No Holds Barred with Eddie Goldman

No Holds Barred: Catherine Ordway on the Integrity and Anti-Doping Movements in World Sport

Eddie Goldman — Mon, 14 May 2012 19:58:20 GMT

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with Catherine Ordway, a sports integrity consultant and attorney focusing on anti-doping, corruption, and match-fixing issues. Based in Australia, and dealing with many issues at once, she works as an Advisory Board Member at Asia Pacific World Sport and Women, with the Doping Hearing Tribunal at SportAccord, and as an IAAF Medical and Anti-Doping Delegate. She has written numerous articles and made many presentations on good governance and the battle against doping and corruption in world sport. She also is a consultant on anti-doping issues to the bid group which is seeking to get Istanbul, Turkey, selected as the host of the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The issues of doping, match-fixing, and other forms of corruption, along with bad governance, are haunting world sport, and not just the historically scandal-plagued combat sports. What to do about them has caused controversy as well. We thus discussed these issues with Catherine Ordway in a global context in an interview recorded by Skype on Friday. "I feel very optimistic," she said in this interview. "I love sport, and everybody that's involved that I know in the anti-doping movement and the integrity movement also love sport. And they're in it because they see what's good about sport, and that they want to keep what we love about it going forward." We discussed how doping is a symptom of broader forms of cheating in sport, the need for a proactive approach to these problems, how change sometimes only comes following tragedies in sport (such as the suicide of former NFL star Junior Seau), the proposal for the eventual formation of a World Anti-Corruption Agency for sport, the issues of bad governance in combat sports as well as concussions and poor anti-doping control, the need for fans to speak out against the various forms of corruption, and more. The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by Ian Carpenter. No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by: ONE Fighting Championship. ONE FC is Asia's largest and most prestigious mixed martial arts event. ONE FC features the best Asian fighters and has initiated the ONE Asia Partnership Network, which includes most of the major MMA promotions and MMA gyms in Asia. For more information, go to their web site, at ONEFC.com. Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. Your #1 source for exciting auction shopping and outstanding deals on just about anything! Top rated, most trusted auction site online. Where do you shop? Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/. Thanks, Eddie Goldman EddieGoldman.com

No Holds Barred: King Mo Lawal

Eddie Goldman — Sat, 12 May 2012 15:33:26 GMT

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with "King" Mo Lawal. "King" Mo, of course, has been in the news a lot recently. On Thursday, it was officially announced that he had signed a deal to fight in the Bellator Fighting Championships MMA company, where he will start fighting in their light heavyweight tournament scheduled for January 2013, as well as perform for the TNA pro "wrestling" company. After a hectic day of interviews, meetings, and a media conference call, we caught up with "King" Mo right after his last appearance late Thursday night, May 10. We then hit some of New York's best night spots: Jimmy's Corner, owned by the legendary boxing trainer Jimmy Glenn, where he had a soft drink, and Ashford & Simpson's Sugar Bar, where he had a soft drink and dinner, along with our colleague and correspondent Keisha Morrisey and Darryl Satcher. Finally, at about 3 AM Friday, we sat down to record an interview. "It's been a rollercoaster ride of a year, and now we're back to the top, top of the ride," said "King" Mo in this interview. He said that he will be training in TNA's developmental group with Al Snow. "Maybe some of the moves that he teaches from the catch wrestling I can apply to MMA," said Mo. He also expressed support for Bellator's tournament format, where contenders first have to win an eight-man, three-month tournament to earn a title shot. "I feel the best way to find out is deserving of a title shot is through a tournament," he said. We also discussed the issue of drug testing, about which he said he is open to any type of drug testing, already having been a resident athlete at the U.S. Olympic Training Center for many years, where state-of-the-art drug testing is done. And we discussed more on his participation in the Bellator light heavyweight tournament, his training for MMA while performing in TNA at the same time, his desire to return to the Sugar Bar and Jiimmy's Corner when he next visits New York, and more. You can play or download No Holds Barred here. You can also download No Holds Barred here. If one link does not work, please try another. The show is in MP3 format, so may take some time to download. No Holds Barred is also available on mobile phones and iPads through Stitcher. Also, No Holds Barred is available through iTunes. The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by Ian Carpenter. No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by: ONE Fighting Championship. ONE FC is Asia's largest and most prestigious mixed martial arts event. ONE FC features the best Asian fighters and has initiated the ONE Asia Partnership Network, which includes most of the major MMA promotions and MMA gyms in Asia. For more information, go to their web site, at ONEFC.com. Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. Your #1 source for exciting auction shopping and outstanding deals on just about anything! Top rated, most trusted auction site online. Where do you shop? Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/. Thanks, Eddie Goldman EddieGoldman.com

No Holds Barred: King Mo Conference Call

Eddie Goldman — Thu, 10 May 2012 20:58:28 GMT

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman presents the complete audio of the May 10 media conference call featuring "King" Mo Lawal. On this conference call, it was officially announced that he had signed to fight in the Bellator Fighting Championships MMA company, beginning in their light heavyweight tournament scheduled for January 2013, as well as perform for the TNA pro "wrestling" company. On the call were "King" Mo; Kevin Kay, President, Spike TV; Bjorn Rebney, Chairman and CEO, Bellator Fighting Championships; and Dixie Carter, President, TNA Entertainment. The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by Ian Carpenter. No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by: ONE Fighting Championship. ONE FC is Asia's largest and most prestigious mixed martial arts event. ONE FC features the best Asian fighters and has initiated the ONE Asia Partnership Network, which includes most of the major MMA promotions and MMA gyms in Asia. For more information, go to their web site, at ONEFC.com. Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. Your #1 source for exciting auction shopping and outstanding deals on just about anything! Top rated, most trusted auction site online. Where do you shop? Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/. Thanks, Eddie Goldman EddieGoldman.com

No Holds Barred: Jake Shannon on King of Catch Wrestling Tournament on May 19

Eddie Goldman — Tue, 08 May 2012 14:00:31 GMT

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with Jake Shannon of ScientificWrestling.com. Jake is the main organizer of an event which marks another step in the revival of catch-as-catch-can wrestling, the King of Catch Wrestling Tournament. This tournament takes place Saturday, May 19, at Stable Jiu Jitsu, 175 N. Cawston Ave., Suite 130A, in Hemet, California 92545. At this event, you can win by submission or pin, with a pin count of three. All submissions are legal, all matches are best two out of three falls with a 12-minute time limit per fall, there are no points, and all striking, biting, eye-gouging, and hair-pulling are illegal. There are five weight classes. In the event of a draw during a match, a replay occurs. If there is a second draw, both wrestlers are eliminated. Men and women from all styles of wrestling, grappling, martial arts, and combat sports are encouraged to compete. We spoke with Jake Shannon by phone Monday night about the King of Catch Wrestling Tournament and the rebirth of this sport. We discussed the many catch wrestling tournaments and seminars scheduled for the rest of this year, as well as previous events. We also discussed some of the history of catch wrestling and the influence of people like the late Karl Gotch, Billy Robinson, Roy Wood, Billy Riley, Kazushi Sakuraba, and many more. Catch is back, and the King of Catch Wrestling Tournament will help the sport grow and reclaim its rightful place in the combat sports world. The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by Ian Carpenter. No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by: ONE Fighting Championship. ONE FC is Asia's largest and most prestigious mixed martial arts event. ONE FC features the best Asian fighters and has initiated the ONE Asia Partnership Network, which includes most of the major MMA promotions and MMA gyms in Asia. For more information, go to their web site, at ONEFC.com. Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. Your #1 source for exciting auction shopping and outstanding deals on just about anything! Top rated, most trusted auction site online. Where do you shop? Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/. Thanks, Eddie Goldman EddieGoldman.com

No Holds Barred: Coach George Hero; Suicide of Former NFL Star Junior Seau and the Combat Sports

Eddie Goldman — Sun, 06 May 2012 05:09:03 GMT

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with Coach George Hero, the legendary coach and founder of the Midwood High School wrestling team in Brooklyn, New York. At MidwoodMania III on April 21, the 54-year-old Coach Hero returned to the mat once again and scored a third-period pin over an opponent three decades his junior, former NYU wrestler and current high school coach Mark Shirian. We spoke with Coach Hero right after his victory. We open with commentary on the suicide this past week of former NFL star linebacker Junior Seau. Just 43 years old, he was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chest. The actual reasons for his suicide are not known at this time. However, according to news reports, his family has agreed to donate his brain to researchers who are studying the links between blows to the head in contact and combat sports, concussions, and the degenerative brain disease CTE, chronic traumatic encephalopathy. With more of these tragedies and suicides of former athletes in contact and combat sports becoming publicly known, and with the science of understanding what head blows do to the brain becoming more precise, what will this mean in years to come for these sports? We lay out some historical analogies to how dueling and smoking have become socially unacceptable and even banned in whole or in part, and ask if these may provide clues as to the future prospects of these sports. We also note how the combat sports without striking, such as the various styles of grappling and wrestling, need to promote themselves better in light of what may happen to these other sports. The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by Ian Carpenter. No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by: ONE Fighting Championship. ONE FC is Asia's largest and most prestigious mixed martial arts event. ONE FC features the best Asian fighters and has initiated the ONE Asia Partnership Network, which includes most of the major MMA promotions and MMA gyms in Asia. For more information, go to their web site, at ONEFC.com. Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. Your #1 source for exciting auction shopping and outstanding deals on just about anything! Top rated, most trusted auction site online. Where do you shop? Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/. Thanks, Eddie Goldman EddieGoldman.com

No Holds Barred: Charles Farrell on Mayweather-Cotto, the Consolation-Prize Fight

Eddie Goldman — Fri, 04 May 2012 03:28:32 GMT

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with our colleague and correspondent, the award-winning boxing writer Charles Farrell. While our main topic was the Floyd Mayweather-Miguel Cotto fight scheduled for May 5 in Las Vegas, our lengthy discussion, which took place by phone Wednesday night, countered the mythology and general propaganda which are widely spread in what is laughingly called the boxing media. Regarding this fight, likely to be the biggest boxing event of the year, Charles Farrell said, "It's a consolation-prize fight." While he did add, "It's a worthy fight," he elaborated on this theme: "But this isn't the fight that people want. I think it's the fight that we get in light of not being able to get the fight that people want." We discussed what and who are real in boxing and who are not, including fighters and media, and what is the likeliest outcome of the Mayweather-Cotto fight. We examined the options for both fighters after this fight, especially if Mayweather wins as expected, and why the stigma of losing has prevented many fighters from facing riskier opponents than they often do. We also discussed the many controversial and even absurd verdicts of many boxing judges, how and why boxing especially in America continues to decline, and much more. The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by Ian Carpenter. No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by: ONE Fighting Championship. ONE FC is Asia's largest and most prestigious mixed martial arts event. ONE FC features the best Asian fighters and has initiated the ONE Asia Partnership Network, which includes most of the major MMA promotions and MMA gyms in Asia. For more information, go to their web site, at ONEFC.com. Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. Your #1 source for exciting auction shopping and outstanding deals on just about anything! Top rated, most trusted auction site online. Where do you shop? Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/. Thanks, Eddie Goldman EddieGoldman.com

No Holds Barred: David Howman, Director General of WADA, Teleconference

Eddie Goldman — Thu, 03 May 2012 02:17:14 GMT

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman presents the May 1 media teleconference with David Howman, the Director General of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). The main reason for this teleconference was to discuss with the international media the decision of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to reject the appeal of the British Olympic Association (BOA) after WADA had found it in non-compliance to the World Anti-Doping Code. The BOA, which is the host Olympic committee for the 2012 Summer Olympics, wanted to add a lifetime ban from the Olympics for any athlete who had ever failed a doping test, even after their suspensions had been served. The CAS agreed with WADA that this was an extra sanction which was, according to its press release, "therefore not in compliance with the WADA Code." The CAS did, however, leave the door open "that the BOA and the IOC were free, as are others, to persuade other stakeholders that an additional sanction of inability to participate in the Olympic Games may be a proportionate, appropriate sanction of an anti-doping offence and may therefore form part of a revised World Anti-doping Code. At the moment, the system in place does not permit what the BOA has done." The backdrop of this is a growing movement among athletes and others in world sport to increase the penalties for a major doping violation from a two-year ban to a four-year ban for the first offense, as well as a lifetime Olympics ban. At the same time, the athletic commissions in North America, which regulate combat sports like boxing, mixed martial arts, and kickboxing, are still not following the World Anti-Doping Code, with some having no drug testing at all. WADA Director General David Howman thus discussed these issues on this teleconference and answered questions from the media. We also discuss the voluntary drug testing being done by boxers Floyd Mayweather, Miguel Cotto, Shane Mosley, and Saul "Canelo" Alvarez. The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by Ian Carpenter. No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by: ONE Fighting Championship. ONE FC is Asia's largest and most prestigious mixed martial arts event. ONE FC features the best Asian fighters and has initiated the ONE Asia Partnership Network, which includes most of the major MMA promotions and MMA gyms in Asia. For more information, go to their web site, at ONEFC.com. Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. Your #1 source for exciting auction shopping and outstanding deals on just about anything! Top rated, most trusted auction site online. Where do you shop? Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/. Thanks, Eddie Goldman EddieGoldman.com

No Holds Barred: Mark Pavelich on MFC 33

Eddie Goldman — Tue, 01 May 2012 20:52:30 GMT

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with Mark Pavelich, the owner and president of the Maximum Fighting Championship. This Friday, May 4, the Maximum Fighting Championship returns to the Mayfield Conference Centre in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, for MFC 33: Collision Course. The card is headlined by a fight for the MFC welterweight title between Nathan Coy (10-4) and Ryan McGillivray (12-5-1). It will air live in the U.S. on HDNet Fights beginning at 10 p.m. ET/8 p.m. MT/7 p.m. PT (check local listings for channel designation). MFC 33 will also air on tape-delay throughout Canada on TSN2 at a later date. We recently spoke with the always-outspoken Mark Pavelich by phone about this important card. We also discussed the future of the MFC and many other topics. In addition, we open by reading a statement Mark Pavelich sent us expressing his views on the formation of the International Mixed Martial Arts Federation (IMMAF). The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by Ian Carpenter. No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by: ONE Fighting Championship. ONE FC is Asia's largest and most prestigious mixed martial arts event. ONE FC features the best Asian fighters and has initiated the ONE Asia Partnership Network, which includes most of the major MMA promotions and MMA gyms in Asia. For more information, go to their web site, at ONEFC.com. Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. Your #1 source for exciting auction shopping and outstanding deals on just about anything! Top rated, most trusted auction site online. Where do you shop? Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/. Thanks, Eddie Goldman EddieGoldman.com

No Holds Barred: Dr. Margaret Goodman of VADA on Overeem, Testosterone, and Fair Fights

Eddie Goldman — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 20:48:28 GMT

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with Dr. Margaret Goodman, the president and board chairman of VADA, the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association. The issue of doping, as it has been so often, was at the forefront of the mixed martial arts news this past week, with the Nevada State Athletic Commission hearing on Tuesday, April 24, involving UFC fighter Alistair Overeem. An unannounced doping test last month found Overeem with a highly elevated testosterone to epitestosterone ratio (T/E ratio), and this hearing addressed that. Overeem was applying for a license to fight in May, but while the commission denied his application for a license because of this test, it only stopped him from applying again for nine months, as opposed to the usual 12 months in such situations. In addition, the commission did not require any doping tests of Overeem during this nine month period, with members even effusively praising him at the end of the hearing. We spoke with Dr. Margaret Goodman Thursday afternoon by phone about what many considered to be a farce and fiasco of a hearing. We discussed what the Nevada commission should have done in this case, the lack of uniformity in drug testing, why such elevated testosterone levels are so dangerous to the health of the athletes, what the fans can do to demand that the fighters are properly tested, how VADA is working with fighters, and much more. The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by Ian Carpenter. No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by: ONE Fighting Championship. ONE FC is Asia's largest and most prestigious mixed martial arts event. ONE FC features the best Asian fighters and has initiated the ONE Asia Partnership Network, which includes most of the major MMA promotions and MMA gyms in Asia. For more information, go to their web site, at ONEFC.com. Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. Your #1 source for exciting auction shopping and outstanding deals on just about anything! Top rated, most trusted auction site online. Where do you shop? Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/. Thanks, Eddie Goldman EddieGoldman.com

No Holds Barred: California Assembly Member Luis Alejo on Professional Bill of Rights for MMA Fighters

Eddie Goldman — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 23:26:31 GMT

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with Assembly Member Luis A. Alejo (D-Salinas). He has introduced AB 2100, also known as the Professional Bill of Rights for MMA Athletes, in the California State Assembly. On Wednesday, April 25, this bill was approved by the Committee on Arts, Entertainment, Sports, Tourism and Internet Media, and now goes to the Assembly Committee on Appropriations. We spoke with Assembly Member Alejo Thursday afternoon by phone about this bill and what motivated him to introduce it. He explained that as a former successful high school and community college wrestler, he started following MMA from its first telecasts in the U.S. in 1993. But he also said in this interview, "My background has been in standing up for workers' rights as well." When he saw the ESPN "Outside the Lines" report in January on fighter pay and conditions in MMA, that "sparked my interest" in addressing the problems in MMA, including "unfair contracts". We thus discussed the aims of this bill, why it is necessary for MMA fighters to receive the same types of protections which most other professional athletes have in the U.S., what still remains to be done for this bill to become passed, why its provisions will not hurt but actually help the sport of MMA, and why this bill will become "the norm" and actually "a national standard" like the Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform Act. In addition, we discussed the many benefits of wrestling, how budget cuts have led to the closing of many wrestling programs including at Gavilan College where he wrestled, his continuing connection to the local wrestling community, and more. The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by Ian Carpenter. No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by: ONE Fighting Championship. ONE FC is Asia's largest and most prestigious mixed martial arts event. ONE FC features the best Asian fighters and has initiated the ONE Asia Partnership Network, which includes most of the major MMA promotions and MMA gyms in Asia. For more information, go to their web site, at ONEFC.com. Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. Your #1 source for exciting auction shopping and outstanding deals on just about anything! Top rated, most trusted auction site online. Where do you shop? Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/. Thanks, Eddie Goldman EddieGoldman.com

No Holds Barred: California State Assembly Committee Hearing on Professional Bill of Rights for MMA Fighters

Eddie Goldman — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 01:56:28 GMT

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman presents the audio from the April 25 public hearing of the Committee on Arts, Entertainment, Sports, Tourism and Internet Media of the California State Assembly, focusing on the bill AB 2100. This bill, also known as the Professional Bill of Rights for MMA Athletes, was introduced by Assembly Member Luis A. Alejo (D-Salinas). According to Assembly Member Alejo's news release, the bill aims to "protect professional mixed martial arts (MMA) fighters in California from certain exploitative business practices" and to extend to professional MMA fighters "certain legal protections already afforded to professional boxers under the federal Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform Act of 2000." The hearing, chaired by Assembly Member Nora Campos, featured several speakers both for and against this bill. Those in favor of the bill included former UFC and Pancrase champion Frank Shamrock, former UFC fighter and now an attorney Christian Wellisch, former MFC lightweight champion Antonio McKee, Rob Maysey of the Mixed Martial Arts Fighters Association, trainer Juanito Ibarra, and representatives of the labor movement. Opposing the bill were Zuffa lobbyist Tim Lynch, Strikeforce women's 135-pound champion Ronda Rousey, former UFC welterweight champion Matt Hughes, UFC executives Lawrence Epstein and Marc Ratner, and former UFC light heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell. This bill was voted upon and approved by the committee by a vote of 5-2 with two not voting, and now goes to the Assembly Committee on Appropriations. The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by Ian Carpenter. No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by: ONE Fighting Championship. ONE FC is Asia's largest and most prestigious mixed martial arts event. ONE FC features the best Asian fighters and has initiated the ONE Asia Partnership Network, which includes most of the major MMA promotions and MMA gyms in Asia. For more information, go to their web site, at ONEFC.com. Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. Your #1 source for exciting auction shopping and outstanding deals on just about anything! Top rated, most trusted auction site online. Where do you shop? Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/. Thanks, Eddie Goldman EddieGoldman.com

No Holds Barred: Kayla Harrison, Rau'Shee Warren, Diana Lopez, Marlen Esparza, Myles Porter, Marcus Browne

Eddie Goldman — Sun, 22 Apr 2012 23:37:12 GMT

(Photo by Chris Skelley) On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with six amazing combat sports athletes from Team USA who are preparing for the 2012 London Olympics. Kayla Harrison was a 2010 world champion in judo and a 2011 world bronze medalist at 78 kg. She will be competing in her first Olympic Games this year. Rau'Shee Warren was a 2007 world champion in amateur boxing at flyweight. He will be the first American boxer to compete in three Olympics, and is going for his first Olympic medal. Diana Lopez, a member of the legendary Lopez family of taekwondo fighters, was a 2005 world champion at featherweight and a 2008 Olympic bronze medalist at 57 kg. She will be joining her older brother, Steven Lopez, a two-time Olympic gold medalist, on the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team in taekwondo. Marlen Esparza has the distinction of being one of the members of the first group of women boxers who will compete in an Olympic Games, since women's boxing will be on the Olympic Program for the first time this year. She actually had to move up in weight to make the team at flyweight, since there will be only three weight classes in women's boxing at the 2012 Olympics. Myles Porter, who is legally blind, will be competing in judo at 100 kg at the 2012 Paralympic Games, which take place August 29-September 9 in London. He is a resident athlete at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and is also highly ranked among sighted judokas in the U.S. Marcus Browne is the top American amateur boxer in the light heavyweight division, and hopes to qualify that weight for the U.S. in an upcoming Olympic qualifying tournament so he will be eligible to fight in the 2012 Olympics. A three-time New York Golden Gloves champion, this would be his first Olympics. All these interviews were conducted April 18 during the U.S. Olympic Committee's Road to London Celebration in Times Square in New York, marking 100 days until the start of the 2012 Olympics. At this event, all these athletes also demonstrated for the public the techniques of their arts and disciplines. The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by Ian Carpenter. No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by: ONE Fighting Championship. ONE FC is Asia's largest and most prestigious mixed martial arts event. ONE FC features the best Asian fighters and has initiated the ONE Asia Partnership Network, which includes most of the major MMA promotions and MMA gyms in Asia. For more information, go to their web site, at ONEFC.com. Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. Your #1 source for exciting auction shopping and outstanding deals on just about anything! Top rated, most trusted auction site online. Where do you shop? Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/. Thanks, Eddie Goldman EddieGoldman.com

