NO HOLDS BARRED

NO HOLDS BARRED on PodOmatic

On this edition of NO HOLDS BARRED, host Eddie Goldman reviews the HDNet Fights mixed martial arts show, held Dec. 15 in Dallas, Texas, and plays a series of interviews recorded there.

We start with a commentary on the show itself and an evaluation of the prospects for the success of HDNet Fights, which is owned by Mark Cuban, the wealthy owner of the Dallas Mavericks of the NBA. One thing, however, is certain: Mark Cuban has succeeded in buying his way into becoming a major player in mixed martial arts.

First up is "The Natural," Randy Couture, the now-former UFC heavyweight and light heavyweight champion who recently resigned from that promotion. Randy was at this event to corner fighters Frank Trigg and Jay White. We spoke about Randy's plans for future, his desire to fight top heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko, his status with UFC, the problems with the structure of mixed martial arts, his desire to compete in grappling, and his continuing relations with the wrestling community.

Wrestling and grappling legend Rico Chiapparelli was also there with Frank Trigg. Rico discusses his plans for 2008 for running shows of the Professional Submission League, which features submission wrestling. We also discuss the need for developing an amateur level for mixed martial arts, and the role of FILA, the international wrestling federation, which is entering the world of grappling.

We next spoke with the always-colorful middleweight Jason "Mayhem" Miller, who defeated Tim Kennedy by unanimous decision on this card. We spoke about his fight and, as usual, Jason offers some prize comments.

Heavyweight fighter Jay White entered his fight Saturday night with Patrick Castillo with an unimpressive 1-5-1 record. But now he is training with Randy Couture, who cornered him in this fight. One quick result already: Jay won this fight in just 50 seconds of the first round with an arm bar. Jay explained his development from a grappler to a mixed martial arts fighter, his prospects for improving as a fighter, and his plans.

Guy Mezger, the former UFC and Pancrase fighter from the Lion's Den, now runs fight operations and is the matchmaker for the HDNet Fights promotion. After this event, we discussed with him how it went, the fights themselves, and the plans for this promotion.

The morning after the show, we spoke with middleweight Frank Trigg, who won his fight over Edwin Dewees with a kimura arm lock in 1:40 of the first round. We discussed this fight, the possibility of him next fighting Jason Miller in a rematch, his plans for fighting with HDNet Fights, the prospects for this promotion.

You can also listen to a recap of this event I did on the Internet radio show Carson's Corner with its host, Bob Carson, who also covered this event from cageside.

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The NO HOLDS BARRED theme song is called "The Heist", by musician Ian Carpenter.

NO HOLDS BARRED is free to listen to and is sponsored by:

Art of War, the undisputed arena fighting championship, promoted by SUN Sports and Entertainment, producing world class mixed martial arts events. For more information, check out their web site, ArtOfWarLive.com.

IFL, the International Fight League, the world's first professional mixed martial arts league. Make sure to check out their regular TV shows on FSN (Fox Sports Net) in the U.S. and to check your local listings for dates and times. You can also catch IFL Battleground on MyNetworkTV. Check out the IFL web site, ifl.tv, for a listing of IFL live events and their TV schedule.

Gladiator Challenge, shaking up the mixed martial arts world since 1999, and now with 30 shows per year. For more news and info, check out their web site, GladiatorChallenge.com.

BJJMart.com, your premier source for all Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu gear, videos, books, and much more.

Gladiator Magazine, for in-depth coverage of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, submission grappling, and MMA, as well as lifestyle articles on surfing, cars, movies, and more. Gladiator Magazine is available at any major bookstore and online at BJJMart.com or Jiu Jitsu Pro Gear.

FightBeat.com, for news, results, interviews, and free exclusive videos from the worlds of boxing and mixed martial arts.

Labels: Eddie Goldman, Frank Trigg, Guy Mezger, HDNet Fights, Jason Miller, Jay White, Mark Cuban, mixed martial arts, MMA, No Holds Barred, Randy Couture, Rico Chiapparelli, UFC, ultimate fighting