder and ring announcer Michael Pratt tested the voting tech, announced the bouts, and delivered the drama.
Round #1: Should the Government be Involved in Building the Metaverse?
STEMuli’s Taylor Shead vs. Groove Jones’ Dan Ferguson
Round #2: Should Brands be More or Less Transparent?
LERMA’s Bill Cochran vs. The Runway’s Cameron Gawley
Ref Holly Briedis, CDO of Fossil
Round #3: Is More Automation Needed in the Supply Chain?
Automize’s Bill Nichols vs. Truckl’s Chris Hanebeck
Ref Charan Lota, Group VP/Chief Engineer of Toyota Connected Technologies
Round #4: Is ESG Important?
Eden Green’s Eddy Badrina vs. Clearyst’s Chris Robinson
Round #5: Is it Important to Invest in Cybersecurity Early On?
PrivacyChain’s Andrew Hopkins vs. Direct Marketing Solutions’ David Malicoat
DJ Jason Esquire
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R E A D N E X T
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Building on the company's transition to SaaS is the launch of Xcelerator as a Service, which provides access to tools, features, and compute resources as organizations need and require them.
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Irving-based Nexstar Media has acquired The Hill, one of America's leading political digital media platforms, for $130 million. The Hill attracted 48 million average monthly users and 2.2 billion total pageviews in 2020, according to Comscore. It also had 914 million video views on Twitter.
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![Erica Kosemund, Chief Brand Officer, Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma; Gillian Breidenbach, Chief Partnership Officer, North Texas FWC Organizing Committee; Chief Gary Batton, Chief of Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma; Monica Paul, Executive Director of Dallas Sports Commission and President of North Texas FWC Organizing Committee; John Hobbs, Senior Executive Officer of Communications, Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma; and Heidi Grant, Senior Executive Officer of Commerce Administration, Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, celebrate Choctaw Casinos & Resorts becoming an Official Dallas World Cup 2026 Host City Supporter. [Photo: North Texas FWC Organizing Committee/Choctaw Casinos & Resorts]](https://s24806.pcdn.co/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/FIFA-Choctaw-dec-2025-75x69.jpg)
![Erica Kosemund, Chief Brand Officer, Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma; Gillian Breidenbach, Chief Partnership Officer, North Texas FWC Organizing Committee; Chief Gary Batton, Chief of Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma; Monica Paul, Executive Director of Dallas Sports Commission and President of North Texas FWC Organizing Committee; John Hobbs, Senior Executive Officer of Communications, Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma; and Heidi Grant, Senior Executive Officer of Commerce Administration, Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, celebrate Choctaw Casinos & Resorts becoming an Official Dallas World Cup 2026 Host City Supporter. [Photo: North Texas FWC Organizing Committee/Choctaw Casinos & Resorts]](https://s24806.pcdn.co/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/FIFA-Choctaw-dec-2025.jpg)