No Holds Barred: Ben Askren

Eddie Goldman — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 15:54:32 GMT

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with Bellator Fighting Championships' welterweight champion Ben Askren. At Bellator 64 on April 6, Ben successfully defended his title with a dominating, five-round unanimous decision over Bellator welterweight tournament winner Douglas Lima. We spoke with Ben Askren by phone Thursday afternoon, beginning by discussing his performance in this fight. "I'm very happy with that fight. I thought it went well," he said during this interview. "Lima, I thought, was the best guy I've fought so far, obviously the most dangerous, and definitely the best standup, and he's dangerous on his back." In addition, we discussed his development as a fighter and his upcoming trip to Singapore to train at Evolve MMA. We talked about his views on the need for stronger anti-doping measures in MMA, and his experiences with the drug testing when he wrestled in the NCAA, where he was a two-time Div. I national champion, and on the U.S. Olympic Team, of which he was a member in 2008 in freestyle wrestling. We also talked about the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Wrestling, which take place Saturday, April 21, and Sunday, April 22, in Iowa City, Iowa. Ben will be making an appearance at the Fan Fest there on Saturday, and watching his younger brother, Max, compete on Sunday. We discussed the importance of this event, his picks for the winners in freestyle wrestling, and more. The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by Ian Carpenter. No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by: ONE Fighting Championship. ONE FC is Asia's largest and most prestigious mixed martial arts event. ONE FC features the best Asian fighters and has initiated the ONE Asia Partnership Network, which includes most of the major MMA promotions and MMA gyms in Asia. For more information, go to their web site, at ONEFC.com. Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. Your #1 source for exciting auction shopping and outstanding deals on just about anything! Top rated, most trusted auction site online. Where do you shop? Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/. Thanks, Eddie Goldman EddieGoldman.com

No Holds Barred: Coach George Hero on MidwoodMania III

Eddie Goldman — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 22:03:35 GMT

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with Coach George Hero, the legendary coach and founder of the Midwood High School wrestling team in Brooklyn, New York. On Saturday, April 21, Midwood High School will be the scene of this year's edition of what has now become an annual tradition, MidwoodMania III. MidwoodMania III will see a full slate of wrestling matches in folkstyle, freestyle, and Greco-Roman wrestling involving Midwood alumni, coaches, and their rivals. In the main event, Coach Hero, now 54 years old, will once again take to the mat in a heavyweight match under NCAA rules, facing Mark Shirian of NYU. There are a total of 12 matches scheduled. MidwoodMania III takes place Saturday, April 21, from 10 AM to 2 PM EDT, at the Campus Road Gymnasium of Midwood High School, 2839 Bedford Ave., Brooklyn, NY, across the street from Brooklyn College. We spoke with Coach Hero by phone Monday night about this important event, which aims both at fundraising for the team as well as building awareness about wrestling. As to why he started competing again two years ago after a hiatus of 30 years when he focused on coaching and, of course, teaching, Coach Hero explained, "I think that with wrestling, the best way I can describe it, at least for me, it's an addiction. Wrestling, as far as I'm concerned, is the most challenging, the most demanding, the most difficult sport there is -- and the most rewarding. If you're a wrestler, and you ever competed in wrestling, it gets in our blood. To be very honest, it's very, very difficult to sort of let it go altogether." For others considering returning to the mat, he advised, "I strongly recommend it. It's had a rejuvenating effect on me." We also discussed the educational and social benefits of wrestling, how the politicians in New York are hurting public education, and much more. The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by Ian Carpenter. No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by: ONE Fighting Championship. ONE FC is Asia's largest and most prestigious mixed martial arts event. ONE FC features the best Asian fighters and has initiated the ONE Asia Partnership Network, which includes most of the major MMA promotions and MMA gyms in Asia. For more information, go to their web site, at ONEFC.com. Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. Your #1 source for exciting auction shopping and outstanding deals on just about anything! Top rated, most trusted auction site online. Where do you shop? Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/. Thanks, Eddie Goldman EddieGoldman.com

No Holds Barred: Gary Abbott Previews 2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Wrestling

Eddie Goldman — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 07:15:26 GMT

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with Gary Abbott, Director of Communications and Special Projects of USA Wrestling, to preview the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Wrestling. The 2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Wrestling will take place Saturday, April 21, and Sunday, April 22, at the legendary Carver-Hawkeye Arena on the campus of the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa. The competition will be in men's and women's freestyle wrestling and in Greco-Roman wrestling, to earn a berth at the 2012 Olympics. The early rounds will be webcast live in the U.S. on NBCOlympics.com, with the finals being televised on next-day tape-delay on NBC Sports Network on April 22 and 23. The 2012 London Summer Olympic Games run from July 27 to August 12. The wrestling will take place August 5 to August 12, at the ExCeL London. We spoke with Gary Abbott by phone Saturday afternoon about the U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Wrestling, to learn who is expected to wrestle and which weight classes the U.S. already has qualified for the 2012 Olympics, and much more. "It's my favorite event," he said during this interview. "I enjoy it more than the Olympic Games. It blows the NCAA championships away in regards to the emotion. People have four years to win an NCAA title. They might have only one chance to make an Olympic team. So this brings out the best in our athletes, and the fans that are there are going to have a spectacular experience." Before our discussion with Gary Abbott, we also comment on the U.S. Olympic Committee's Road to London Celebration in Times Square in New York on April 18, which is open to the public. The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by Ian Carpenter. No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by: ONE Fighting Championship. ONE FC is Asia's largest and most prestigious mixed martial arts event. ONE FC features the best Asian fighters and has initiated the ONE Asia Partnership Network, which includes most of the major MMA promotions and MMA gyms in Asia. For more information, go to their web site, at ONEFC.com. Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. Your #1 source for exciting auction shopping and outstanding deals on just about anything! Top rated, most trusted auction site online. Where do you shop? Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/. Thanks, Eddie Goldman EddieGoldman.com

No Holds Barred: Renzo Gracie on the World Jiu-Jitsu Expo

Eddie Goldman — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 06:20:32 GMT

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and MMA legend Renzo Gracie. Besides training fighters and traveling the world, Renzo is now also the president of the World Jiu-Jitsu Expo. The first-ever World Jiu-Jitsu Expo takes place Saturday, May 12, at the Long Beach Convention Center in Long Beach, California. In addition to numerous exhibits and seminars, it will be headlined by a BJJ superfight between MMA fighter Nick Diaz, who is also a BJJ black belt under Cesar Gracie, and Braulio Estima, the reigning ADCC superfight world champion. We spoke with Renzo Monday afternoon in New York about the World Jiu-Jitsu Expo and the state of jiu-jitsu. We discussed some of the controversies about what are the best rules for both BJJ and no-gi grappling, what his plans are, why neither of us can envision retiring, and much more. The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by Ian Carpenter. No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by: ONE Fighting Championship. ONE FC is Asia's largest and most prestigious mixed martial arts event. ONE FC features the best Asian fighters and has initiated the ONE Asia Partnership Network, which includes most of the major MMA promotions and MMA gyms in Asia. For more information, go to their web site, at ONEFC.com. Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. Your #1 source for exciting auction shopping and outstanding deals on just about anything! Top rated, most trusted auction site online. Where do you shop? Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/. Thanks, Eddie Goldman EddieGoldman.com

No Holds Barred: Douglas Kaplan on the Return of K-1

Eddie Goldman — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 22:17:59 GMT

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with Douglas Kaplan, the COO of K-1 Global. K-1 Global is the new ownership and operating company of K-1, which for many years was known as the best standup fighting organization in the world. A series of difficulties led to K-1 not holding their world-famous K-1 World Grand Prix tournament last year, to many fighters not being paid on time or at all, and subsequently to a change of ownership to K-1 Global earlier this year. K-1 Global has vowed "to rebuild the K-1 brand," and has started to release details of an ambitious slate of international events for 2012, beginning on May 27 in Madrid, Spain, and culminating in December with the K-1 World Grand Prix Final in New York City. There certainly are many people who remain skeptical or even certain that the new ownership will not live up to the promises that have been made. But Douglas Kaplan, in our interview recorded Monday by phone, has no such reservations. "You'll see what you'll see, which is that we're going to start to go out," he said during this interview. "You're going to see very big names. You're also going to see that part of our strategy is to bring in that new blood, because we're building this for years and years to come. You'll also see us doing the TV side of stuff, the reality TV side. You'll see big partners in broadcast." As for the owner, chairman, and CEO of K-1 Global, Korean businessman Mr. Mike Kim, Douglas Kaplan described him as "a very well-funded individual, and he's a very long-term oriented guy." He added, "Money is certainly not going to be an issue for us." We discussed the plans for their seven major events for 2012, when more details such as fight cards and venues will be released, some of the controversies which have already arisen about the new ownership, the relationship between K-1 and It's Showtime, and more. The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by Ian Carpenter. No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by: ONE Fighting Championship. ONE FC is Asia's largest and most prestigious mixed martial arts event. ONE FC features the best Asian fighters and has initiated the ONE Asia Partnership Network, which includes most of the major MMA promotions and MMA gyms in Asia. For more information, go to their web site, at ONEFC.com. Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. Your #1 source for exciting auction shopping and outstanding deals on just about anything! Top rated, most trusted auction site online. Where do you shop? Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/. Thanks, Eddie Goldman EddieGoldman.com

No Holds Barred: Jussi Saloranta of DARE Championship on MMA Ban in Thailand and Their Future

Eddie Goldman — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 23:29:53 GMT

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with Jussi Saloranta, the founder of the mixed martial arts promotion, DARE Championship. Based in Thailand, DARE began running MMA shows there in 2011. They soon garnered a lot of media attention, both internationally and in Thailand, and were regarded as one of the hottest new MMA companies in Asia. In late March of this year, however, reports began coming from Thailand that the Sports Authority of Thailand, which regulates combat sports in that country, had decided to ban MMA. These reports were eventually confirmed as being true, both by the media and the MMA community. The exact reasons for this ban are up for debate, but nonetheless it leaves DARE in a quandary. Their next show had been scheduled for June 24 in Bangkok, but now its fate is uncertain. To find out what is going on with DARE, we spoke with Jussi Saloranta by Skype Saturday (Friday in New York). "It's an interesting situation from many ways, but from our point of view, from the point of view from DARE, we're seeing it at the same time as a very positive one," he explained in this interview, "as we have been receiving more popularity and media attention, and got the mixed martial arts to people's lips that have never been actually involved with the sport before. So it's a situation with good and bad elements, but we still see the future of MMA very positive here in Thailand." We thus discussed why that all is, what has happened, what their plans are for the future of DARE, who their biggest target market is, and much more. The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by Ian Carpenter. No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by: ONE Fighting Championship. ONE FC is Asia's largest and most prestigious mixed martial arts event. ONE FC features the best Asian fighters and has initiated the ONE Asia Partnership Network, which includes most of the major MMA promotions and MMA gyms in Asia. For more information, go to their web site, at ONEFC.com. Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. Your #1 source for exciting auction shopping and outstanding deals on just about anything! Top rated, most trusted auction site online. Where do you shop? Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/. Thanks, Eddie Goldman EddieGoldman.com

No Holds Barred: Steve Dawson on ONE FC

Eddie Goldman — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 18:06:44 GMT

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with the Singapore-based sports journalist Steve Dawson. Originally from the U.K., Steve is now an ESPN Sportscenter and Star Sports Formula 1 presenter and writer. He also has recently started calling the live fights for the ONE FC MMA telecasts and webcasts. While on a trip to New York, we sat down with Steve on Tuesday evening in the East Village to discuss the latest ONE FC card, which took place March 31 in Singapore. We discussed the fights on it, the growth of ONE FC and MMA in Asia, how he views MMA from the perspective of covering so many more established sports, and much more. "I'm involved with a lot of exciting things with ESPN," he said in this interview. "The football season is going. We're just about to start another baseball season. And I get involved in a lot of stuff. Formula 1 is something I do regularly and the season's just starting there. There's constantly great stuff going on. But I have to say, the ONE FC events have been the absolute highlight of what I've been doing over the past few months." The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by Ian Carpenter. No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by: ONE Fighting Championship. ONE FC is Asia's largest and most prestigious mixed martial arts event. ONE FC features the best Asian fighters and has initiated the ONE Asia Partnership Network, which includes most of the major MMA promotions and MMA gyms in Asia. For more information, go to their web site, at ONEFC.com. DARE Championship. Based in Thailand, DARE is a mixed martial arts event where fighters from all over the world compete to become the DARE Champion. DARE is one of the first MMA promotions in Thailand, and has been televised in many countries and online. For more information, go to their web site, at DareFightSports.com. Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. Your #1 source for exciting auction shopping and outstanding deals on just about anything! Top rated, most trusted auction site online. Where do you shop? Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/. Thanks, Eddie Goldman EddieGoldman.com

No Holds Barred: Carlos Santos

Eddie Goldman — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 20:17:36 GMT

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu legend Carlos Santos. After nine years teaching jiu-jitsu in Abu Dhabi, the three-time BJJ world heavyweight champion, trained by the late Carlson Gracie Sr., has relocated to Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA, where in February of this year he opened the Prime Jiu-Jitsu Center. The Prime Jiu-Jitsu Center is the first Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Black Belt Center in Colorado Springs, which is also the home of the U.S. Olympic Training Center. We spoke with Carlos Santos by phone Tuesday afternoon. "For me, jiu-jitsu is not only a fight," he stated in this interview. "Jiu-jitsu is a lifestyle." He explained that his new facility, which he runs with Marcelo Motta, is open to all levels, and has both beginners and children training there as well as athletes from the Olympic Training Center and those experienced in BJJ. We discussed what jiu-jitsu needs to do in order to get regularly televised, the need for more professional organization, why he is now in Colorado Springs, his approach to new challenges in life, and much more. The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by Ian Carpenter. No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by: ONE Fighting Championship. ONE FC is Asia's largest and most prestigious mixed martial arts event. ONE FC features the best Asian fighters and has initiated the ONE Asia Partnership Network, which includes most of the major MMA promotions and MMA gyms in Asia. For more information, go to their web site, at ONEFC.com. DARE Championship. Based in Thailand, DARE is a mixed martial arts event where fighters from all over the world compete to become the DARE Champion. DARE is one of the first MMA promotions in Thailand, and has been televised in many countries and online. For more information, go to their web site, at DareFightSports.com. Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. Your #1 source for exciting auction shopping and outstanding deals on just about anything! Top rated, most trusted auction site online. Where do you shop? Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/. Thanks, Eddie Goldman EddieGoldman.com

No Holds Barred: Joel Resnick of RUFF, Martial Arts and MMA in China, World Martial Arts Show Rocks the Bronx

Eddie Goldman — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 21:30:24 GMT

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman discusses the successful World Martial Arts Show in the Bronx on Saturday, the connection between traditional martial arts and mixed martial arts, and the link of all of these with China, and interviews Joel Resnick, president and co-founder of the MMA company RUFF, based in Shanghai, China. The World Martial Arts Show and Battle of the Dojos Extravaganza took place Saturday, March 31, at the famed Paradise Theater in the Bronx, New York. After martial arts tournaments during the daytime, the activities in the evening featured a martial arts, music, dance, and fashion show, as well as the presentation of the Life Arts Award to martial artist and actor Michael Jai White. Among the topics commented upon are how the mainstream media ignored this well-attended event, how it was enthusiastically received by its largely African-American and Latino audience, the fashion show which included a wearing of hoodies in tribute to slain African-American teenager Trayvon Martin, the different styles of striking and grappling on this show, the remarks by Michael Jai White, the relationship this event showed between the traditional martial arts and MMA and boxing, and, first and foremost, its importance to the youth. Many of the organizers of this event are also involved with the practice of Chinese Shotokan Karate. Thus examined briefly is some of the history of how karate originated in China, the relation between traditional martial arts and MMA in China, including the practice of shoubo (手搏), a form of no-holds-barred weaponless fighting some 23 centuries ago, and more recent developments in the People's Republic of China. This leads us into our interview with Joel Resnick, the president and co-founder of RUFF (Ranik Ultimate Fighting Federation). We recorded it by Skype last Tuesday Shanghai time (Monday New York time). "In a couple of years, the best fighters are going to be coming out of China," said Joel Resnick in this interview. "Like every other sport, when they get behind it and they really want it, they're going go get it." We discussed how he got to China from Canada, why they just want to focus on running events in China, how RUFF is the only professional MMA organization sanctioned by the Chinese government through the Wushu Administrative Center which is the governing body of Chinese combat sports, why they adopted the North American unified rules, prefight medicals and fighter safety issues, their plans for a series of fights leading to title fights to crown China's first MMA national champions, their plans for TV and video, and much, much more. The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by Ian Carpenter. No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by: ONE Fighting Championship. ONE FC is Asia's largest and most prestigious mixed martial arts event. ONE FC features the best Asian fighters and has initiated the ONE Asia Partnership Network, which includes most of the major MMA promotions and MMA gyms in Asia. For more information, go to their web site, at ONEFC.com. DARE Championship. Based in Thailand, DARE is a mixed martial arts event where fighters from all over the world compete to become the DARE Champion. DARE is one of the first MMA promotions in Thailand, and has been televised in many countries and online. For more information, go to their web site, at DareFightSports.com. Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. Your #1 source for exciting auction shopping and outstanding deals on just about anything! Top rated, most trusted auction site online. Where do you shop? Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/. Thanks, Eddie Goldman EddieGoldman.com

No Holds Barred: Fabricio Monteiro, ONE FC 3 Live and Free on YouTube, Battle of Dojos

Eddie Goldman — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 04:41:39 GMT

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman discusses the events coming up on a busy Saturday, March 31, including the ONE FC: War of the Lions MMA card from Singapore, and the World Martial Arts Show and Battle of the Dojos Extravaganza in the Bronx, New York. The stacked ONE FC card will take place at the Singapore Indoor Stadium in Singapore, beginning at 7:30 PM SGT, which is UTC/GMT +8 hours. ONE FC: War of the Lions will be streamed live and for free on the ONE FC YouTube channel at, http://www.youtube.com/ONEFCmma. Streaming times around the world are 8 PM in Kuala Lumpur, 1 PM in London, 8 AM in New York City, and 5 AM in San Francisco (free live streaming is geo-blocked in Singapore and Japan). Continuing our preview of ONE FC: War of the Lions, we spoke by Skype last week with Evolve MMA fighter Fabricio "Pitbull" Monteiro of Brazil. He is coming off a two-year layoff from fighting, and will have a difficult assignment when he faces DEEP champion Yuya Shirai of Japan in a welterweight bout on this card. Fabricio Monteiro said that he doesn't expect ring rust to be a factor in this fight, since he regularly trains at Evolve MMA, which he says has a "a spirit of the family" and "everybody cares about each other." He also looks forward to fighting for ONE FC, "the biggest show in Asia." Also on Saturday, March 31, the World Martial Arts Show and Battle of the Dojos Extravaganza takes place at the Paradise Theater in the Bronx, New York. This event includes a martial arts tournament featuring numerous styles and disciplines, with many levels of competitors including many children expected to compete. In the evening, there will a martial arts, music, dance, and fashion show, as well as the presentation of the Life Arts Award to martial artist and actor Michael Jai White. We discuss the significance and importance of this event. The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by Ian Carpenter. No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by: ONE Fighting Championship. ONE FC is Asia's largest and most prestigious mixed martial arts event. ONE FC features the best Asian fighters and has initiated the ONE Asia Partnership Network, which includes most of the major MMA promotions and MMA gyms in Asia. For more information, go to their web site, at ONEFC.com. DARE Championship. Based in Thailand, DARE is a mixed martial arts event where fighters from all over the world compete to become the DARE Champion. DARE is one of the first MMA promotions in Thailand, and has been televised in many countries and online. For more information, go to their web site, at DareFightSports.com. Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. Your #1 source for exciting auction shopping and outstanding deals on just about anything! Top rated, most trusted auction site online. Where do you shop? Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/. Thanks, Eddie Goldman EddieGoldman.com

No Holds Barred: King Mo On His Suspension, Release From Strikeforce, Controversial Remarks, And The Future

Eddie Goldman — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 20:23:51 GMT

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman once again speaks with mixed martial arts fighter and former elite freestyle and college wrestler "King" Mo Lawal. On Tuesday, March 27, the Nevada State Athletic Commission suspended and fined "King" Mo because of a positive test for a banned steroid. At the hearing, he said he was there to take his punishment like a man but also explained that the steroid came from an improperly labeled "supplement" he had bought at a retail store. The commission showed him no leniency, suspending him for nine months, starting from his last fight on January 7. However, midway through the hearing, "King" Mo, a graduate of Oklahoma State University, was asked by commissioner Pat Lundvall if he could understand and read English. He denounced her on Twitter in controversial fashion, referring to her as a "racist bitch". Shortly thereafter, it was announced that he had been released by Strikeforce. In the swirl of controversy, we spoke with "King" Mo Wednesday afternoon by phone, just about 24 hours after the Nevada commission hearing. We discussed the issues surrounding his suspension and release by Strikeforce, including an in-depth and lively discussion of his controversial comments about Pat Lundvall and why he considered her comments so insulting and unwarranted. We discussed who Pat Lundvall is, including her background as a corporate lawyer. In addition, we discussed his health and prognosis for returning to training, what plans he now has for the future, what fans can do to support him, and much more. The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by Ian Carpenter. No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by: ONE Fighting Championship. ONE FC is Asia's largest and most prestigious mixed martial arts event. ONE FC features the best Asian fighters and has initiated the ONE Asia Partnership Network, which includes most of the major MMA promotions and MMA gyms in Asia. For more information, go to their web site, at ONEFC.com. DARE Championship. Based in Thailand, DARE is a mixed martial arts event where fighters from all over the world compete to become the DARE Champion. DARE is one of the first MMA promotions in Thailand, and has been televised in many countries and online. For more information, go to their web site, at DareFightSports.com. Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. Your #1 source for exciting auction shopping and outstanding deals on just about anything! Top rated, most trusted auction site online. Where do you shop? Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/. Thanks, Eddie Goldman EddieGoldman.com

No Holds Barred: Sensei Mo on March 31 World Martial Arts Show and Battle of the Dojos Extravaganza

Eddie Goldman — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 23:27:53 GMT

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with Professor Mahaliel Bethea AKA Sensei Mo of Fight Back MMA. At Fight Back MMA in Harlem, New York, many levels of martial artists, including many children, are trained in many different disciplines and self-defense. Sensei Mo is also working with veteran martial artist Kushinda Lamarr Thornton of New Breed Life Arts on the World Martial Arts Show and Battle of the Dojos Extravaganza. This event includes a martial arts tournament and show, and will be held Saturday, March 31, at the Paradise Theater in the Bronx, New York. We spoke with Sensei Mo Sunday afternoon at the Paradise Theater as the participants in the World Martial Arts Show and Battle of the Dojos Extravaganza were going through a dress rehearsal. We discussed the significance of this event and its location, the importance of getting kids involved in martial arts, the relation between traditional martial arts and MMA, and much more. The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by Ian Carpenter. No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by: ONE Fighting Championship. ONE FC is Asia's largest and most prestigious mixed martial arts event. ONE FC features the best Asian fighters and has initiated the ONE Asia Partnership Network, which includes most of the major MMA promotions and MMA gyms in Asia. For more information, go to their web site, at ONEFC.com. DARE Championship. Based in Thailand, DARE is a mixed martial arts event where fighters from all over the world compete to become the DARE Champion. DARE is one of the first MMA promotions in Thailand, and has been televised in many countries and online. For more information, go to their web site, at DareFightSports.com. Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. Your #1 source for exciting auction shopping and outstanding deals on just about anything! Top rated, most trusted auction site online. Where do you shop? Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/. Thanks, Eddie Goldman EddieGoldman.com

No Holds Barred: Eddie Ng

Eddie Goldman — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 09:22:33 GMT

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with Evolve MMA fighter Eddie "The Magician" Ng. The popular prospect, who just turned 26 years old, is now 4-1 in his young MMA career. His next fight will at the ONE FC: War of the Lions card this Saturday, March 31, at the Singapore Indoor Stadium in Singapore. His opponent will be Malaysian Muay Thai champion Jian Kai Chee in a lightweight bout. We spoke with Eddie "The Magician" Ng by Skype on Tuesday Singapore time (Monday New York time) about this fight and his career. We discussed how and why he moved to Singapore from the U.K., where he grew up, but had difficulty finding regular fights. He commented that he believes that fighters are treated with much more respect in Asia than what he saw in parts of the U.K. We discussed how he advanced from being almost self-taught through studying Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and MMA videos, to training with world champions in many disciplines at Evolve MMA in Singapore. His appearance at ONE FC 3 follows a 45-second knockout victory at ONE FC 1 last September, so it looks like Eddie "The Magician" Ng has found a fighting home in Singapore. The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by Ian Carpenter. No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by: ONE Fighting Championship. ONE FC is Asia's largest and most prestigious mixed martial arts event. ONE FC features the best Asian fighters and has initiated the ONE Asia Partnership Network, which includes most of the major MMA promotions and MMA gyms in Asia. For more information, go to their web site, at ONEFC.com. DARE Championship. Based in Thailand, DARE is a mixed martial arts event where fighters from all over the world compete to become the DARE Champion. DARE is one of the first MMA promotions in Thailand, and has been televised in many countries and online. For more information, go to their web site, at DareFightSports.com. Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. Your #1 source for exciting auction shopping and outstanding deals on just about anything! Top rated, most trusted auction site online. Where do you shop? Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/. Thanks, Eddie Goldman EddieGoldman.com

No Holds Barred: Chatri Sityodtong Previews ONE FC War of the Lions March 31 Card

Eddie Goldman — Sat, 24 Mar 2012 09:35:56 GMT

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with Chatri Sityodtong, the founder and CEO of the top martial arts training organization in Asia, Evolve MMA. Evolve MMA will have five fighters competing at the ONE FC: War of the Lions mixed martial arts card on Saturday, March 31, at the Singapore Indoor Stadium in Singapore. The main event will be a lightweight fight between Evolve MMA fighter and BJJ champion Zorobabel "Zoro" Moreira of Brazil against Felipe Enomoto of Japan, who is coming off a second-round stoppage of Ole Laursen at ONE FC 2 last month. Evolve MMA fighter Fabricio “Pitbull” Monteiro of Brazil, coming off a two-year layoff, will have a tough assignment when he faces DEEP champion Yuya Shirai of Japan in a welterweight bout. Evolve MMA fighter Nicole Chua from Singapore will be fighting in the first-ever ONE FC women's fight against Jeet Toshi, a kickboxing champion from India, at a catchweight of 44 kg. Evolve MMA fighter Eddie Ng, originally from Hong Kong and the U.K. but now based in Singapore, will face Malaysian Muay Thai champion Jian Kai Chee in a lightweight bout. And Evolve MMA fighter Yodsanan Sityodtong of Thailand, the former WBA super featherweight world champion, will try to demonstrate his transition from boxing to MMA in a bantamweight fight against Art of War veteran Jiang Long Yun of China. This stacked card will also feature major fights involving Ole Laursen of Legacy Gym against URCC welterweight champion Eduard Folayang, both from the Philippines, in a highly-anticipated battle; DEEP light heavyweight champion Yoshiyuki Nakanishi of Japan against Melvin Manhoef of Mike's Gym in the Netherlands, who always provides action; Dream star and DEEP champion Masakazu Imanari of Japan against URCC flyweight champion Kevin Belingon of the Philippines; Dream star Tatsuya "Crusher" Kawajiri of Japan against American Donald Sanchez, who just regained the King of the Cage bantamweight championship; Quek Kim Hock against Juan Wen Jie, both from Singapore, in a lightweight fight; and American Richie Whitson of Team Quest against Danny van Bergen of Mike's Gym in the Netherlands. We spoke with Chatri Sityodtong by Skype on Tuesday Singapore time (Monday New York time) to preview this important card. "The whole ONE FC network has unified Asia in a way that's never been seen before, so that you truly can have the best fight the best in each country," he said during this interview. We discussed both the prospects for the Evolve MMA fighters and their opponents, as well as the other fights on this card, and much more. The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by Ian Carpenter. No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by: ONE Fighting Championship. ONE FC is Asia's largest and most prestigious mixed martial arts event. ONE FC features the best Asian fighters and has initiated the ONE Asia Partnership Network, which includes most of the major MMA promotions and MMA gyms in Asia. For more information, go to their web site, at ONEFC.com. DARE Championship. Based in Thailand, DARE is a mixed martial arts event where fighters from all over the world compete to become the DARE Champion. DARE is one of the first MMA promotions in Thailand, and has been televised in many countries and online. For more information, go to their web site, at DareFightSports.com. Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. Your #1 source for exciting auction shopping and outstanding deals on just about anything! Top rated, most trusted auction site online. Where do you shop? Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/. Thanks, Eddie Goldman EddieGoldman.com

No Holds Barred: Kushinda Lamarr Thornton on Values, Violence, Martial Arts, and MMA

Eddie Goldman — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 16:26:29 GMT

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with veteran mixed martial instructor Kushinda Lamarr Thornton of New Breed Life Arts. New Breed Life Arts is a dojo, based in Harlem, New York, that trains adults and children both in numerous martial arts and in life arts. They write on their web site that their "main focus is to assist people to become empowered, productive citizens, and to provide exposure to positive relevant images. The New Breed's goal is to provide information and enlightenment while utilizing mind, body and spirit concepts." They are also playing a key role in organizing the Battle of the Dojos martial arts tournament and show on Saturday, March 31, at the Paradise Theater in the Bronx, New York. In an enlightening and important discussion, we spoke with Kushinda Lamarr Thornton Wednesday afternoon at his dojo. We discussed numerous issues, including values and respect in the traditional martial arts and the lack of respect in so much of MMA. He explained that the purpose of training in the martial arts is actually to prevent violence and not to promote violence. We also heard from our colleague and correspondent Keisha Morrisey, whose son had trained with Kushinda Lamarr. We also discussed some of the activities which will take place at the Battle of the Dojos event, and much, much more. The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by Ian Carpenter. No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by: ONE Fighting Championship. ONE FC is Asia's largest and most prestigious mixed martial arts event. ONE FC features the best Asian fighters and has initiated the ONE Asia Partnership Network, which includes most of the major MMA promotions and MMA gyms in Asia. For more information, go to their web site, at ONEFC.com. DARE Championship. Based in Thailand, DARE is a mixed martial arts event where fighters from all over the world compete to become the DARE Champion. DARE is one of the first MMA promotions in Thailand, and has been televised in many countries and online. For more information, go to their web site, at DareFightSports.com. Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. Your #1 source for exciting auction shopping and outstanding deals on just about anything! Top rated, most trusted auction site online. Where do you shop? Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/. Thanks, Eddie Goldman EddieGoldman.com

No Holds Barred: King Mo Lawal on His Health, Nevada Hearing, Boxing and Wrestling, and Sensei Mo of Harlem

Eddie Goldman — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 22:23:28 GMT

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with mixed martial arts fighter and former elite freestyle and college wrestler "King" Mo Lawal. "King" Mo gets us up-to-date about his recovery from knee surgeries and staph infections, and when he hopes to return to action full-time. He also discussed his upcoming hearing, scheduled for March 27, before the Nevada State Athletic Commission regarding his unintentional use of a banned performance-enhancing substance. We discussed some of the recent major boxing bouts including the Sergio Martinez-Matthew Macklin fight, the many anticipated fights scheduled for the next few weeks, and whether boxing or MMA will be a bigger sport in ten years. "King" Mo explained why he likes to watch the Olympic Wrestling Trials more than the NCAA Wrestling Championships, but we also noted the many problems facing wrestling. A key part of this discussion involved our mutual admiration for a veteran martial artist from Harlem, Professor Mahaliel Haroom Sha Bethea AKA Sensei Mo of Fight Back MMA. We discussed the importance of Sensei Mo's work training kids in martial arts and self-defense, and "King" Mo's desire to meet him and assist in his work. This represents the true spirit of martial arts and combat sports. The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by Ian Carpenter. No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by: ONE Fighting Championship. ONE FC is Asia's largest and most prestigious mixed martial arts event. ONE FC features the best Asian fighters and has initiated the ONE Asia Partnership Network, which includes most of the major MMA promotions and MMA gyms in Asia. For more information, go to their web site, at ONEFC.com. DARE Championship. Based in Thailand, DARE is a mixed martial arts event where fighters from all over the world compete to become the DARE Champion. DARE is one of the first MMA promotions in Thailand, and has been televised in many countries and online. For more information, go to their web site, at DareFightSports.com. Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. Your #1 source for exciting auction shopping and outstanding deals on just about anything! Top rated, most trusted auction site online. Where do you shop? Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/. Thanks, Eddie Goldman EddieGoldman.com

No Holds Barred: Bob Mayeri Reviews Electrifying 2012 NCAA Div. I Wrestling Championships

Eddie Goldman — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 04:18:40 GMT

(Photo of Logan Stieber and Jordan Oliver by Bob Mayeri) On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman once again speaks with our long-time colleague and wrestling correspondent, Bob Mayeri, to review the 2012 NCAA Div. I Wrestling Championships, which took place March 15-17 at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Missouri. We spoke with Bob Mayeri, who covered this event matside in St. Louis, by phone Sunday night. We discussed the ten individual national championship matches as well as the team champions, Penn State, which won for the second year in a row. We examined why this event remains so spectacular year after year, what changes need to be made to improve the marketing and presentation of college wrestling, the noted increase this year in winners from colleges in the eastern part of the U.S., the new attendance records set this year, and much more. The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by Ian Carpenter. No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by: ONE Fighting Championship. ONE FC is Asia's largest and most prestigious mixed martial arts event. ONE FC features the best Asian fighters and has initiated the ONE Asia Partnership Network, which includes most of the major MMA promotions and MMA gyms in Asia. For more information, go to their web site, at ONEFC.com. DARE Championship. Based in Thailand, DARE is a mixed martial arts event where fighters from all over the world compete to become the DARE Champion. DARE is one of the first MMA promotions in Thailand, and has been televised in many countries and online. For more information, go to their web site, at DareFightSports.com. Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. Your #1 source for exciting auction shopping and outstanding deals on just about anything! Top rated, most trusted auction site online. Where do you shop? Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/. Thanks, Eddie Goldman EddieGoldman.com

No Holds Barred: Kris Iatskevich on North American Throwdown and Future of Catch Wrestling

Eddie Goldman — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 22:40:56 GMT

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with Kris Iatskevich of the International Submission Wrestling Alliance (ISWA) about the North American Throwdown catch wrestling event and the prospects for the growth of catch wrestling. The North American Throwdown was held Saturday, February 25, 2012, in Joliette, Quebec, Canada, near Montreal. It featured both the ASA's Eighth Annual North American Freestyle Sambo Championships and the ISWA's Catch Wrestling Open tournament, also known as the Carpentier Open. Grapplers from all styles and affiliations competed. We spoke with Kris Iatskevich by Skype Thursday about this historic event. We discussed the percent of victories by pin and by submission at the catch wrestling part of this event, how the rules virtually eliminated stalling, and the need for some improvements in future tournaments. We also discussed the great potential for catch wrestling to emerge as a legitimate and professional spectator sport, how this tournament was a steppingstone in that direction, the need for principled unity and cooperation among those who are part of this catch wrestling revival, the tentative plans for the next event, and much more. The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by Ian Carpenter. No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by: ONE Fighting Championship. ONE FC is Asia's largest and most prestigious mixed martial arts event. ONE FC features the best Asian fighters and has initiated the ONE Asia Partnership Network, which includes most of the major MMA promotions and MMA gyms in Asia. For more information, go to their web site, at ONEFC.com. DARE Championship. Based in Thailand, DARE is a mixed martial arts event where fighters from all over the world compete to become the DARE Champion. DARE is one of the first MMA promotions in Thailand, and has been televised in many countries and online. For more information, go to their web site, at DareFightSports.com. Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. Your #1 source for exciting auction shopping and outstanding deals on just about anything! Top rated, most trusted auction site online. Where do you shop? Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/. The American Sambo Association, which is committed to becoming the premier association in the U.S. dedicated to the advancement of Sambo. Sambo is a form of sport, self-defense, and combat established in the former Soviet Union during the early twentieth century. For more information, go to ussambo.com. Thanks, Eddie Goldman EddieGoldman.com

No Holds Barred: Bob Mayeri Previews 2012 NCAA Div. I Wrestling Championships

Eddie Goldman — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 05:22:33 GMT

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with our long-time colleague and wrestling correspondent, Bob Mayeri, to preview the 2012 NCAA Div. I Wrestling Championships. This event will take place Thursday, March 15, through Saturday, March 17, at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Missouri. The first and second sessions of this event, on March 15, will be webcast on ESPN3.com. The third and fourth sessions on March 16, and the fifth session on the morning of March 17, will be televised on ESPNU and webcast on ESPN3.com. The finals will televised live on ESPN beginning at 7:30 PM Saturday, March 17, and also webcast on ESPN3.com. We spoke with Bob Mayeri, who will be covering the 2012 NCAA Div. I Wrestling Championships in St. Louis, by phone Monday night. We discussed why this event, which almost always sells out all six sessions, has been the most popular wrestling event in America for many years. We discussed Bob's predictions for the winners in all ten weight classes, which include some upsets, and his picks for the finalists and several All-Americans, as well as the team title. This is a fun event which all combat sports fans should check out. The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by Ian Carpenter. No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by: ONE Fighting Championship. ONE FC is Asia's largest and most prestigious mixed martial arts event. ONE FC features the best Asian fighters and has initiated the ONE Asia Partnership Network, which includes most of the major MMA promotions and MMA gyms in Asia. For more information, go to their web site, at ONEFC.com. DARE Championship. Based in Thailand, DARE is a mixed martial arts event where fighters from all over the world compete to become the DARE Champion. DARE is one of the first MMA promotions in Thailand, and has been televised in many countries and online. For more information, go to their web site, at DareFightSports.com. Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. Your #1 source for exciting auction shopping and outstanding deals on just about anything! Top rated, most trusted auction site online. Where do you shop? Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/. The American Sambo Association, which is committed to becoming the premier association in the U.S. dedicated to the advancement of Sambo. Sambo is a form of sport, self-defense, and combat established in the former Soviet Union during the early twentieth century. For more information, go to ussambo.com. Thanks, Eddie Goldman EddieGoldman.com

No Holds Barred: Stephen Koepfer on Rally and Next Steps in Fight to End MMA Ban in New York

Eddie Goldman — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 15:31:13 GMT

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman once again speaks with Stephen Koepfer of the Coalition to Legalize Mixed Martial Arts in New York. On March 6, the Coalition held a rousing demonstration in front of the Manhattan office of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who has not taken a public position on the issue of ending the ban on MMA. This was followed by the first-ever Mixed Martial Arts Documentary Film Festival, which took place at the world-famous Madison Square Garden. We spoke by phone Friday with Stephen Koepfer about how this rally, the second annual one held by the Coalition, represented a step forward in this battle to legalize MMA in New York. Many more New Yorkers seemed both aware of this issue and supportive of ending the MMA ban than even last year, he said. We discussed the attempt by UFC to counter this rally by holding a news conference in New York at the same time as it for a show two months away in New Jersey. We also discussed many ideas for continuing and broadening this struggle as this onerous ban on MMA is now in its fifteenth year, and much more. The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by Ian Carpenter. No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by: ONE Fighting Championship. ONE FC is Asia's largest and most prestigious mixed martial arts event. ONE FC features the best Asian fighters and has initiated the ONE Asia Partnership Network, which includes most of the major MMA promotions and MMA gyms in Asia. For more information, go to their web site, at ONEFC.com. DARE Championship. Based in Thailand, DARE is a mixed martial arts event where fighters from all over the world compete to become the DARE Champion. DARE is one of the first MMA promotions in Thailand, and has been televised in many countries and online. For more information, go to their web site, at DareFightSports.com. Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. Your #1 source for exciting auction shopping and outstanding deals on just about anything! Top rated, most trusted auction site online. Where do you shop? Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/. The American Sambo Association, which is committed to becoming the premier association in the U.S. dedicated to the advancement of Sambo. Sambo is a form of sport, self-defense, and combat established in the former Soviet Union during the early twentieth century. For more information, go to ussambo.com. Thanks, Eddie Goldman EddieGoldman.com

No Holds Barred: Nick Lembo from 2008

Eddie Goldman — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 11:41:46 GMT

(Photo by Keisha Morrisey) On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman goes into the vault to replay an interview from July 3, 2008, with Nick Lembo, counsel for the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board. Here is the description from 2008 about this discussion with Nick Lembo: He is attending the annual meeting of the Association of Boxing Commissions (ABC), which is going on this weekend in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. MMA is a major topic at this meeting. Among the topics we discussed were: what the ABC is doing to educate various commissions about regulating MMA in their jurisdictions, why the New York legislature did not recently approve the legalization of the sport, the need for the Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform Act to be extended to MMA, why MMA promoters should work together like even boxing promoters often do, UFC contracts, the establishment by the ABC of an official MMA record keeper, federal ID cards for MMA fighters, clarifications of the MMA unified rules, guidelines for amateur MMA, the ABC deciding to make discussion about MMA a regular part of their agenda along with boxing, and more. The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by Ian Carpenter. No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by: ONE Fighting Championship. ONE FC is Asia's largest and most prestigious mixed martial arts event. ONE FC features the best Asian fighters and has initiated the ONE Asia Partnership Network, which includes most of the major MMA promotions and MMA gyms in Asia. For more information, go to their web site, at ONEFC.com. DARE Championship. Based in Thailand, DARE is a mixed martial arts event where fighters from all over the world compete to become the DARE Champion. DARE is one of the first MMA promotions in Thailand, and has been televised in many countries and online. For more information, go to their web site, at DareFightSports.com. Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. Your #1 source for exciting auction shopping and outstanding deals on just about anything! Top rated, most trusted auction site online. Where do you shop? Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/. The American Sambo Association, which is committed to becoming the premier association in the U.S. dedicated to the advancement of Sambo. Sambo is a form of sport, self-defense, and combat established in the former Soviet Union during the early twentieth century. For more information, go to ussambo.com. Thanks, Eddie Goldman EddieGoldman.com

No Holds Barred: Adisa Banjoko of Hip-Hop Chess Federation on Jiu-Jitsu, Chess, and Music

Eddie Goldman — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 11:08:02 GMT

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with an old friend and colleague, Adisa Banjoko, a jiu-jitsu practitioner and the founder of the Hip-Hop Chess Federation. Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, the Hip-Hop Chess Federation is a not-for-profit organization which fuses music, chess, and martial arts, hosts celebrity chess benefits where underserved youth play chess for educational scholarships, and promotes positive values by blending logic and art. "Chess is jiu-jitsu for the mind, and jiu-jitsu is chess for the body," stated Adisa. We spoke with Adisa Banjoko by phone Friday afternoon about the work and goals of this very innovative and valuable organization. The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by Ian Carpenter. No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by: ONE Fighting Championship. ONE FC is Asia's largest and most prestigious mixed martial arts event. ONE FC features the best Asian fighters and has initiated the ONE Asia Partnership Network, which includes most of the major MMA promotions and MMA gyms in Asia. For more information, go to their web site, at ONEFC.com. DARE Championship. Based in Thailand, DARE is a mixed martial arts event where fighters from all over the world compete to become the DARE Champion. DARE is one of the first MMA promotions in Thailand, and has been televised in many countries and online. For more information, go to their web site, at DareFightSports.com. Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. Your #1 source for exciting auction shopping and outstanding deals on just about anything! Top rated, most trusted auction site online. Where do you shop? Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/. The American Sambo Association, which is committed to becoming the premier association in the U.S. dedicated to the advancement of Sambo. Sambo is a form of sport, self-defense, and combat established in the former Soviet Union during the early twentieth century. For more information, go to ussambo.com. Thanks, Eddie Goldman EddieGoldman.com

No Holds Barred: Stephen Koepfer on March 6 Rally to Legalize MMA in New York and MMA Film Festival

Eddie Goldman — Sat, 03 Mar 2012 08:45:37 GMT

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with Stephen Koepfer of the Coalition to Legalize Mixed Martial Arts in New York. It is now 15 years since the state of New York passed a draconian law banning what it calls "combative sports", including mixed martial arts. The 1997 law overturned a law passed just months earlier legalizing and regulating the sport. While MMA has since grown around the world, from Sao Paulo to St. Petersburg, from Beijing to Boston, and from Atlantic City to Abu Dhabi, the sport remains illegal in New York. The Coalition to Legalize Mixed Martial Arts in New York, an independent, grassroots organization, aims to change all that. After a successful rally last year in front of the office of New York Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, an opponent of MMA, this year the Coalition will be holding a rally in front of the Manhattan office of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who has not taken a public position on this issue. The rally will be held Tuesday, March 6, from 11:30 AM to 1:30 PM, outside Cuomo's Manhattan office at 633 Third Avenue, New York, NY, 10017, between 40th and 41st Streets. After the rally, there will be the first-ever Mixed Martial Arts Documentary Film Festival. This will take place from 4 PM to 8 PM at the world-famous Madison Square Garden, in The Theater Lobby at 7th Avenue at 32nd Street. It is free to attend. Three films will be featured, including the world premiere of "In Her Corner: The Inside Story of Women’s MMA", the Manhattan premiere of "New York Mixed Martial Arts", and the New York premiere of "Fight Life". This will be followed by a question-and-answer session with the filmmakers, as well as a mixed martial arts trivia challenge. We spoke with Stephen Koepfer by phone Thursday about the rally, the film festival, and the ongoing battle to legalize MMA in New York. We discussed the need to continue to educate the public about the sport, how MMA is actually much larger than just one promotion, and much more. The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by Ian Carpenter. No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by: ONE Fighting Championship. ONE FC is Asia's largest and most prestigious mixed martial arts event. ONE FC features the best Asian fighters and has initiated the ONE Asia Partnership Network, which includes most of the major MMA promotions and MMA gyms in Asia. For more information, go to their web site, at ONEFC.com. DARE Championship. Based in Thailand, DARE is a mixed martial arts event where fighters from all over the world compete to become the DARE Champion. DARE is one of the first MMA promotions in Thailand, and has been televised in many countries and online. For more information, go to their web site, at DareFightSports.com. Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. Your #1 source for exciting auction shopping and outstanding deals on just about anything! Top rated, most trusted auction site online. Where do you shop? Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/. The American Sambo Association, which is committed to becoming the premier association in the U.S. dedicated to the advancement of Sambo. Sambo is a form of sport, self-defense, and combat established in the former Soviet Union during the early twentieth century. For more information, go to ussambo.com. Thanks, Eddie Goldman EddieGoldman.com

No Holds Barred: Roger Mayweather, Leonard Ellerbe, Bryan Perez, Richard Schaefer, Keisha Morrisey, and the New Era in Boxing

Eddie Goldman — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 09:05:54 GMT

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman discusses the significance of the May 5 fight between Floyd Mayweather and Miguel Cotto being promoted by their own promotional companies with several key figures in this fight. The unbeaten Mayweather (42-0, 26 KOs), who holds the WBC welterweight title, will be moving up a weight class to face Cotto (37-2, 30 KOs), the WBA super welterweight champion. Mayweather last fought at this weight in 2007, defeating Oscar de la Hoya for the WBC title, before moving back down. The Mayweather-Cotto fight, slated for Saturday, May 5, in Las Vegas, Nevada, has the distinction of being presented by Mayweather Promotions, Golden Boy Promotions, and Miguel Cotto Promotions. At the New York news conference for this fight held February 28 at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, we discussed the significance of this promotional arrangement with Leonard Ellerbe, CEO of Mayweather Promotions; Richard Schaefer, CEO of Golden Boy Promotions; and Bryan Perez, Executive Director of Miguel Cotto Promotions. The consensus seemed to be from all parties in this fight that this represents a new era in boxing. We also asked Richard Schaefer about the drug testing for Mayweather-Cotto, which will be conducted by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency. We also spoke about this fight with the outspoken trainer of Floyd Mayweather, his uncle, Roger Mayweather, who discussed the place of his nephew in boxing history. And we discussed with our long-time colleague and correspondent Keisha Morrisey, who has been invaluable to No Holds Barred, this fight and this new era in boxing, as well as some of the numerous problems plaguing the declining sport of boxing. The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by Ian Carpenter. No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by: ONE Fighting Championship. ONE FC is Asia's largest and most prestigious mixed martial arts event. ONE FC features the best Asian fighters and has initiated the ONE Asia Partnership Network, which includes most of the major MMA promotions and MMA gyms in Asia. For more information, go to their web site, at ONEFC.com. DARE Championship. Based in Thailand, DARE is a mixed martial arts event where fighters from all over the world compete to become the DARE Champion. DARE is one of the first MMA promotions in Thailand, and has been televised in many countries and online. For more information, go to their web site, at DareFightSports.com. Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. Your #1 source for exciting auction shopping and outstanding deals on just about anything! Top rated, most trusted auction site online. Where do you shop? Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/. The American Sambo Association, which is committed to becoming the premier association in the U.S. dedicated to the advancement of Sambo. Sambo is a form of sport, self-defense, and combat established in the former Soviet Union during the early twentieth century. For more information, go to ussambo.com. Thanks, Eddie Goldman EddieGoldman.com

No Holds Barred: Celsinho Venicius, Rolles Gracie, Rob Constance, Brett Boyce

Eddie Goldman — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 00:09:51 GMT

(Photo by Paula Romero) On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman presents interviews from the Ultimate Absolute 2 grappling tournament, held Saturday, February 25, in New York, and previews the Arnold Grappling Championships, which will be held March 3-4 in Columbus, Ohio. Right after his victory in the 16-man, single elimination Ultimate Absolute 2, which featured the lightweight division, we spoke with multi-time Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu world champion Celsinho Venicius about his latest triumph. We also spoke with Rolles Gracie right after this event about his first-round stoppage victory over Bob Sapp at the ONE FC card on February 11, and his future plans. And we spoke with Rob Constance (AKA Black Rob), the main organizer of the Ultimate Absolute, about the success of this event, and the plans for a submission-only, open-weight tournament in the next Ultimate Absolute later in the year. For the first time, the expert or advanced no-gi divisions of the men's and women's adult divisions at the Arnold Grappling Championships will be held under ADCC rules and be a qualifier for the ADCC North American Championships later this year. We spoke by phone Thursday with organizer Brett Boyce of the World Grappling Circuit and ADCC North America about this important grappling event and its significance. The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by Ian Carpenter. No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by: ONE Fighting Championship. ONE FC is Asia's largest and most prestigious mixed martial arts event. ONE FC features the best Asian fighters and has initiated the ONE Asia Partnership Network, which includes most of the major MMA promotions and MMA gyms in Asia. For more information, go to their web site, at ONEFC.com. DARE Championship. Based in Thailand, DARE is a mixed martial arts event where fighters from all over the world compete to become the DARE Champion. DARE is one of the first MMA promotions in Thailand, and has been televised in many countries and online. For more information, go to their web site, at DareFightSports.com. Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. Your #1 source for exciting auction shopping and outstanding deals on just about anything! Top rated, most trusted auction site online. Where do you shop? Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/. The American Sambo Association, which is committed to becoming the premier association in the U.S. dedicated to the advancement of Sambo. Sambo is a form of sport, self-defense, and combat established in the former Soviet Union during the early twentieth century. For more information, go to ussambo.com. Thanks, Eddie Goldman EddieGoldman.com

No Holds Barred: Shannon Knapp of Invicta Fighting Championships, All-Women's MMA Series

Eddie Goldman — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 00:18:13 GMT

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with Shannon Knapp, co-founder of the Invicta Fighting Championships. This latest venture for Shannon Knapp, who has worked for numerous mixed martial arts promotions, will put on all-women's MMA cards. The debut show for the the Invicta Fighting Championships will be Saturday, April 28, at the Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kansas. The 11-fight card will be headlined by a rematch between international MMA star Marloes Coenen of the Netherlands and Romy Ruyssen of France, whose only MMA loss was to Coenen in 2008. We spoke with Shannon Knapp by phone Thursday afternoon about this ambitious new organization. She explained why an all-women's MMA show can work, and that often women's fights are as or even more exciting than men's fights. While she admitted that developing this organization will not be easy, she is so confident in this product that she promised to make the first show available for everyone around the world to see for free, with those details to be announced shortly. She also said that this company wants to work with other promotions, that they plan four shows for 2012, and much more.　 The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by Ian Carpenter. No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by: ONE Fighting Championship. ONE FC is Asia's largest and most prestigious mixed martial arts event. ONE FC features the best Asian fighters and has initiated the ONE Asia Partnership Network, which includes most of the major MMA promotions and MMA gyms in Asia. For more information, go to their web site, at ONEFC.com. DARE Championship. Based in Thailand, DARE is a mixed martial arts event where fighters from all over the world compete to become the DARE Champion. DARE is one of the first MMA promotions in Thailand, and has been televised in many countries and online. For more information, go to their web site, at DareFightSports.com. Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. Your #1 source for exciting auction shopping and outstanding deals on just about anything! Top rated, most trusted auction site online. Where do you shop? Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/. The American Sambo Association, which is committed to becoming the premier association in the U.S. dedicated to the advancement of Sambo. Sambo is a form of sport, self-defense, and combat established in the former Soviet Union during the early twentieth century. For more information, go to ussambo.com. Thanks, Eddie Goldman EddieGoldman.com

No Holds Barred: Bernard Hopkins, Brother Naazim Richardson, Kristal Hart

Eddie Goldman — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 05:43:30 GMT

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with light heavyweight boxing champion Bernard Hopkins and his trainer, Brother Naazim Richardson, about the rematch between Hopkins and Chad Dawson scheduled for April 28 in Atlantic City, New Jersey. We also speak with New York TV host Kristal Hart of Manhattan Neighborhood Network about this fight. All these discussions were recorded Wednesday at the kickoff New York news conference for this fight. The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by Ian Carpenter. No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by: ONE Fighting Championship. ONE FC is Asia's largest and most prestigious mixed martial arts event. ONE FC features the best Asian fighters and has initiated the ONE Asia Partnership Network, which includes most of the major MMA promotions and MMA gyms in Asia. For more information, go to their web site, at ONEFC.com. DARE Championship. Based in Thailand, DARE is a mixed martial arts event where fighters from all over the world compete to become the DARE Champion. DARE is one of the first MMA promotions in Thailand, and has been televised in many countries and online. For more information, go to their web site, at DareFightSports.com. Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. Your #1 source for exciting auction shopping and outstanding deals on just about anything! Top rated, most trusted auction site online. Where do you shop? Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/. The American Sambo Association, which is committed to becoming the premier association in the U.S. dedicated to the advancement of Sambo. Sambo is a form of sport, self-defense, and combat established in the former Soviet Union during the early twentieth century. For more information, go to ussambo.com. Thanks, Eddie Goldman EddieGoldman.com

No Holds Barred: Colby Covington

Eddie Goldman — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 06:05:14 GMT

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with 2011 NCAA Div. I All-American wrestler and mixed martial arts fighter Colby Covington. After winning a national junior college championship at Iowa Central Community College and becoming a two-time Pac-10 champion and All-American at Oregon State, Colby Covington, like so many successful wrestlers before him, has turned to mixed martial arts. He had his first professional fight February 11 at the Midtown Throwdown III in Eugene, Oregon, and won by a first-round stoppage over Chris Ensley. He is awaiting confirmation of his next fight, which he hopes will be in March. Now training at the famed American Top Team facility in Coconut Creek, Florida, and fighting at welterweight, Colby Covington has his eyes set on becoming a world champion in mixed martial arts. While he obviously has a long way to go in order to achieve that goal, he believes that he has the skills and dedication to do just that. We spoke with him Monday afternoon by phone about his new career as a mixed martial arts fighter and why he decided to become an MMA fighter. "I'm not in this to make a living," he said in this interview. "I'm in this to be the best in the world, and I honestly think I can be." He explained the changes in technique he is learning in this transition, such as how shooting and setting up takedowns are different in wrestling and MMA. He already views himself as a well-rounded fighter, adjusting to the striking and submissions of MMA as well. We also discussed his relations with the wrestling community today, his former roommates at Iowa Central Joe Soto and Jon Jones, and much more. The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by Ian Carpenter. No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by: ONE Fighting Championship. ONE FC is Asia's largest and most prestigious mixed martial arts event. ONE FC features the best Asian fighters and has initiated the ONE Asia Partnership Network, which includes most of the major MMA promotions and MMA gyms in Asia. For more information, go to their web site, at ONEFC.com. DARE Championship. Based in Thailand, DARE is a mixed martial arts event where fighters from all over the world compete to become the DARE Champion. DARE is one of the first MMA promotions in Thailand, and has been televised in many countries and online. For more information, go to their web site, at DareFightSports.com. Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. Your #1 source for exciting auction shopping and outstanding deals on just about anything! Top rated, most trusted auction site online. Where do you shop? Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/. The American Sambo Association, which is committed to becoming the premier association in the U.S. dedicated to the advancement of Sambo. Sambo is a form of sport, self-defense, and combat established in the former Soviet Union during the early twentieth century. For more information, go to ussambo.com. Thanks, Eddie Goldman EddieGoldman.com

No Holds Barred: Bubba Jenkins

Eddie Goldman — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 21:29:14 GMT

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with 2011 NCAA Div. I wrestling champion and mixed martial arts fighter Bubba Jenkins. Bubba was also a junior world champion in freestyle wrestling in 2007, wrestling at 66 kg/145.5 pounds. Right after he won his NCAA title in March 2011, wrestling for Arizona State at 157 pounds, Bubba Jenkins announced that he was planning on becoming a professional mixed martial arts fighter. He made good on that promise, moving to Florida and training at the legendary American Top Team facility in Coconut Creek. He then won his first pro MMA fight, on December 2, 2011, with a first-round stoppage by strikes of Josh Williams at Tachi Palace Fights 11 in Lemoore, California. His next fight is scheduled for March 9 at Tachi Palace Fights 12, against Chris Gomez, who has a record of 2-3. We spoke with Bubba Jenkins at length by phone Thursday night about how his transition from wrestling to mixed martial arts is progressing. He explained that while he was a bit nervous when his first fight started, and actually was briefly in trouble from a submission attempt, he quickly gained control and secured that first-round victory. We discussed his adapting to MMA where both submissions and striking are part of the sport, and how his training at American Top Team has been critical in his development as a fighter. He knows that he has great potential in mixed martial arts, but also that, after only one fight, he must advance one step at a time. While he still is teaching at wrestling camps, he said that his days as a competitive wrestler are over, even in this Olympic year. We also discussed his experience in winning his NCAA title. Bubba Jenkins has all the tools to become a star one day in mixed martial arts, so make sure to pay close attention to what he had to say, and to his fighting career in its early stages. The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by Ian Carpenter. No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by: ONE Fighting Championship. ONE FC is Asia's largest and most prestigious mixed martial arts event. ONE FC features the best Asian fighters and has initiated the ONE Asia Partnership Network, which includes most of the major MMA promotions and MMA gyms in Asia. For more information, go to their web site, at ONEFC.com. DARE Championship. Based in Thailand, DARE is a mixed martial arts event where fighters from all over the world compete to become the DARE Champion. DARE is one of the first MMA promotions in Thailand, and has been televised in many countries and online. For more information, go to their web site, at DareFightSports.com. Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. Your #1 source for exciting auction shopping and outstanding deals on just about anything! Top rated, most trusted auction site online. Where do you shop? Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/. The American Sambo Association, which is committed to becoming the premier association in the U.S. dedicated to the advancement of Sambo. Sambo is a form of sport, self-defense, and combat established in the former Soviet Union during the early twentieth century. For more information, go to ussambo.com. Thanks, Eddie Goldman EddieGoldman.com

No Holds Barred: Mike Chapman on Earl Caddock, When Pro Wrestling Was Real

Eddie Goldman — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 23:44:28 GMT

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with wrestling and sports historian and author Mike Chapman. Mike has just published a new book, "Earl Caddock: Walnut's Wrestling Wonder". Earl Caddock was a three-time AAU national champion in amateur wrestling and the world heavyweight professional wrestling champion from 1917 to 1920 when this title was contested in real matches. This is a must-read book for all those interested in wrestling, combat sports, and history. Highlights of the match in which Caddock lost his title to Joe Stecher, on January 30, 1920 at Madison Square Garden in New York, can be seen in a video of a scratchy film from that day, on YouTube. We spoke with Mike Chapman by phone Thursday afternoon about Earl Caddock, his place in wrestling history, this important new book, and what was going on in pro wrestling at the time he competed. We discussed the long heritage of wrestling, the Caddock-Stecher match of 1920, the importance of real wrestlers like Frank Gotch, and how the era of real matches faded quickly after Caddock lost his title. And we examined the current revival of catch-as-catch-can wrestling and what it would take to bring back a form of real pro wrestling. The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by Ian Carpenter. No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by: ONE Fighting Championship. ONE FC is Asia's largest and most prestigious mixed martial arts event. ONE FC features the best Asian fighters and has initiated the ONE Asia Partnership Network, which includes most of the major MMA promotions and MMA gyms in Asia. For more information, go to their web site, at ONEFC.com. DARE Championship. Based in Thailand, DARE is a mixed martial arts event where fighters from all over the world compete to become the DARE Champion. DARE is one of the first MMA promotions in Thailand, and has been televised in many countries and online. For more information, go to their web site, at DareFightSports.com. Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. Your #1 source for exciting auction shopping and outstanding deals on just about anything! Top rated, most trusted auction site online. Where do you shop? Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/. The American Sambo Association, which is committed to becoming the premier association in the U.S. dedicated to the advancement of Sambo. Sambo is a form of sport, self-defense, and combat established in the former Soviet Union during the early twentieth century. For more information, go to ussambo.com. Thanks, Eddie Goldman EddieGoldman.com

No Holds Barred: ONE FC 2 Review, Williams-Ishida Preview, Don King on Tournaments

Eddie Goldman — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 02:37:27 GMT

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman draws some of the common lessons from mixed martial arts and boxing by reviewing the ONE FC 2 card and previewing the February 18 Paul Williams- Nobuhiro Ishida fight, as well learning from the teachings of the one and only Don King. ONE FC had its second outing on Saturday, February 11, with a ten-fight card at the BritAma Arena, also known as Kelapa Gading Sports Mall, in North Jakarta, Indonesia. We discuss the fights on this entertaining show, including the main event and best fight on the card, a nonstop battle where Felipe Enomoto submitted Ole Laursen with a rear naked choke in the second round. We also examine which fighters gained the most from their wins, including Bae Young Kwon, who submitted previously-unbeaten Honorio Banario, also with a rear naked choke, in the first round of their fight. And we discuss some of the other lessons of this show, the good and bad on it, and how this show also advanced the international recognition of ONE FC and many of its fighters. On Saturday, February 18, a major boxing card will be held in Corpus Christi, Texas, when former world champion Paul Williams (40-2, 27 KOs) takes on Nobuhiro Ishida (24-6-2, 9 KOs) of Osaka, Japan, and IBF light heavyweight champion Tavoris Cloud (24-0, 19 KOs) fights former world champion Gabriel Campillo (21-3-1, 8 KOs) of Madrid, Spain. This card will be telecast live in the U.S. on Showtime. On a media conference call, we spoke with both Paul Williams and Nobuhiro Ishida about this fight and the direction of their careers. We also have comments from Don King calling for a light heavyweight tournament and the value of tournaments for boxing, an observation which is valid for all the combat sports. The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by Ian Carpenter. No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by: ONE Fighting Championship. ONE FC is Asia's largest and most prestigious mixed martial arts event. ONE FC features the best Asian fighters and has initiated the ONE Asia Partnership Network, which includes most of the major MMA promotions and MMA gyms in Asia. For more information, go to their web site, at ONEFC.com. DARE Championship. Based in Thailand, DARE is a mixed martial arts event where fighters from all over the world compete to become the DARE Champion. DARE is one of the first MMA promotions in Thailand, and has been televised in many countries and online. For more information, go to their web site, at DareFightSports.com. Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. Your #1 source for exciting auction shopping and outstanding deals on just about anything! Top rated, most trusted auction site online. Where do you shop? Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/. The American Sambo Association, which is committed to becoming the premier association in the U.S. dedicated to the advancement of Sambo. Sambo is a form of sport, self-defense, and combat established in the former Soviet Union during the early twentieth century. For more information, go to ussambo.com. Thanks, Eddie Goldman EddieGoldman.com

No Holds Barred: Leslie Koroma on Combat Sports in Africa

Eddie Goldman — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 15:45:40 GMT

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with Leslie Koroma, the chairman and CEO of the African Sports Media Network, and the founder of the digital and print magazine African Sports Monthly. While African Sports Monthly started as an online magazine in 2010, the first print edition is due out in late February 2012. The African Sports Media Network is also in the process of developing African sports television and radio networks. We spoke with Leslie Koroma, who is currently based in Houston, Texas, by phone Thursday afternoon, about the history-making general growth of sports in Africa. We began, however, by noting the tragic deaths of over 70 people at the recent football riots in Egypt, what that signified, and why that was the biggest sports story in the world in the past week. Africa is the birthplace of the combat sports, and we focused on recent developments in the combat sports there. Leslie Koroma explained that while there are several mixed martial arts organizations in Africa as well as a number of prominent boxers and boxing events, the biggest form of combat sports in Sub-Saharan Africa is Senegalese wrestling. Based on the traditional style of wrestling in Senegal, Senegalese wrestling has developed into a major professional sport which is widely televised in the region, and has produced colorful stars with nicknames like Tyson and Yekini, with many of their matches available on YouTube. We also discussed the need for Senegalese wrestling to have a more formal structure than it has now, the rise of new MMA groups in South Africa and Egypt, the enormous talent in Africa that deserves worldwide exposure, the improving economic climate in Africa, the possibility of Africa overtaking Asia in growth sometime later this century, and much more. The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by Ian Carpenter. No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by: ONE Fighting Championship. ONE FC is Asia's largest and most prestigious mixed martial arts event. ONE FC features the best Asian fighters and has initiated the ONE Asia Partnership Network, which includes most of the major MMA promotions and MMA gyms in Asia. For more information, go to their web site, at ONEFC.com. DARE Championship. Based in Thailand, DARE is a mixed martial arts event where fighters from all over the world compete to become the DARE Champion. DARE is one of the first MMA promotions in Thailand, and has been televised in many countries and online. For more information, go to their web site, at DareFightSports.com. Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. Your #1 source for exciting auction shopping and outstanding deals on just about anything! Top rated, most trusted auction site online. Where do you shop? Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/. The American Sambo Association, which is committed to becoming the premier association in the U.S. dedicated to the advancement of Sambo. Sambo is a form of sport, self-defense, and combat established in the former Soviet Union during the early twentieth century. For more information, go to ussambo.com. Thanks, Eddie Goldman EddieGoldman.com

No Holds Barred: Kevin Jackson on Mat Mayhem

Eddie Goldman — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 12:00:05 GMT

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with Kevin Jackson, the Olympic gold medalist and two-time world champion freestyle wrestler, who is the head wrestling coach for the legendary Iowa State Cyclones. This weekend, February 11 and 12, the 2012 NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals, the national dual meet championship for Division I NCAA wrestling, will take place with a new format, which has been dubbed Mat Mayhem. There will be four regional tournaments, each featuring six of the top teams in the U.S. The winners of each tournament will face each other on February 19, making Mat Mayhem a college wrestling version of the Final Four in college basketball. The four regional tournaments will be held Saturday, February 11, at Rutgers in New Brunswick, New Jersey, and Sunday, February 12, at Iowa State in Ames, Iowa, at Oklahoma State in Stillwater, Oklahoma, and at Cornell in Ithaca, New York. Iowa State has received the number three seed for the National Duals Midwest Regional in their home building, Hilton Coliseum. The first round will begin at 11 a.m. CST with Iowa State vs. Wisconsin on Mat 1 and Northern Iowa vs. Virginia Tech on Mat 2. Both Iowa and Oregon State will have first-round byes. The winner of Northern Iowa/Virginia Tech will face Iowa in the second round beginning at 1 p.m. CST. Oregon State will square off against the winner of Iowa State/Wisconsin in round two. The final round will begin at 3 p.m. CST. with the championship bout and extra match between the losing first-round teams. We spoke with Coach Jackson by phone Thursday afternoon about Mat Mayhem and how he expects Iowa State to do. "College wrestling is as good as it has been," said Coach Jackson. Besides having better coaches than ever, he explained, "the wrestling has gotten better." We also discussed the overall performance of the Iowa State team, which has a large percentage of freshmen who have been starting, as well as some key starters who have been sidelined with injuries. But with the success of Andrew Sorenson, the return of Jerome Ward and Chris Spangler, and the maturation of this young team, Coach Jackson expects them to be peaking just as the season approaches the Big 12 and NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships. We also discussed the upcoming U.S. Olympic Wrestling Trials in April, what wrestling needs to do to make it easier for fans to watch it, and more. There is a special section on Mat Mayhem on TheMat.com com. The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by Ian Carpenter. No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by: ONE Fighting Championship. ONE FC is Asia's largest and most prestigious mixed martial arts event. ONE FC features the best Asian fighters and has initiated the ONE Asia Partnership Network, which includes most of the major MMA promotions and MMA gyms in Asia. For more information, go to their web site, at ONEFC.com. DARE Championship. Based in Thailand, DARE is a mixed martial arts event where fighters from all over the world compete to become the DARE Champion. DARE is one of the first MMA promotions in Thailand, and has been televised in many countries and online. For more information, go to their web site, at DareFightSports.com. Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. Your #1 source for exciting auction shopping and outstanding deals on just about anything! Top rated, most trusted auction site online. Where do you shop? Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/. The American Sambo Association, which is committed to becoming the premier association in the U.S. dedicated to the advancement of Sambo. Sambo is a form of sport, self-defense, and combat established in the former Soviet Union during the early twentieth century. For more information, go to ussambo.com. Thanks, Eddie Goldman EddieGoldman.com

No Holds Barred: Rose Gracie Cracks the Code

Eddie Goldman — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 15:03:23 GMT

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman once again speaks with Rose Gracie, the president of the Gracie U.S. Nationals and the Gracie Worlds, about the set of rules at these events where there are no points or judges and a competitor can only win by submission. The 2012 Gracie U.S. Nationals jiu-jitsu tournament, which featured both gi and no-gi divisions, took place January 28-29 in Los Angeles. The 2012 Gracie Worlds, also with gi and no-gi divisions, will take place Saturday, July 14, and Sunday, July 15, at the TheFitExpo San Jose at the San Jose McEnery Convention Center in San Jose, California. We spoke with Rose Gracie by phone on Monday to follow up on our interview which took place before the Gracie Nationals. "I literally felt like I cracked the code," said Rose Gracie about the results of using these rules allowing only victory by submission. "It was literally in slow motion like watching the rebirth of jiu-jitsu." We discussed how these rules reinvigorated this competition and made it better for both the athletes and fans than under the old rules, which had points, advantages, and judges. She explained how these rules go back to the original vision of jiu-jitsu pioneered by her family, including her grandfather, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu co-founder Helio Gracie, and her father, UFC co-founder Rorion Gracie, who attended the event to support her. We also discussed the relationship of jiu-jitsu to mixed martial arts, striking and grappling, the drug testing which took place at the event, the coverage by the media, how the kid's competition was conducted, the importance of using events like these to teach children values to make society better, how events under these rules may once again revolutionize jiu-jitsu, and much more. The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by Ian Carpenter. No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by: ONE Fighting Championship. ONE FC is Asia's largest and most prestigious mixed martial arts event. ONE FC features the best Asian fighters and has initiated the ONE Asia Partnership Network, which includes most of the major MMA promotions and MMA gyms in Asia. For more information, go to their web site, at ONEFC.com. DARE Championship. Based in Thailand, DARE is a mixed martial arts event where fighters from all over the world compete to become the DARE Champion. DARE is one of the first MMA promotions in Thailand, and has been televised in many countries and online. For more information, go to their web site, at DareFightSports.com. Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. Your #1 source for exciting auction shopping and outstanding deals on just about anything! Top rated, most trusted auction site online. Where do you shop? Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/. The American Sambo Association, which is committed to becoming the premier association in the U.S. dedicated to the advancement of Sambo. Sambo is a form of sport, self-defense, and combat established in the former Soviet Union during the early twentieth century. For more information, go to ussambo.com. Thanks, Eddie Goldman EddieGoldman.com

No Holds Barred: James Feng on Premiere of New MMA Documentary, Fight Life

Eddie Goldman — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 08:16:27 GMT

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with James Feng, producer and director of the new mixed martial arts documentary film, Fight Life. Fight Life gives us a behind-the-scenes and unvarnished look at the everyday lives of mixed martial arts fighters, both before, during, and after their fights. Featured are Jake Shields, Lyle Beerbohm, Nick Diaz, and Gilbert Melendez, along with interviews with MMA legends Big John McCarthy, Frank Shamrock, and others. The film had its premiere last month in San Francisco, and is now playing at a one-week engagement at the Clinton Street Theater in Portland, Oregon. Screenings will soon be announced in California for Sacramento, San Jose, Los Angeles, and San Diego, as well as in other locations. We spoke with James Feng by phone on Thursday about this film. He recounted the tremendously positive response the film received by those who saw it at its premiere in San Francisco. The film, he stressed, showcases the real lives of the fighters rather than offering "glitz". We also discussed many of the issues raised in the film, including the low pay of MMA fighters, cutting weight, the absence of health insurance, amateur MMA, and much more. Fight Life is a candid and important film about the lives of MMA fighters, and you are encouraged to see it when you can. The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by Ian Carpenter. No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by: ONE Fighting Championship. ONE FC is Asia's largest and most prestigious mixed martial arts event. ONE FC features the best Asian fighters and has initiated the ONE Asia Partnership Network, which includes most of the major MMA promotions and MMA gyms in Asia. For more information, go to their web site, at ONEFC.com. DARE Championship. Based in Thailand, DARE is a mixed martial arts event where fighters from all over the world compete to become the DARE Champion. DARE is one of the first MMA promotions in Thailand, and has been televised in many countries and online. For more information, go to their web site, at DareFightSports.com. Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. Your #1 source for exciting auction shopping and outstanding deals on just about anything! Top rated, most trusted auction site online. Where do you shop? Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/. The American Sambo Association, which is committed to becoming the premier association in the U.S. dedicated to the advancement of Sambo. Sambo is a form of sport, self-defense, and combat established in the former Soviet Union during the early twentieth century. For more information, go to ussambo.com. Thanks, Eddie Goldman EddieGoldman.com

No Holds Barred: Tadashi Tanaka on the Decline of MMA in Japan

Eddie Goldman — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 02:01:09 GMT

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with our long-time colleague and friend, the Japanese mixed martial arts and puroresu (Japanese pro wrestling) journalist Tadashi Tanaka. He currently works for the Japanese web site Miruhon.net. Tadashi Tanaka is the journalist who broke the story in 2006 in the Japanese magazine Shukan Gendai (Weekly Gendai) containing allegations that the Pride Fighting Championships, once the largest mixed martial arts organization in the world, was actually owned by the Yakuza, Japanese organized crime. Shortly after, and despite very high television ratings, Pride shows were dropped by Fuji TV, a major national broadcast network in Japan. Pride eventually went under, and its assets were later purchased by Zuffa, the parent company of UFC. We spoke with Tadashi Tanaka Wednesday during his visit to New York at the Renzo Gracie Academy. We discussed the main reasons for the fall of Pride, why organizations like K-1 and Dream have also been in decline, the future of smaller Japanese MMA organizations, the prospects for the UFC in Japan, the growth of MMA elsewhere in Asia, and much more. The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by Ian Carpenter. No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by: ONE Fighting Championship. ONE FC is Asia's largest and most prestigious mixed martial arts event. ONE FC features the best Asian fighters and has initiated the ONE Asia Partnership Network, which includes most of the major MMA promotions and MMA gyms in Asia. For more information, go to their web site, at ONEFC.com. DARE Championship. Based in Thailand, DARE is a mixed martial arts event where fighters from all over the world compete to become the DARE Champion. DARE is one of the first MMA promotions in Thailand, and has been televised in many countries and online. For more information, go to their web site, at DareFightSports.com. Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. Your #1 source for exciting auction shopping and outstanding deals on just about anything! Top rated, most trusted auction site online. Where do you shop? Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/. The American Sambo Association, which is committed to becoming the premier association in the U.S. dedicated to the advancement of Sambo. Sambo is a form of sport, self-defense, and combat established in the former Soviet Union during the early twentieth century. For more information, go to ussambo.com. Thanks, Eddie Goldman EddieGoldman.com

No Holds Barred: Rolles Gracie

Eddie Goldman — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 02:15:13 GMT

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with mixed martial arts fighter and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu champion Rolles Gracie. On Saturday, February 11, Rolles Gracie will be facing the more experienced and larger Bob Sapp in a heavyweight bout on the ONE Fighting Championship card at the Kelapa Gading Sports Mall in Jakarta, Indonesia. We spoke with Rolles Gracie by phone Tuesday evening about what to expect in this fight. While some see this as an easy win for this member of the legendary Gracie family, Rolles dismissed such thinking and explained why he views Bob Sapp as a very dangerous opponent. He explained why his loss in UFC two years ago actually helped him improve as a fighter, and to what he attributes that defeat. He discussed his preparation for this fight, which included training with Rashad Evans and Mike Van Arsdale, why he is looking forward to fighting once again in Asia and for ONE FC, why it is better for fighters if there is not a monopoly in mixed martial arts, why he aims to finish all his fights, and more. The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by Ian Carpenter. No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by: ONE Fighting Championship. ONE FC is Asia's largest and most prestigious mixed martial arts event. ONE FC features the best Asian fighters and has initiated the ONE Asia Partnership Network, which includes most of the major MMA promotions and MMA gyms in Asia. For more information, go to their web site, at ONEFC.com. DARE Championship. Based in Thailand, DARE is a mixed martial arts event where fighters from all over the world compete to become the DARE Champion. DARE is one of the first MMA promotions in Thailand, and has been televised in many countries and online. For more information, go to their web site, at DareFightSports.com. Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. Your #1 source for exciting auction shopping and outstanding deals on just about anything! Top rated, most trusted auction site online. Where do you shop? Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/. The American Sambo Association, which is committed to becoming the premier association in the U.S. dedicated to the advancement of Sambo. Sambo is a form of sport, self-defense, and combat established in the former Soviet Union during the early twentieth century. For more information, go to ussambo.com. Thanks, Eddie Goldman EddieGoldman.com

No Holds Barred: Mike Haskamp of Legend Fighting Championship

Eddie Goldman — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 02:07:31 GMT

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with Mike Haskamp, the co-founder of the Hong Kong-based MMA promotion, the Legend Fighting Championship. Legend FC will be having their seventh show Saturday, February 11, at the City of Dreams in Macau SAR, China. Headlining the ten-fight card will be two title fights. Legend welterweight champion Bae Myung Ho of South Korea will be fighting challenger Li Jingliang from China and China Top Team. In the co-main event, Yao Honggang, also of China Top Team, will defend his Legend bantamweight title against fellow Chinese fighter Jumabieke Tuerxun, who holds a victory over Yao. We spoke by Skype with Mike Haskamp Monday morning (which was Sunday night in the U.S.) about this card and the growth of Legend FC. He elaborated on the origins of Legend FC as well as the fascinating beginnings and development of MMA in China. He discussed their television deals, which will have Legend 7 seen in many countries in the Asia-Pacific region, as well as on pay-per-view in North America. Legend has also just signed a distribution and syndication deal with ESPN International, with more details coming soon. We also discussed how Legend carries out self-regulation of events, the fighter safety measures taken, the rules and use of a five-roped ring, and much more. The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by Ian Carpenter. No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by: ONE Fighting Championship. ONE FC is Asia's largest and most prestigious mixed martial arts event. ONE FC features the best Asian fighters and has initiated the ONE Asia Partnership Network, which includes most of the major MMA promotions and MMA gyms in Asia. For more information, go to their web site, at ONEFC.com. DARE Championship. Based in Thailand, DARE is a mixed martial arts event where fighters from all over the world compete to become the DARE Champion. DARE is one of the first MMA promotions in Thailand, and has been televised in many countries and online. For more information, go to their web site, at DareFightSports.com. Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. Your #1 source for exciting auction shopping and outstanding deals on just about anything! Top rated, most trusted auction site online. Where do you shop? Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/. The American Sambo Association, which is committed to becoming the premier association in the U.S. dedicated to the advancement of Sambo. Sambo is a form of sport, self-defense, and combat established in the former Soviet Union during the early twentieth century. For more information, go to ussambo.com. Thanks, Eddie Goldman EddieGoldman.com

No Holds Barred: Rose Gracie Explains Submission-Only Victories at Gracie U.S. Nationals

Eddie Goldman — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 19:29:40 GMT

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with Rose Gracie, the president of the Gracie U.S. Nationals and the Gracie Worlds. The 2012 Gracie U.S. Nationals jiu-jitsu tournament, featuring both gi and no-gi divisions, takes place Saturday, January 28, and Sunday, January 29, at the Los Angeles Fitness Expo at the Los Angeles Convention Center. But unlike other jiu-jitsu and grappling tournaments, including this event in previous years, the 2012 competition has a new set of rules: you can only win by submission. There are no points, no advantages, and no judges in these 15-minute matches. Rose Gracie, who is the granddaughter of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu co-founder Helio Gracie and the daughter of UFC co-founder Rorion Gracie, had become dissatisfied with the lack of offense, scoring, action, and technique she had seen in many jiu-jitsu and grappling tournaments. "People can win a match without even attempting a technique at all, and they're proud of it," she explained. "It's not jiu-jitsu anymore." In addition, there will be drug-testing at the 2012 Gracie U.S. Nationals, a first for such an event. We spoke by phone on Wednesday with Rose Gracie about this event and these innovative new rules. She also discussed the changing role of women in the Gracie family, and in jiu-jitsu and grappling as well. It will indeed be very instructive to see how these new rules work out at this event, so expect a follow-up soon after the event. The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by Ian Carpenter. No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by: ONE Fighting Championship. ONE FC is Asia's largest and most prestigious mixed martial arts event. ONE FC features the best Asian fighters and has initiated the ONE Asia Partnership Network, which includes most of the major MMA promotions and MMA gyms in Asia. For more information, go to their web site, at ONEFC.com. DARE Championship. Based in Thailand, DARE is a mixed martial arts event where fighters from all over the world compete to become the DARE Champion. DARE is one of the first MMA promotions in Thailand, and has been televised in many countries and online. For more information, go to their web site, at DareFightSports.com. Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. Your #1 source for exciting auction shopping and outstanding deals on just about anything! Top rated, most trusted auction site online. Where do you shop? Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/. The American Sambo Association, which is committed to becoming the premier association in the U.S. dedicated to the advancement of Sambo. Sambo is a form of sport, self-defense, and combat established in the former Soviet Union during the early twentieth century. For more information, go to ussambo.com. Thanks, Eddie Goldman EddieGoldman.com

No Holds Barred: Vaughn Anderson, More on King Mo

Eddie Goldman — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 17:51:56 GMT

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with mixed martial arts and muay Thai fighter Vaughn "Blud" Anderson. Based in Thailand and training at the Legacy Gym in Ubon Ratchathani, Vaughn "Blud" Anderson has competed under numerous rules and in many diverse organizations, including K-1, Art of War, and Martial Combat. He also has been a television commentator for Legend FC MMA telecasts around the world. His next fight, on Saturday, February 4, in Thailand, will be under K-1 rules on a card called MVM, which stands for "muay Thai vs. martial arts". We spoke with Vaughn "Blud" Anderson by Skype Tuesday about his upcoming fight and his fascinating career fighting in Asia in many different styles. We discussed his one-night tournament victory on December 18, 2011, on a PRO Fighting MMA card in Taiwan, where he won all three fights by first-round knockout or TKO. He explained why fighting is so important to his life. We also discussed his experiences fighting in so many organizations, the enormous growth of MMA in Asia, issues related to governance and regulation of combat sports in Asia, and much more. We also open with an update on the situation regarding MMA fighter "King" Mo Lawal, who tested positive for the banned steroid drostanolone following his January 7 Strikeforce fight, but maintained that he never knowingly took any banned substances. He and his manager Mike Kogan now believe they have found the culprit for this positive test: an over-the-counter product called S Mass Lean Gainer by Rock Solid, which was recommended to him by a store employee to help deal with leg pain. We also stress that athletes should try to use the services provided by various anti-doping organizations, including the Banned Substances Control Group, set up by renowned anti-doping expert Dr. Don Catlin, and the National Center for Drug Free Sport. The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by Ian Carpenter. No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by: ONE Fighting Championship. ONE FC is Asia's largest and most prestigious mixed martial arts event. ONE FC features the best Asian fighters and has initiated the ONE Asia Partnership Network, which includes most of the major MMA promotions and MMA gyms in Asia. For more information, go to their web site, at ONEFC.com. Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. Your #1 source for exciting auction shopping and outstanding deals on just about anything! Top rated, most trusted auction site online. Where do you shop? Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/. The American Sambo Association, which is committed to becoming the premier association in the U.S. dedicated to the advancement of Sambo. Sambo is a form of sport, self-defense, and combat established in the former Soviet Union during the early twentieth century. For more information, go to ussambo.com. Thanks, Eddie Goldman EddieGoldman.com

No Holds Barred: King Mo Lawal and Mike Kogan Discuss Steroids and Supplements

Eddie Goldman — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 20:33:03 GMT

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with mixed martial arts fighter and former elite freestyle and college wrestler "King" Mo Lawal, and his manager, Mike Kogan. On Tuesday, January 17, the Nevada State Athletic Commission announced that "King" Mo has tested positive for the banned steroid drostanolone, also known as Masteron, following his January 7 Strikeforce fight, a TKO victory over Lorenz Larkin. Since then, both "King" Mo and Mike Kogan have maintained that he has never knowingly taken any performance enhancing drug. After carefully reviewing the supplements he had been taking, all purchased through public retailers, and investigating the history of all of them, they now believe that this positive drug test was the result of taking a mislabeled over-the-counter supplement. They plan to name publicly this supplement as soon as possible. We spoke with both "King" Mo Lawal and Mike Kogan by phone late Sunday night about this terrible situation. They stressed that they have nothing to hide, want to be one hundred percent transparent, and will abide by the decision of the Nevada State Athletic Commission when they have a hearing on this matter, which will probably be in March. "King" Mo described how this mess has affected him, although he said that the outpouring of support for him and his background in wrestling have helped him get through this. He also said that he is willing to work with VADA, the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association, which conducts random and unannounced urine and blood tests of athletes, unlike the weaker testing done by the various athletic commissions. We discussed what could be done to deal with this problem of unregulated supplements being so widely available, the need for some type of independent certification and testing of these supplements, what fight promotions can do in the battle against doping, and more. In addition, we open with a commentary on one of the key sources of this problem: the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 (DSHEA), which prohibits the U.S. Food and Drug Administration from testing and approving these types of supplements before they reach the market. This law, passed by politicians of both major U.S. political parties following extensive lobbying by the supplement industry, never should have been passed and needs to be changed now before it does any more harm to the public, athletes of course included. The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by Ian Carpenter. No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by: ONE Fighting Championship. ONE FC is Asia's largest and most prestigious mixed martial arts event. ONE FC features the best Asian fighters and has initiated the ONE Asia Partnership Network, which includes most of the major MMA promotions and MMA gyms in Asia. For more information, go to their web site, at ONEFC.com. Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. Your #1 source for exciting auction shopping and outstanding deals on just about anything! Top rated, most trusted auction site online. Where do you shop? Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/. The American Sambo Association, which is committed to becoming the premier association in the U.S. dedicated to the advancement of Sambo. Sambo is a form of sport, self-defense, and combat established in the former Soviet Union during the early twentieth century. For more information, go to ussambo.com. Thanks, Eddie Goldman EddieGoldman.com

No Holds Barred: Lee Li On Big Lunar New Year For MMA In Asia

Eddie Goldman — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 21:46:05 GMT

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with the journalist, writer, and our Hong King-based Asian correspondent, Lee Li, who publishes the web site MMA in Asia. After the festivities are over for the traditional Lunar New Year, which begins January 23, there will be an explosion of mixed martial arts events throughout Asia. ONE FC has an event on Saturday, February 11, in Jakarta, Indonesia, and Legend FC has an event the same day in Macau. The following week there are two cards in the Philippines. There are numerous other events scheduled all over Asia. We spoke by Skype with Lee Li on Sunday about this upcoming series of events. She began by discussing the Dream card from December 31 in Japan, and went on to examine the many events and fighters in these upcoming shows, including ONE FC, Legend FC, ROAD FC, URCC, PXC, RUFF, and many more. We discussed the importance of establishing effective and professional governance of MMA in the many countries of Asia, the issues related to regulation and self-regulation of these promotions, the announcement of the formation of the Super Fight League in India, and much more. The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by Ian Carpenter. No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by: ONE Fighting Championship. ONE FC is Asia's largest and most prestigious mixed martial arts event. ONE FC features the best Asian fighters and has initiated the ONE Asia Partnership Network, which includes most of the major MMA promotions and MMA gyms in Asia. For more information, go to their web site, at ONEFC.com. Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. Your #1 source for exciting auction shopping and outstanding deals on just about anything! Top rated, most trusted auction site online. Where do you shop? Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/. The American Sambo Association, which is committed to becoming the premier association in the U.S. dedicated to the advancement of Sambo. Sambo is a form of sport, self-defense, and combat established in the former Soviet Union during the early twentieth century. For more information, go to ussambo.com. Thanks, Eddie Goldman EddieGoldman.com

No Holds Barred: Ole Laursen

Eddie Goldman — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 19:26:47 GMT

(Photo by Lee Li) On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with the former world and European muay Thai champion and now a noted mixed martial arts fighter, and the owner of the Legacy Gym in Thailand, Ole Laursen. He will next be fighting in the main event of the ONE FC 2 "Battle of Heroes" card on Saturday, February 11, in Jakarta, Indonesia. His opponent will be the Swiss-based Japanese fighter Felipe Enomoto of the Enomoto Dojo. We spoke with Ole Laursen by Skype Thursday as he was training for this fight while building a new gym on Boracay Island in the Philippines. He talked about his recovery from neck and knee injuries, which had forced him to pull out of a planned fight at the first ONE FC card in September against URCC champion Eduard Folayang. We discussed his return to the Philippines to train for this fight, what he knows about and how he is preparing to fight Felipe Enomoto, his transition to mixed martial arts from muay Thai, his growth as a mixed martial artist including his five-fight winning streak following losses to Genki Sudo and Caol Uno, how he has incorporated grappling into his arsenal, what led him to becoming a professional fighter, the enormous potential for growth of MMA in Asia, how ONE FC is taking MMA in Asia to a new level, why 2012 will be his year, and more. The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by Ian Carpenter. No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by: ONE Fighting Championship. ONE FC is Asia's largest and most prestigious mixed martial arts event. ONE FC features the best Asian fighters and has initiated the ONE Asia Partnership Network, which includes most of the major MMA promotions and MMA gyms in Asia. For more information, go to their web site, at ONEFC.com. Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. Your #1 source for exciting auction shopping and outstanding deals on just about anything! Top rated, most trusted auction site online. Where do you shop? Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/. The American Sambo Association, which is committed to becoming the premier association in the U.S. dedicated to the advancement of Sambo. Sambo is a form of sport, self-defense, and combat established in the former Soviet Union during the early twentieth century. For more information, go to ussambo.com. Thanks, Eddie Goldman EddieGoldman.com

No Holds Barred: John Barr of ESPN

Eddie Goldman — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 01:09:53 GMT

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with John Barr, a reporter in ESPN's Enterprise Unit. On the ESPN web site, he wrote, along with Josh Gross, the article "UFC fighters say low pay simply brutal". He also reported on this issue and interviewed numerous people on the ESPN television show "Outside the Lines". We spoke with John Barr by phone at length Tuesday afternoon about these controversial reports. He explained why ESPN became interested in this topic after UFC parent company Zuffa purchased Strikeforce, and how they arrived at their estimate of what percentage of UFC's gross revenue UFC fighters receive. We discussed the absence of transparency and disclosure to the fighters of UFC's finances, how and why they interviewed numerous fighters on and off camera, the private reaction of many fighters to their reports, the role of discretionary bonuses as a means of control of fighters, and the lack of protections for mixed martial arts fighters afforded to boxers under the Muhammad Ali Act. He also answered charges that ESPN ran this story because of some vendetta against the UFC, that positive comments from fighters about the UFC pay structure were edited out of the story, that the reports were filled with lies and did not give all the facts, and much more. The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by Ian Carpenter. No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by: ONE Fighting Championship. ONE FC is Asia's largest and most prestigious mixed martial arts event. ONE FC features the best Asian fighters and has initiated the ONE Asia Partnership Network, which includes most of the major MMA promotions and MMA gyms in Asia. For more information, go to their web site, at ONEFC.com. Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. Your #1 source for exciting auction shopping and outstanding deals on just about anything! Top rated, most trusted auction site online. Where do you shop? Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/. The American Sambo Association, which is committed to becoming the premier association in the U.S. dedicated to the advancement of Sambo. Sambo is a form of sport, self-defense, and combat established in the former Soviet Union during the early twentieth century. For more information, go to ussambo.com. Thanks, Eddie Goldman EddieGoldman.com

No Holds Barred: Mark Ribowsky on the Relevance of Howard Cosell

Eddie Goldman — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 22:42:49 GMT

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with Mark Ribowsky, author of the new biography Howard Cosell: The Man, the Myth, and the Transformation of American Sports. Howard Cosell was not only a "cultural icon", a highly insecure and (thus) highly pompous man, and an always controversial sportscaster, but also a pioneer in developing independent sports journalism and critiques of the powers-that-be in the world of sports. Although he eventually became a major part of the sports establishment through his decades of work for the ABC television and radio networks from the1950s through the 1980s, his main legacy is that he strove to "tell it like it is" and stand up for what he believed was right in sports. We spoke with Mark Ribowsky by phone Monday afternoon about his important new book and the legacy of Howard Cosell. Before Cosell, he argued, sports broadcasting was "a forum for Ken dolls to parrot the company line". After Cosell, who passed away in 1995 at the age of 77, in sports, and particularly in what passes today for sports journalism, "people have gotten way too soft". This book provides an important and critical analysis of the life of one of the pioneers of sports journalism, and is a must-read for all those, journalists or not, who stand for truth and justice in the world of sports and in the world in general. The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by Ian Carpenter. No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by: ONE Fighting Championship. ONE FC is Asia's largest and most prestigious mixed martial arts event. ONE FC features the best Asian fighters and has initiated the ONE Asia Partnership Network, which includes most of the major MMA promotions and MMA gyms in Asia. For more information, go to their web site, at ONEFC.com. Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. Your #1 source for exciting auction shopping and outstanding deals on just about anything! Top rated, most trusted auction site online. Where do you shop? Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/. The American Sambo Association, which is committed to becoming the premier association in the U.S. dedicated to the advancement of Sambo. Sambo is a form of sport, self-defense, and combat established in the former Soviet Union during the early twentieth century. For more information, go to ussambo.com. Thanks, Eddie Goldman EddieGoldman.com

No Holds Barred: Gina Carano

Eddie Goldman — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 00:25:51 GMT

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with former mixed martial arts and muay Thai fighter Gina Carano, who is the star of the new spy film "Haywire". In this film, directed by Academy Award winner Steven Soderbergh, she plays Mallory Kane, a covert operative who is betrayed by her cohorts. We spoke with Gina Carano by phone Wednesday afternoon about her widely-acclaimed starring role, her first, in this movie. She discussed her training in weapons and fighting for this movie, in which she performed almost all of her own stunts. She commented on her character, which was not the stereotypical, one-dimensional role usually given to fighters, and her transition from fighting to acting. She also discussed the battle to legalize mixed martial arts in New York; her reaction to her last opponent in MMA, Cris "Cyborg" Santos, who defeated her in August 2009, testing positive for steroids after her December 17, 2011, Strikeforce fight; her explanation about a report that her voice was altered in this new film; and more. "Haywire" opens in theaters in the U.S. on January 20. The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by Ian Carpenter. No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by: ONE Fighting Championship. ONE FC is Asia's largest and most prestigious mixed martial arts event. ONE FC features the best Asian fighters and has initiated the ONE Asia Partnership Network, which includes most of the major MMA promotions and MMA gyms in Asia. For more information, go to their web site, at ONEFC.com. Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. Your #1 source for exciting auction shopping and outstanding deals on just about anything! Top rated, most trusted auction site online. Where do you shop? Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/. The American Sambo Association, which is committed to becoming the premier association in the U.S. dedicated to the advancement of Sambo. Sambo is a form of sport, self-defense, and combat established in the former Soviet Union during the early twentieth century. For more information, go to ussambo.com. Thanks, Eddie Goldman EddieGoldman.com

No Holds Barred: Corruption 2012

Eddie Goldman — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 10:12:20 GMT

(Photo: Esther Lin, Strikeforce) On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman discusses the numerous cases of corruption and bad governance in the combat sports which have already cropped up in this brand new year. Among the topics discussed are the statement by heavyweight boxer Dereck Chisora that boxing is "the most dodgy and corrupt sport in the world"; what we know about Mustafa Ameen, the so-called "mystery man" who was ringside at the controversial Lamont Peterson-Amir Khan fight; the positive doping test for Strikeforce fighter Cris "Cyborg" Santos, her excuses, and how this all once again illustrates the inadequate drug testing in the combat sports; the important steps taken by the International Olympic Committee and the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association in the battle against dope cheats; the late stoppage in the one-sided Strikeforce fight on Saturday, January 7, where "King" Mo Lawal scored a second-round TKO over Lorenz Larkin; new developments in the fight against corruption in FIFA; and much more. The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by Ian Carpenter. No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by: Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. Your #1 source for exciting auction shopping and outstanding deals on just about anything! Top rated, most trusted auction site online. Where do you shop? Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/. The American Sambo Association, which is committed to becoming the premier association in the U.S. dedicated to the advancement of Sambo. Sambo is a form of sport, self-defense, and combat established in the former Soviet Union during the early twentieth century. For more information, go to ussambo.com. Thanks, Eddie Goldman EddieGoldman.com

No Holds Barred: On Bull Riding, MMA, Boxing, and Wrestling This Weekend

Eddie Goldman — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 20:00:53 GMT

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman previews the 2012 season opener for the Professional Bull Riders at Madison Square Garden in New York, January 6-8, as well as the Strikeforce MMA card in Las Vegas on January 7. Also discussed are the drama outside the ring in boxing involving Floyd Mayweather (whose jail sentence from a domestic violence case was just postponed until June) and Victor Ortiz. And previewed is the showdown Saturday night, January 7, between the number one college wrestling team in the U.S., the University of Iowa Hawkeyes, and the number two college wrestling team, the Oklahoma State Cowboys. Also noted are the similarities between bull riding and MMA, including the success in both sports of athletes from Brazil; how bull riding is legal in New York but not MMA; how New York Governor Andrew Cuomo wants to legalize casino gambling which requires a state constitutional amendment, but has said nothing about legalizing MMA; and more. The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by Ian Carpenter. No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by: Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. Your #1 source for exciting auction shopping and outstanding deals on just about anything! Top rated, most trusted auction site online. Where do you shop? Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/. The American Sambo Association, which is committed to becoming the premier association in the U.S. dedicated to the advancement of Sambo. Sambo is a form of sport, self-defense, and combat established in the former Soviet Union during the early twentieth century. For more information, go to ussambo.com. Thanks, Eddie Goldman EddieGoldman.com

No Holds Barred: King Mo Lawal

Eddie Goldman — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 10:39:12 GMT

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with mixed martial arts fighter and former elite freestyle and college wrestler "King" Mo Lawal. "King" Mo, the former Strikeforce light heavyweight champion, will be returning to action this Saturday, January 7, against the unbeaten but less experienced Lorenz Larkin. This Strikeforce card will be televised in the U.S. on Showtime and take place in Las Vegas, Nevada. We spoke with "King" Mo on Thursday about what to expect in this fight with Lorenz Larkin. "King" Mo predicted that it will be reminiscent of the 2001 boxing match, also in Las Vegas, between Marco Antonio Barrera and "Prince" Naseem Hamed, in which Barrera dominated the unorthodox Hamed en route to a unanimous decision win. "King" Mo, of course, expects to emulate Barrera with Larkin performing like the "Prince", although "King" Mo does expect it to be a competitive fight. We also discussed numerous other topics with "King" Mo, including why his legendary ring entrances now have to be toned down; his contract status; why he wants to win a regional boxing title and fight Ola Afolabi, who is the number-one ranked WBO cruiserweight contender; the ever-changing rules in international wrestling; why he wants to include knees to the head of a downed opponent in the MMA unified rules; why Andre Ward is the 2011 boxer of the year; and more. The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by Ian Carpenter. No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by: Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. Your #1 source for exciting auction shopping and outstanding deals on just about anything! Top rated, most trusted auction site online. Where do you shop? Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/. The American Sambo Association, which is committed to becoming the premier association in the U.S. dedicated to the advancement of Sambo. Sambo is a form of sport, self-defense, and combat established in the former Soviet Union during the early twentieth century. For more information, go to ussambo.com. Thanks, Eddie Goldman EddieGoldman.com

No Holds Barred: Lessons from New Year's Weekend Fights, 2011 No Holds Barred Awards

Eddie Goldman — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 09:53:33 GMT

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman reviews the fights and some of the issues arising from the New Year's weekend cards, and presents the 2011 No Holds Barred Awards. The boxing card on Showtime Friday night, December 30, only re-raised questions about the neurological health of returning fighters Jermain Taylor and Andre Dirrell. The UFC card, also on Friday night, again exposed Brock Lesnar, who was blown out by Alistair Overeem in the first round and subsequently announced his retirement from MMA, as the worst UFC heavyweight titleholder in history. But the spiraling contractual and legal issues facing Overeem, which led to him being sued by his former management and his purse being held up for this victory, also highlighted the need for MMA fighters to have their own association like athletes in other sports do, and to get the same protections as boxers do under the Muhammad Ali Act in the U.S. Also addressed is the decline of submissions and of grappling in MMA, particularly in the U.S., and what this says about the relative safety and level of technique of MMA compared to boxing and other combat sports. Dream held its annual New Year's Eve card at the Saitama Super Arena in Japan, featuring a mix of MMA and kickboxing fights with several fake pro "wrestling" acts. This says a lot about the weakness of the governance of this event. On the other hand, the real matches on the Dream card, held in a ring, featured numerous fights displaying a wide variety of grappling and striking techniques. The main event saw a first-round knockout by Fedor Emelianenko over Satoshi Ishii. The co-feature saw a great fight loaded with superior grappling where Shinya Aoki won a unanimous decision over Satoru Kitaoka to win the Dream featherweight title. Next is the announcement of the very selective and purposely non-comprehensive 2011 No Holds Barred Awards, to highlight some of the good and the bad in the combat sports in 2011. Among the awards are the combat sports athlete of the year, combat sport of the year, boxer of the year, grappler of the year, sports organization of the year, comeback sport of the year, worst state regulation of combat sports in the U.S., best combat sports vlog, best wrestler and boxer in MMA, best MMA ring announcer, best MMA TV announcer, best new MMA journalist, MMA journalist of the year, and a few more awards of varying degrees of historical importance. The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by Ian Carpenter. No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by: Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. Your #1 source for exciting auction shopping and outstanding deals on just about anything! Top rated, most trusted auction site online. Where do you shop? Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/. The American Sambo Association, which is committed to becoming the premier association in the U.S. dedicated to the advancement of Sambo. Sambo is a form of sport, self-defense, and combat established in the former Soviet Union during the early twentieth century. For more information, go to ussambo.com. Thanks, Eddie Goldman EddieGoldman.com

No Holds Barred: Heath Sims on Heading Evolve MMA Wrestling Program

Eddie Goldman — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 04:24:36 GMT

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with Heath Sims, who has just been named to head the wrestling program at the top martial arts training organization in Asia, the Singapore-based Evolve MMA. Heath joins the Evolve staff with a long history of success in wrestling. He won numerous championships and tournaments in wrestling, culminating with earning a berth on the 2000 U.S. Olympic Team in Greco-Roman wrestling. Afterwards he turned to fighting in MMA, including a successful stint in Pancrase in Japan. More recently he has been an instructor at Team Quest in Murrieta, California, and has been lead cornerman for one of the legends of MMA and also a former Greco-Roman Olympian, Dan Henderson. We spoke with Heath Sims by phone Wednesday about his new position. He explained why he decided to accept it and move to Singapore, and the growth of both wrestling and MMA in Asia. We discussed the transition that fighters without wrestling backgrounds must make to learn wrestling for MMA. We also discussed some of the problems facing wrestling and how it has not fully taken advantage of the success so many wrestlers have had in MMA. Heath will be departing for Singapore in February, and explained how his involvement with Evolve MMA is an important and historic step forward for MMA in Asia. The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by Ian Carpenter. No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by: Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. Your #1 source for exciting auction shopping and outstanding deals on just about anything! Top rated, most trusted auction site online. Where do you shop? Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/. The American Sambo Association, which is committed to becoming the premier association in the U.S. dedicated to the advancement of Sambo. Sambo is a form of sport, self-defense, and combat established in the former Soviet Union during the early twentieth century. For more information, go to ussambo.com. Thanks, Eddie Goldman EddieGoldman.com

No Holds Barred: Steve Nelson on USWF, UWFi, and Catch Wrestling

Eddie Goldman — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 01:46:07 GMT

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with Steve Nelson, the founder and owner of the USWF (Unified Shoot Wrestling Federation). In the 1990s, the USWF ran a series of successful events, mainly in Amarillo, Texas, using shoot wrestling rules which allowed open-handed strikes, submissions, kicks, and knees. In essence, it was a real style of pro wrestling, having been derived from the worked style seen in Japan in companies like the UWFi. Steve Nelson, who had wrestled at Oklahoma State, won two world silver medals in sambo, had a judo background, came from a family of pro wrestlers, and fought in MMA, had also participated in UWFi and trained in real catch wrestling prior to founding the USWF. Steve is also the longtime head wrestling coach for both the boy's and girls' wrestling teams at Palo Duro High School in Amarillo. We spoke with Steve by phone Monday afternoon about the history of the USWF and the lessons from it which we can utilize today. He explained how he positioned the USWF to be a real sport which promoted the athletes as role models and not trash-talkers. We discussed with Steve why the USWF produced such exciting events, including his historic rematch with Ralph Gracie at USWF 11 on August, 22, 1998, a great fight which earned Fight of the Year honors. We also discussed the potential for a revival of real catch wrestling, what it must do to become popular once again, who would be its initial base of fans and participants, and more. The videos from the USWF shows are also available on DVD on the USWF web site. The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by Ian Carpenter. No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by: Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. Your #1 source for exciting auction shopping and outstanding deals on just about anything! Top rated, most trusted auction site online. Where do you shop? Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/. The American Sambo Association, which is committed to becoming the premier association in the U.S. dedicated to the advancement of Sambo. Sambo is a form of sport, self-defense, and combat established in the former Soviet Union during the early twentieth century. For more information, go to ussambo.com. Thanks, Eddie Goldman EddieGoldman.com

No Holds Barred: Dr. Margaret Goodman and Ryan Connolly Introduce VADA, the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association

Eddie Goldman — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 18:31:10 GMT

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with Dr. Margaret Goodman, the president and board chairman of, and Ryan Connolly, the chief legal counsel of, VADA, the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association. VADA, which is just beginning its activities, was set up as an independent organization that will offer and promote effective anti-doping practices and programs in boxing and mixed martial arts. By providing more comprehensive testing than the various athletic commissions, and enlisting athletes to participate in its programs on a voluntary basis, VADA will create an opportunity for these athletes to demonstrate their commitment to clean sport. We spoke with Dr. Margaret Goodman and Ryan Connolly by phone on Friday about VADA. They explained why this new organization is necessary in the fight against doping, what it will do, and how it will do it. They discussed the first major fight which will have VADA testing, the rematch between the two former welterweight boxing champions, Victor Ortiz and Andre Berto, scheduled for February 11, 2012, in Las Vegas, Nevada. They also reiterated why the substances which are banned pose major health risks. And they also commented on the attitude towards VADA from many athletes, the media, and various promoters, and much, much more. The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by Ian Carpenter. No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by: Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. Your #1 source for exciting auction shopping and outstanding deals on just about anything! Top rated, most trusted auction site online. Where do you shop? Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/. The American Sambo Association, which is committed to becoming the premier association in the U.S. dedicated to the advancement of Sambo. Sambo is a form of sport, self-defense, and combat established in the former Soviet Union during the early twentieth century. For more information, go to ussambo.com. Thanks, Eddie Goldman EddieGoldman.com

No Holds Barred: Antonio Graceffo, the Brooklyn Monk, on Martial Arts and MMA in Asia

Eddie Goldman — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 07:15:06 GMT

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with the "Brooklyn Monk ", Antonio Graceffo. Born in Brooklyn, raised in Tennessee, and living for many years in Asia, Antonio Graceffo has written books, hosted the "Martial Arts Odyssey" web TV show, studied traditional martial arts and boxing, and more recently has fought in mixed martial arts events in Asia, even though he is now 44 years old. He is also now adding wrestling to his repertoire of martial arts. We spoke with Antonio while he was visiting New York last week. He has been bringing to the rest of the world information on Bokator, a traditional martial art from Cambodia, which is similar to muay Thai. We spoke about how he ended up living in Asia, the martial arts and its culture in Asia, and how that differs from the culture of Western MMA. He explained which styles and techniques are practiced in which countries and regions of Asia, and where some styles like wrestling are not. He discussed MMA in Asia, and especially Malaysia, as well as the emergence of the ONE Fighting Championship and its network, and much, much more. Antonio Graceffo is a fascinating and unique individual, and we hope this lengthy interview is just the start of many discussions with him on No Holds Barred. The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by Ian Carpenter. No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by: Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. Your #1 source for exciting auction shopping and outstanding deals on just about anything! Top rated, most trusted auction site online. Where do you shop? Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/. The American Sambo Association, which is committed to becoming the premier association in the U.S. dedicated to the advancement of Sambo. Sambo is a form of sport, self-defense, and combat established in the former Soviet Union during the early twentieth century. For more information, go to ussambo.com. Thanks, Eddie Goldman EddieGoldman.com

No Holds Barred: John Perretti on Concussions and the Future of Violent Sports

Eddie Goldman — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 22:33:20 GMT

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman once again speaks with the former kickboxer, an original Gene LeBell black belt, the former UFC and Extreme Fighting matchmaker, and our senior correspondent, John Perretti. Now age 55, John Perretti is feeling the effects of a life in the martial arts and combat sports. While he is still active in many endeavors, various ailments, some the results of concussions he suffered while fighting, teaching, and training, have slowed him down. What are the lessons of all this for young athletes competing or hoping to compete in the combat sports or other violent sports? Are there rules changes which could make these sports reasonably safe while still leaving them compelling and exciting? And, looking back and knowing what we do now, was competing and training in these sports worth it? Those are some of the issues we discussed with John Perretti in a phone interview last week. The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by Ian Carpenter. No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by: Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. Your #1 source for exciting auction shopping and outstanding deals on just about anything! Top rated, most trusted auction site online. Where do you shop? Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/. The American Sambo Association, which is committed to becoming the premier association in the U.S. dedicated to the advancement of Sambo. Sambo is a form of sport, self-defense, and combat established in the former Soviet Union during the early twentieth century. For more information, go to ussambo.com. Thanks, Eddie Goldman EddieGoldman.com

No Holds Barred: Randy Couture on College, Catch, and Greco-Roman Wrestling

Eddie Goldman — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 21:28:28 GMT

(Photo by Paula Romero) On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with Randy "The Natural" Couture. Randy has just put out a new book, along with photographer Sara Levin, called "The Last Round". The book chronicles the final fight in his career, and includes numerous observations on his many years of competition in both wrestling and MMA. In the book, despite indicating that he will likely devote a large part of his time to working in a new position in MMA, he wrote, "I will always be a wrestler." So when we spoke with Randy right after the news conference for the MMA World Expo on Friday in New York, we focused on the implications of that statement. As a four-time U.S national champion in Greco-Roman wrestling and a two-time runner-up in the NCAA Div. I Wrestling Championships, he still wants to help the sport which laid the basis for his success in mixed martial arts. We thus discussed some of the problems facing college wrestling, the recent revival of catch wrestling including the holding of catch tournaments at his Xtreme Couture training facility in Las Vegas, the recent rule changes in Greco-Roman wrestling, and much more. In addition, that news conference at which Randy Couture spoke included discussion about why MMA is still illegal in New York and other issues. We begin this show by commenting upon these issues. The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by Ian Carpenter. No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by: Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. Your #1 source for exciting auction shopping and outstanding deals on just about anything! Top rated, most trusted auction site online. Where do you shop? Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/. The American Sambo Association, which is committed to becoming the premier association in the U.S. dedicated to the advancement of Sambo. Sambo is a form of sport, self-defense, and combat established in the former Soviet Union during the early twentieth century. For more information, go to ussambo.com. Thanks, Eddie Goldman EddieGoldman.com

No Holds Barred: Alvin Aguilar of URCC

Eddie Goldman — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 02:48:55 GMT

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with Alvin Aguilar, the founder and president of the URCC. Founded in 2002 and running events regularly since then, the URCC (Universal Reality Combat Championship) is the first and largest mixed martial arts promotion in the Philippines. The URCC is thus one of the longest-running MMA promotions in the world. The URCC has also formed a mutually exclusive partnership with the ONE Fighting Championship, and is a key part of the ONE Asia Partnership Network. We spoke with Alvin Aguilar by Skype on Tuesday about the development and growth of the URCC. We discussed the history of the URCC, how it is regulated by the government of the Philippines through the Games and Amusement Board, why the URCC is working so closely with ONE FC and other mixed martial arts organizations throughout Asia, who some of their top fighters are, their plans to run an event in the U.S. in 2012, their busy schedule of events in the Philippines, the effects of the UFC coming to the Philippines, and much more. The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by Ian Carpenter. No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by: Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. Your #1 source for exciting auction shopping and outstanding deals on just about anything! Top rated, most trusted auction site online. Where do you shop? Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/. The American Sambo Association, which is committed to becoming the premier association in the U.S. dedicated to the advancement of Sambo. Sambo is a form of sport, self-defense, and combat established in the former Soviet Union during the early twentieth century. For more information, go to ussambo.com. Thanks, Eddie Goldman EddieGoldman.com

No Holds Barred: Andre Ward, Carl Froch, and Boxing Governance

Eddie Goldman — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 14:48:43 GMT

(Photo by: Tom Casino / Showtime) On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with Super Six World Boxing Classic finalists Andre Ward and Carl Froch, and discusses why the bad governance in boxing made this super middleweight tournament necessary. On Saturday, December 17, WBA super middleweight champion Andre Ward (24-0, 13 KOs) will face WBC super middleweight champion Carl Froch (28-1, 20 KOs) in the finals of the two-year-long Super Six World Boxing Classic. This fight will take place at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey, and will be televised live in the U.S. on Showtime and in the U.K. on Sky Sports. The winner will earn the right to be called the best super middleweight in the world. We spoke with both Andre Ward and Carl Froch at the kickoff news conference in August for this fight, which had originally been scheduled for October 29 but had to be postponed after Ward suffered a cut during training. We discussed what to expect in this fight, as well as the need for a boxers' union. We also previewed this fight with New York TV host Kristal Hart, whose show airs on Manhattan Neighborhood Network. In addition, we open with a commentary on why it took an American television network, Showtime, to organize a tournament of the top fighters in the world in this division, when legitimate sports regularly have competitions pitting the best against the best. The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by Ian Carpenter. No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by: Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. Your #1 source for exciting auction shopping and outstanding deals on just about anything! Top rated, most trusted auction site online. Where do you shop? Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/. The American Sambo Association, which is committed to becoming the premier association in the U.S. dedicated to the advancement of Sambo. Sambo is a form of sport, self-defense, and combat established in the former Soviet Union during the early twentieth century. For more information, go to ussambo.com. Thanks, Eddie Goldman EddieGoldman.com

No Holds Barred: Renzo Gracie, Nevada Commission-Overeem Drug Test Mess

Eddie Goldman — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 04:55:50 GMT

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, grappling, and MMA legend Renzo Gracie. On Saturday, December 17, Renzo will be hosting the Renzo Gracie Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu 2011 Open tournament at the MMA World Expo in New York. We spoke with Renzo on Friday at his New York academy about this tournament, the tremendous growth of his academy, his recent trip to Abu Dhabi to help plan the expansion of ADCC grappling events around the world, the emergence of the ONE Fighting Championship as the largest MMA promotion in Asia, and more. We open by discussing the latest fiasco involving the political appointees of the Nevada State Athletic Commission. They held a public hearing on Monday, December 12, which included discussion of their so-called "random" drug testing, where athletes are given prior notice, and the licensing situation of Alistair Overeem. While training in his home country of the Netherlands, Overeem could not complete the tests the Nevada commission wanted in the time frame they wanted. The Nevada commission does not directly work with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), has far weaker standards than WADA, never contacted their Dutch affiliate of the Anti-Doping Authority Netherlands, and did not even seem to know who conducts such drug testing in that country. Instead, they tried to put the onus of the results of their refusal to be a part of the world anti-doping movement and to follow the international protocols of WADA on the fighter Overeem and his assistants. They did issue a conditional license to Overeem and ordered him to take some of their "random" tests, but appeared either clueless or uninterested in solving a problem which has long been addressed in international sport by responsible authorities. The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by Ian Carpenter. No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by: Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. Your #1 source for exciting auction shopping and outstanding deals on just about anything! Top rated, most trusted auction site online. Where do you shop? Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/. The American Sambo Association, which is committed to becoming the premier association in the U.S. dedicated to the advancement of Sambo. Sambo is a form of sport, self-defense, and combat established in the former Soviet Union during the early twentieth century. For more information, go to ussambo.com. Thanks, Eddie Goldman EddieGoldman.com

No Holds Barred: Billy Robinson and Jake Shannon on Catch Wrestling

Eddie Goldman — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 17:30:49 GMT

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with catch wrestling legend Billy Robinson and Jake Shannon of ScientificWrestling.com. Although he is in his seventies, Billy Robinson is still traveling the world to conduct seminars to pass on the art and science of catch wrestling, as he learned it in places like the legendary Riley's Gym in Wigan, England. Jake Shannon is also a key part of this movement to revive catch wrestling, organizing seminars and training sessions as well as writing books and using the Internet to promote the revival of this sport. We spoke at length with both Billy Robinson and Jake Shannon by phone on Friday about the past, present, and future of catch wrestling. We discussed what catch wrestling is, some of the problems in the rules of other styles of wrestling, how the old rules of catch wrestling included winning by pin or submission but often varied greatly and were sometimes even negotiated before a match, the Wigan theory "to learn how to learn wrestling", how catch wrestling teaches you how to learn and to open your mind, why catch wrestling today needs a "united marketing front" like Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu had in mixed martial arts, the influence of catch wrestling in mixed martial arts, how numerous wrestlers and fighters for years have been training in catch wrestling, and much, much more. The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by Ian Carpenter. No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by: Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. Your #1 source for exciting auction shopping and outstanding deals on just about anything! Top rated, most trusted auction site online. Where do you shop? Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/. The American Sambo Association, which is committed to becoming the premier association in the U.S. dedicated to the advancement of Sambo. Sambo is a form of sport, self-defense, and combat established in the former Soviet Union during the early twentieth century. For more information, go to ussambo.com. Thanks, Eddie Goldman EddieGoldman.com

No Holds Barred: Jens Sejer Andersen of Play the Game on Corruption and the Culture of Silence in Sport

Eddie Goldman — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 15:52:51 GMT

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with Jens Sejer Andersen, the international director of Play the Game. Based in Denmark, Play the Game is an international conference and communication initiative aiming to strengthen the ethical foundation of sport and promote democracy, transparency, and freedom of expression in sport. We spoke with Jens Sejer Andersen on Friday via Skype about some of the latest developments in the battle against corruption in sport. He explained how a "culture of silence" towards the many facets of corruption characterizes sport worldwide. We discussed the latest scandals involving members of the international football federation FIFA, the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and the now-defunct marketing agency ISL, which was accused of paying millions of dollars in bribes to top sports officials around the world. In October, the Play the Game conference called on the IOC to lead the struggle against corruption in sport. However, by failing to act and speak decisively on the ISL scandal, Jens Andersen now argued that the IOC "has disqualified itself" from a leadership role in this struggle. We discussed how what happens in world football, the most popular sport in the world, affects world sport as a whole, including the combat sports. And we examined some ideas about what those of us who stand against corruption in sport must do. In the combat sports, recent attention has been given to a series of "jokes" made about rape by UFC fighters Forrest Griffin, Rashad Evans, and Miguel Torres. We comment on the implications of that, and read a statement about this issue by journalist, writer, activist, and sexual abuse survivor Emmily Bristol. The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by Ian Carpenter. No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by: Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. Your #1 source for exciting auction shopping and outstanding deals on just about anything! Top rated, most trusted auction site online. Where do you shop? Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/. The American Sambo Association, which is committed to becoming the premier association in the U.S. dedicated to the advancement of Sambo. Sambo is a form of sport, self-defense, and combat established in the former Soviet Union during the early twentieth century. For more information, go to ussambo.com. Thanks, Eddie Goldman EddieGoldman.com

No Holds Barred: Steve Koepfer and Kris Iatskevich on North American Throwdown, Freestyle Sambo and Catch Wrestling Event Feb. 25

Eddie Goldman — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 00:03:36 GMT

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with Steve Koepfer of the American Sambo Association (ASA) and Kris Iatskevich of the International Submission Wrestling Alliance (ISWA) about the North American Throwdown. The North American Throwdown will be held Saturday, February 25, 2012, in Joliette, Quebec, Canada, near Montreal. It will feature both the ASA's Eighth Annual North American Freestyle Sambo Championships and the ISWA's Catch Wrestling Open tournament, also known as the Carpentier Open. Grapplers from all styles and affiliations are encouraged to compete. We spoke with Steve Koepfer and Kris Iatskevich by phone Thursday about this historic event. We discussed the shared history of sambo and catch wrestling, the rules of each of these tournaments, why this is such an important step forward for both styles of grappling, and much, much more. The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by Ian Carpenter. No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by: Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. Your #1 source for exciting auction shopping and outstanding deals on just about anything! Top rated, most trusted auction site online. Where do you shop? Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/. The American Sambo Association, which is committed to becoming the premier association in the U.S. dedicated to the advancement of Sambo. Sambo is a form of sport, self-defense, and combat established in the former Soviet Union during the early twentieth century. For more information, go to ussambo.com. Thanks, Eddie Goldman EddieGoldman.com

No Holds Barred: Amir Khan, Lamont Peterson, Seth Mitchell, Timur Ibragimov

Eddie Goldman — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 10:39:59 GMT

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman previews the Amir Khan-Lamont Peterson 140-pound title fight and the Seth Mitchell-Timur Ibragimov heavyweight fight. These bouts will take place Saturday, December 10, at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C., and will be telecast live in the U.S. on HBO, with the Khan-Peterson fight also being shown live on Sky Sports in the U.K. Khan (26-1, 18 KOs), from Bolton, Lancashire, U.K., will be defending two major titles against Peterson (29-1-1, 15 KOs), who is fighting in his hometown. Mitchell (23-0-1, 17 KOs) will have the highest profile fight of his career against Ibragimov (30-3-1, 16 KOs). We spoke with Amir Khan, Lamont Peterson, Peterson's trainer Barry Hunter, Seth Mitchell, and Timur Ibragimov on recent media conference calls. They each revealed their mindsets and told us what to expect in these fights. The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by Ian Carpenter. No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by: Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. Your #1 source for exciting auction shopping and outstanding deals on just about anything! Top rated, most trusted auction site online. Where do you shop? Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/. The American Sambo Association, which is committed to becoming the premier association in the U.S. dedicated to the advancement of Sambo. Sambo is a form of sport, self-defense, and combat established in the former Soviet Union during the early twentieth century. For more information, go to ussambo.com. Thanks, Eddie Goldman EddieGoldman.com

No Holds Barred: Boxing and Bacon

Eddie Goldman — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 11:23:19 GMT

(cartoon from revista-amauta.org) On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman discusses the similarities and differences between boxing and bacon (hint: both involve pigs and are bad for you, but at least bacon smells and tastes good), in light of the major fights of Saturday, December 3. Analyzed are the breakout performance by WBA bantamweight champion Anselmo Moreno, who earned a lopsided unanimous decision over Vic Darchinyan, and IBF bantamweight champion Abner Mares, who decisioned Joseph King Kong Agbeko in their rematch, this time without much controversy. But also discussed are the disputed decision win by heavyweight Robert Helenius over Dereck Chisora, and the disgraceful farce at Madison Square Garden in New York, where Miguel Cotto won by a tenth-round TKO over a fighter who should not have been licensed by the New York State Athletic Commission, Antonio Margarito. The reasons why this was a disgraceful farce are explained on this show, and remedies to this disgrace are proposed. The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by Ian Carpenter. No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by: Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. Your #1 source for exciting auction shopping and outstanding deals on just about anything! Top rated, most trusted auction site online. Where do you shop? Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/. The American Sambo Association, which is committed to becoming the premier association in the U.S. dedicated to the advancement of Sambo. Sambo is a form of sport, self-defense, and combat established in the former Soviet Union during the early twentieth century. For more information, go to ussambo.com. Thanks, Eddie Goldman EddieGoldman.com

No Holds Barred: Jeff Monson

Eddie Goldman — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 23:44:00 GMT

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman once again speaks with American Top Team mixed martial arts fighter and two-time ADCC world champion Jeff Monson. On Sunday, November 20, Jeff Monson fought MMA legend Fedor Emelianenko in the main event of an M-1 Global mixed martial arts card at the Olympic Arena in Moscow, Russia. Fedor dominated the fight, winning a three-round unanimous decision. Afterwards, Jeff required some medical attention, especially from injuries caused by the numerous kicks and punches landed by Fedor. We spoke with Jeff Monson by phone Wednesday night about what really happened on this trip to Russia. He said that despite the loss in the fight, he was treated "great", including by Fedor, who actually apologized to him after the fight, although he had done nothing outside the rules. We discussed his recovery from these injuries, what happened in the fight, why there was almost no action on the ground, the enormous support he received from the Russian fans, his desire to return to fight in M-1 Global, how he wants to move down to light heavyweight, his busy schedule of fighting and seminars, his desire to be more involved with catch wrestling, and much more. The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by Ian Carpenter. No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by: Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. Your #1 source for exciting auction shopping and outstanding deals on just about anything! Top rated, most trusted auction site online. Where do you shop? Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/. The American Sambo Association, which is committed to becoming the premier association in the U.S. dedicated to the advancement of Sambo. Sambo is a form of sport, self-defense, and combat established in the former Soviet Union during the early twentieth century. For more information, go to ussambo.com. Thanks, Eddie Goldman EddieGoldman.com

No Holds Barred: Victor Cui of ONE Fighting Championship

Eddie Goldman — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 21:54:51 GMT

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with Victor Cui, the CEO and owner of the ONE Fighting Championship. Based in Singapore, ONE FC ran their first mixed martial arts card on September 3, 2011. They have led the establishment of the ONE Asia Partnership Network, which is a mutually exclusive partnership of mixed martial arts organizations and gyms across Asia and the Pacific which will co-promote events and share fighters. So far, ONE FC has partnered with Dream in Japan, URCC in the Philippines, Cage Fighting Championship in Australia, ROAD Fighting Championship in Korea, DARE Fightsports in Thailand, Team Lakay Wushu in the Philippines, Tiger Muay Thai and MMA in Thailand, Tigers Gym in India, Evolve Mixed Martial Arts in Singapore, Legacy Gym in Thailand, Tough MMA in Taiwan, Synergy Jiu-Jitsu in Indonesia, Juggernaut FC in Singapore, Fightworks Asia in Singapore, PAK MMA in Pakistan, Team Force in Korea, MuayFit in Malaysia, and Leverage MMA in Malaysia. With numerous other partnerships and television deals in the works, ONE FC has already announced three events for 2012: February 11, 2012, in Jakarta, Indonesia, at the Kelapa Gading Sports Mall; March 31, 2012, in Singapore, Singapore, at the Singapore Indoor Stadium; and April 27, 2012, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, at the Stadium Negara. Clearly, ONE FC has emerged as the largest mixed martial arts event in Asia. We spoke by Skype with Victor Cui on Wednesday about the development of ONE FC and their plans. He explained that "the way to exponentially grow, and quickly, a sport is cooperatively." While he obviously is building his own MMA organization and this network, he stressed that MMA organizations should "work together." He said, "The goal here is the greater good." Our lengthy discussion included topics such as their plans for televising their events throughout Asia, the issues of governance of MMA and fighter safety, the importance of the martial arts traditions in Asia and seeing MMA as part of that, the potential for Asia to become a mixed martial arts capital of the world, boxing and MMA, their attitude to other organizations such as M-1 Global and UFC, and much more. We also open with a commentary on the widespread analysis of people like Professor Kishore Mahbubani of Singapore that we are now in the "Asian Century", and the future of the combat sports. The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by Ian Carpenter. No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by: Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. Your #1 source for exciting auction shopping and outstanding deals on just about anything! Top rated, most trusted auction site online. Where do you shop? Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/. The American Sambo Association, which is committed to becoming the premier association in the U.S. dedicated to the advancement of Sambo. Sambo is a form of sport, self-defense, and combat established in the former Soviet Union during the early twentieth century. For more information, go to ussambo.com. Thanks, Eddie Goldman EddieGoldman.com

No Holds Barred: Mares-Agbeko 2 and Moreno-Darchinyan Previews

Eddie Goldman — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 21:11:31 GMT

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman previews the highly-anticipated rematch between IBF bantamweight champion Abner Mares and the former two-time IBF bantamweight champion Joseph King Kong Agbeko, and the fight between WBA bantamweight super champion Anselmo Moreno and former two-division world champion Vic Darchinyan. These two fights take place Saturday, December 3, at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California, and will be telecast live in the U.S. on Showtime. The first fight between Mares (22-0-1, 13 KOs), who was a Mexican Olympian in 2004 and now lives in California, and Agbeko (28-3, 22 KOs), from Accra, Ghana, and now fighting out of the Bronx, New York, was held August 13, 2011, in Las Vegas. While it was officially ruled a majority decision win for Mares, it was marred by a major controversy since Mares landed numerous low blows but was not penalized by referee Russell Mora. Mares even dropped Agbeko with a clear-cut shot to the groin in the 11th round, but the referee ruled it a legal knockdown. This fight was the final bout in the Showtime bantamweight tournament, but since it generated so much heated controversy, an immediate rematch was scheduled. Although Moreno (31-1-1, 11 KOs), from Panama City, Panama, holds a WBA bantamweight belt and is highly regarded as a skillful boxer, most of his fights have been in his home country, and he has never before fought in the U.S. The slugger Darchinyan (37-3-1, 27 KOs), originally from Armenia and now fighting out of Sydney, Australia, is coming off two straight wins after losing a split decision to Mares in the opening round of the Showtime bantamweight tournament. With Nonito Donaire moving up to super bantamweight, the winners of these fights will stake a claim to being the best bantamweight boxer in the world. We spoke with Abner Mares, Anselmo Moreno, and Vic Darchinyan on a recent media conference call (Agbeko was also scheduled for that call but never made it on). We got their views on what to expect in their fights. We also heard Abner Mares candidly discuss the controversy in his first fight with Joseph Agbeko, and what he would have done differently if the referee had taken points away from him for low blows. The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by Ian Carpenter. No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by: Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. Your #1 source for exciting auction shopping and outstanding deals on just about anything! Top rated, most trusted auction site online. Where do you shop? Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/. The American Sambo Association, which is committed to becoming the premier association in the U.S. dedicated to the advancement of Sambo. Sambo is a form of sport, self-defense, and combat established in the former Soviet Union during the early twentieth century. For more information, go to ussambo.com. Thanks, Eddie Goldman EddieGoldman.com

No Holds Barred: Vadim Finkelchtein of M-1 Global

Eddie Goldman — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 17:16:19 GMT

(Photo by Keisha Morrisey.) On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with Vadim Finkelchtein, the president and co-founder of M-1 Global. In an interview conducted Saturday by Skype with Vadim Finkelchtein, we discussed the M-1 Global mixed martial arts card held Sunday, November 20, at the Olympic Arena in Moscow, Russia. In the main event, the legendary Fedor Emelianenko stopped a three-fight losing streak by dominating two-time ADCC champion Jeff Monson to take a three-round unanimous decision. Besides the 22,000 fans in attendance, Vadim said there were seven and one-half million people watching this fight on television in Russia alone, with numbers for the rest of Europe and North America still to come. We discussed the importance of this event, how Fedor used a much more patient and deliberate strategy than he had in his last unsuccessful fights, what this victory means for Fedor's career, plans for a potential fight for Fedor in Dream in Japan on their traditional New Year's Eve card, the proposal to have Fedor fight former UFC heavyweight titleholder Cain Velasquez, whether or not Fedor would ever fight in UFC, and much more. The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by Ian Carpenter. No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by: Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. Your #1 source for exciting auction shopping and outstanding deals on just about anything! Top rated, most trusted auction site online. Where do you shop? Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/. The American Sambo Association, which is committed to becoming the premier association in the U.S. dedicated to the advancement of Sambo. Sambo is a form of sport, self-defense, and combat established in the former Soviet Union during the early twentieth century. For more information, go to ussambo.com. Thanks, Eddie Goldman EddieGoldman.com

No Holds Barred: Catch Wrestling-Sambo Tournament on February 25, Margarito License Disgrace, and More

Eddie Goldman — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 23:02:17 GMT

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman discusses the North American Throwdown, a joint tournament combining the American Sambo Association's 8th Annual North American Freestyle Sambo Championships and the International Submission Wrestling Alliance ISWA Catch Wrestling Open tournament. This will take place Saturday, February 25, 2012, at the Joliette Sport Center near Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Details will be announced soon, and we will be previewing this as well. The world of catch wrestling also got another boost on Thursday, as it was announced that veteran trainer Roy Wood of The Snake Pit in Wigan in the U.K. had won the BBC North West Unsung Sport Hero award. We also discuss some of the implications of the dominant performance last Sunday, November 20, by Fedor Emelianenko over Jeff Monson. After three consecutive losses, Fedor won a unanimous three-round decision over the two-time ADCC world champion Monson headlining an M-1 mixed martial arts card in Moscow, Russia. The disgrace of the week in boxing goes to those who approved Antonio Margarito for a license to fight Miguel Cotto at Madison Square Garden on December 3 on an HBO pay-per-view. Margarito had undergone cataract surgery, where his own damaged lens in his right eye was replaced by an artificial lens. While there was no actual rule prohibiting fighters who have had this eye surgery from fighting, in the past the Association of Boxing Commissions had felt that lens implants were not conducive to boxing. So the New York State Athletic Commission, Madison Square Garden, HBO, and his promoters Top Rank, have successfully thrown this safety precaution out the window, just so they can rake in more bloody cash. And their shills in the boxing media have applauded this. In addition, we preview the panel discussions on legalizing MMA in New York which will be held at the MMA World Expo on December 17 and 18 in New York. The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by Ian Carpenter. No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by: Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. Your #1 source for exciting auction shopping and outstanding deals on just about anything! Top rated, most trusted auction site online. Where do you shop? Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/. The American Sambo Association, which is committed to becoming the premier association in the U.S. dedicated to the advancement of Sambo. Sambo is a form of sport, self-defense, and combat established in the former Soviet Union during the early twentieth century. For more information, go to ussambo.com. Thanks, Eddie Goldman EddieGoldman.com

No Holds Barred: Olympic Doping Ban Dispute, David Howman Teleconference, Combat Sports and Doping

Eddie Goldman — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 18:19:45 GMT

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman presents the teleconference recorded Monday, November 21, of David Howman, the director general of WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency), discusses the current dispute over doping bans between WADA and the British Olympic Association (BOA), and comments on the weak anti-doping measures in the combat sports. WADA held the teleconference to discuss with the international media their Executive Committee and Foundation Board meetings, which were held in Montreal on November 19 and 20. At these, WADA decided that they would impose a budget freeze for 2012 because of the continuing bad economic conditions. They also ruled that the BOA was "non-compliant" with the WADA code because the BOA is trying to impose a lifetime ban on any athlete who was suspended for six months or more for drug offenses. There is no doubt this dispute will end up in the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). On the teleconference, David Howman also explained that discussions between organizations running mixed martial arts and boxing in the U.S., and USADA, the American arm of WADA, have "not been very successful to date", although he hopes that public pressure will play a role on the issue of anti-doping policy. The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by Ian Carpenter. No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by: Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. Your #1 source for exciting auction shopping and outstanding deals on just about anything! Top rated, most trusted auction site online. Where do you shop? Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/. The American Sambo Association, which is committed to becoming the premier association in the U.S. dedicated to the advancement of Sambo. Sambo is a form of sport, self-defense, and combat established in the former Soviet Union during the early twentieth century. For more information, go to ussambo.com. Thanks, Eddie Goldman EddieGoldman.com

No Holds Barred: New MMA History Film by Bobby Razak, Battle Against Doping Intensifies

Eddie Goldman — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 20:14:42 GMT

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with filmmaker Bobby Razak about his new documentary on the history of mixed martial arts, which had its first screening on Friday. Still untitled, this worthwhile and interesting film includes rare footage from the 1990s as well as numerous new interviews. We also comment on some of the latest developments in the battle against doping, including the news that Major League Baseball will begin blood testing for human growth hormone, and the view by World Anti-Doping Agency Director General David Howman that "We are catching the dopey dopers, but not the sophisticated ones." The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by Ian Carpenter. No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by: Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. Your #1 source for exciting auction shopping and outstanding deals on just about anything! Top rated, most trusted auction site online. Where do you shop? Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/. The American Sambo Association, which is committed to becoming the premier association in the U.S. dedicated to the advancement of Sambo. Sambo is a form of sport, self-defense, and combat established in the former Soviet Union during the early twentieth century. For more information, go to ussambo.com. Thanks, Eddie Goldman EddieGoldman.com

No Holds Barred: ADCC and NAGA, MMA and New York, Mayweather and Pacquiao, and More

Eddie Goldman — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 15:19:06 GMT

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman discusses a number of new developments and issues in the combat sports, including the co-operation between ADCC (Abu Dhabi Combat Club) and NAGA (North American Grappling Association), the Twitter voting for what fights should be added to the Bellator 58 telecast on November 19, the UFC lawsuit against the ban on MMA in New York, the fallout from the Marquez-Pacquiao 3 fight, the dimming prospects for a Mayweather-Pacquiao fight, Bob Arum vs. WBC, the problems of the disgraced Antonio Margarito in getting licensed in New York, Fedor vs. Jeff Monson in Moscow on Sunday, catch wrestling seminar in Cardiff on Sunday, the new MMA forums, how corruption should be fought in the combat sports, and much more. The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by Ian Carpenter. No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by: Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. Your #1 source for exciting auction shopping and outstanding deals on just about anything! Top rated, most trusted auction site online. Where do you shop? Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/. The American Sambo Association, which is committed to becoming the premier association in the U.S. dedicated to the advancement of Sambo. Sambo is a form of sport, self-defense, and combat established in the former Soviet Union during the early twentieth century. For more information, go to ussambo.com. Thanks, Eddie Goldman EddieGoldman.com

No Holds Barred: Jessica Aguilar and Women in Combat Sports

Eddie Goldman — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 09:28:46 GMT

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with American Top Team and Bellator Fighting Championships mixed martial artist Jessica Aguilar. She will be fighting Lisa Ellis this Saturday, November 19, at Bellator 58 at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida. We spoke Sunday afternoon by phone with Jessica Aguilar about this fight, which is a rematch from her first professional MMA fight in 2006, which she lost by submission after taking it with almost no MMA training. We discussed the state of women's mixed martial arts, her plans to compete for a title in Bellator, and much more. We open by recalling some of the history of women in combat sports, including the training of women in Sparta in ancient Greece for wrestling and pankration, the forerunner of modern mixed martial arts. We note the legal and political battles many women had to wage in the U.S. in the 1970s and beyond to be allowed to compete in boxing and wrestling. As of 2012, women will be competing in all four of the combat sports in the Olympic Games: boxing, wrestling, judo, and taekwondo. But we also note that, despite the growth of women's participation around the world in numerous combat sports, HBO still has never aired women's boxing, the government of Iran still does not have women's wrestling, and UFC still has no women's fights. The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by Ian Carpenter. No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by: MMA World Expo. The mixed martial arts community comes to New York City, featuring the Renzo Gracie Gi Open 2011 tournament, a signing of his new book by MMA legend Randy Couture, grappling and muay Thai action, MMA fighters, seminars with world-class trainers, vendors, panel discussions, and much more. The third annual MMA World Expo takes place Saturday, December 17, and Sunday, December 18, at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City. Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. Your #1 source for exciting auction shopping and outstanding deals on just about anything! Top rated, most trusted auction site online. Where do you shop? Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/. The American Sambo Association, which is committed to becoming the premier association in the U.S. dedicated to the advancement of Sambo. Sambo is a form of sport, self-defense, and combat established in the former Soviet Union during the early twentieth century. For more information, go to ussambo.com. Thanks, Eddie Goldman EddieGoldman.com

No Holds Barred: Was Orwell Right About Sport? A Combat Sports Weekend Review

Eddie Goldman — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 11:33:08 GMT

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman discusses the view held by George Orwell that "sport is an unfailing cause of ill-will" in light of the events in the combat sports on Saturday, November 12. Orwell wrote this in his 1945 essay entitled "The Sporting Spirit". First up is a discussion of some of the positives in the combat sports, including the world sambo championships in Vilnius, Lithuania, and the freestyle and catch wrestling events in Wigan, England, and Summerville, South Carolina, in the U.S. Next is an analysis of the horrifying child rape scandal at Penn State University, including a coverup by school administrators and those running the football program, and how it may affect college wrestling. There was also a rally held Saturday in Las Vegas protesting "a string of incidents involving violent, misogynistic and homophobic language" in MMA, including the infamous tweet by UFC fighter Forrest Griffin that "Rape is the new missionary". The protest also called for the establishment of a code of conduct for MMA. Next discussed are the fights themselves. Bellator had two tournament finals, won by Alexander Shlemenko at middleweight and Douglas Lima at welterweight. A 64-second fight was the only one on the UFC debut card on Fox, as Junior dos Santos knocked out Cain Velasquez to take their heavyweight title. The tactics of that brief encounter are discussed. The most discussed fight of the night was the third meeting between Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez. Pacquiao was awarded a highly-controversial majority decision in this one, which many observers believed was a robbery. Again, while boxing had a chance to make a good impression after the 64-second UFC blowout, many people left feeling cheated by the judges and ripped off by those running the sport. So was Orwell right? That question was answered on this edition of No Holds Barred. The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by Ian Carpenter. No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by: MMA World Expo. The mixed martial arts community comes to New York City, featuring the Renzo Gracie Gi Open 2011 tournament, a signing of his new book by MMA legend Randy Couture, grappling and muay Thai action, MMA fighters, seminars with world-class trainers, vendors, panel discussions, and much more. The third annual MMA World Expo takes place Saturday, December 17, and Sunday, December 18, at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City. Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. Your #1 source for exciting auction shopping and outstanding deals on just about anything! Top rated, most trusted auction site online. Where do you shop? Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/. The American Sambo Association, which is committed to becoming the premier association in the U.S. dedicated to the advancement of Sambo. Sambo is a form of sport, self-defense, and combat established in the former Soviet Union during the early twentieth century. For more information, go to ussambo.com. Thanks, Eddie Goldman EddieGoldman.com

No Holds Barred: Roy Wood, Andrea Wood, The Snake Pit, and the Catch Wrestling Revival

Eddie Goldman — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 20:26:33 GMT

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with the legendary wrestler and coach Roy Wood, and his daughter Andrea Wood, about the revival of catch wrestling and their running of The Snake Pit. In the 1940s, Billy Riley opened Riley's Gym in Wigan, England. It soon became the worldwide home of catch-as-catch-can wrestling. It later also became known as The Snake Pit. Among many of the great wrestlers trained by Billy Riley were the late Karl Gotch, Billy Robinson, and Roy Wood. Today Billy Robinson and Roy Wood, along with a new generation of wrestlers, coaches, and others, are working to revive this great sport. In recent years, Roy Wood has focused on training wrestlers in freestyle wrestling at the Aspull Wrestling Club in Wigan. With the international growth of interest in catch-as-catch-can wrestling, he has again started coaching wrestlers in catch as well as continuing to coach freestyle. Thus, The Snake Pit is back. We spoke with both Roy Wood and Andrea Wood at length by Skype on Wednesday about The Snake Pit and the revival of catch wrestling. We discussed some of the background and history of catch wrestling, the influence of Billy Riley, the need for a united approach among those reviving this discipline, why the rules developed by Billy Riley did not permit either chokes or going to one's back, how the rules for this latest incarnation of catch wrestling can develop, the establishment of affiliate clubs for The Snake Pit, the use of their web site and social media to educate people about and expand the influence of catch, and much, much more. Catch is back, and you can learn about it on this ground-breaking interview on No Holds Barred. The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by Ian Carpenter. No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by: MMA World Expo. The mixed martial arts community comes to New York City, featuring the Renzo Gracie Gi Open 2011 tournament, a signing of his new book by MMA legend Randy Couture, grappling and muay Thai action, MMA fighters, seminars with world-class trainers, vendors, panel discussions, and much more. The third annual MMA World Expo takes place Saturday, December 17, and Sunday, December 18, at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City. Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. Your #1 source for exciting auction shopping and outstanding deals on just about anything! Top rated, most trusted auction site online. Where do you shop? Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/. The American Sambo Association, which is committed to becoming the premier association in the U.S. dedicated to the advancement of Sambo. Sambo is a form of sport, self-defense, and combat established in the former Soviet Union during the early twentieth century. For more information, go to ussambo.com. Thanks, Eddie Goldman EddieGoldman.com

No Holds Barred: A Round of the Year, Another Contract Dispute, and Upsets on the Mat

Eddie Goldman — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 06:58:47 GMT

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman reviews the fight and round of the year candidate between James Kirkland and Alfredo Angulo. Also discussed are the fights between Guillermo Jones and Mike Marrone, Lucian Bute and Glen Johnson, Peter Quillin and Craig McEwan, and rising star Pier-Olivier Côté and Jorge Teron. And we explain why the upcoming pay-per-view between Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez is not worth it. The MMA world is paying close attention to the allegations by heavyweight star Alistair Overeem against his former management of Golden Glory. These were explained in a video on his web site, TheReem.com. The implications of these allegations are that MMA fighters must be afforded the same protections as boxers in the U.S. have under the Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform Act, and we explain why. Bellator will be having two tournament championship fights this Saturday, November 12, and there is a full slate of college wrestling on tap for the coming weekend. We also discuss the upset losses on Sunday by Iowa State to Army and Boston University, and some of the obstacles facing college wrestling amidst the growing turmoil and reshuffling of conferences in the college sports world. And we open with get well wishes to Smokin' Joe Frazier, who is suffering from liver cancer. The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by Ian Carpenter. No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by: MMA World Expo. The mixed martial arts community comes to New York City, featuring the Renzo Gracie Gi Open 2011 tournament, a signing of his new book by MMA legend Randy Couture, grappling and muay Thai action, MMA fighters, seminars with world-class trainers, vendors, panel discussions, and much more. The third annual MMA World Expo takes place Saturday, December 17, and Sunday, December 18, at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City. Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. Your #1 source for exciting auction shopping and outstanding deals on just about anything! Top rated, most trusted auction site online. Where do you shop? Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/. The American Sambo Association, which is committed to becoming the premier association in the U.S. dedicated to the advancement of Sambo. Sambo is a form of sport, self-defense, and combat established in the former Soviet Union during the early twentieth century. For more information, go to ussambo.com. Thanks, Eddie Goldman EddieGoldman.com

No Holds Barred: Coach Kevin Jackson Previews 2011-12 Iowa State Wrestling; Snake Pit Expands

Eddie Goldman — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 20:00:04 GMT

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with Kevin Jackson, the Olympic gold medalist and two-time world champion freestyle wrestler, who is starting his third season as head wrestling coach for the legendary Iowa State Cyclones. While Iowa State did have an NCAA champion last season in senior Jon Reader at 174 pounds, the team finished a disappointing twentieth at the NCAA Championships, one of the lowest finishes since the team started competing in 1928. While some starters are returning this season, the 2011-12 Cyclones are a relatively young team which will feature several new wrestlers in their lineup, including freshmen, such as the highly-touted Kyven Gadson. We spoke with Coach Jackson Friday afternoon by phone about his young team. We discussed who are the likely starters, the new recruits for the Cyclones, how competing in freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling is helpful for college wrestlers, possible changes in the Big 12 Conference, and much more. In addition, we open by noting the continued revival of catch wrestling. This week saw the launch of the new web site of the world-famous Snake Pit. Much more is to come for this home of catch wrestling in Wigan, England, and around the world. The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by Ian Carpenter. No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by: MMA World Expo. The mixed martial arts community comes to New York City, featuring the Renzo Gracie Gi Open 2011 tournament, a signing of his new book by MMA legend Randy Couture, grappling and muay Thai action, MMA fighters, seminars with world-class trainers, vendors, panel discussions, and much more. The third annual MMA World Expo takes place Saturday, December 17, and Sunday, December 18, at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City. Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. Your #1 source for exciting auction shopping and outstanding deals on just about anything! Top rated, most trusted auction site online. Where do you shop? Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/. The American Sambo Association, which is committed to becoming the premier association in the U.S. dedicated to the advancement of Sambo. Sambo is a form of sport, self-defense, and combat established in the former Soviet Union during the early twentieth century. For more information, go to ussambo.com. Thanks, Eddie Goldman EddieGoldman.com

No Holds Barred: Our First Video Show!

Eddie Goldman — Sat, 28 May 2011 21:33:05 GMT

(Photo of Eddie Goldman and Ian Carpenter) On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman presents our first video show. As with any maiden voyage, there are still some kinks to work out, but we thank our colleague Ian Carpenter for being the video producer of this episode of No Holds Barred, which was recorded May 26 at the Magic Pumpkin Studios in Astoria, Queens, New York. On the show, we begin by discussing the historic victory by Bernard Hopkins over Jean Pascal to become the top light heavyweight boxer in the world. Hopkins, at age 46, also becomes the oldest boxer ever to win a major world title. But we also discuss some other aging fighters who have not done so well of late, including boxer Roy Jones Jr. and mixed martial arts fighters Randy Couture and Dan Severn. We next discuss the growing awareness of the severity of injuries in sports, including the incredible number of deaths in auto racing and American football, especially in high school and college football. We also note the growing number of injuries of different types for main event mixed martial arts fighters today. And we conclude by discussing grappling and how some MMA fighters even today emphasize their submission skills. These include the unbeaten heavyweight Guram Gugenishivili, who headlines the M-1 Challenge XXVI card on July 8 in the main event against Pat Bennett. While we do plan to do more video shows, we will also continue our audio shows as well. The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by Ian Carpenter. No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by: M-1 Global. Founded in 1998, M-1 Global has staged over 100 mixed martial arts events worldwide including the M-1 Selection tournaments and M-1 Challenge events, in Eastern and Western Europe, North America, and Asia. While discovering and developing the world's next generation of superstar fighters, M-1 Global's greatest asset is the number one heavyweight in mixed martial arts history, Fedor Emelianenko. Make sure to catch their shows from around the world, including on Showtime in the U.S., and visit their web site, M-1 Global.com, and the M-1 Facebook page for news, videos, and live streaming events. Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. Your #1 source for exciting auction shopping and outstanding deals on just about anything! Top rated, most trusted auction site online. Where do you shop? Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/. The American Sambo Association, which is committed to becoming the premier association in the U.S. dedicated to the advancement of Sambo. Sambo is a form of sport, self-defense, and combat established in the former Soviet Union during the early twentieth century. For more information, go to ussambo.com. Thanks, Eddie Goldman EddieGoldman.com