Tuesday, May 26, 2009
No Holds Barred: Renzo Gracie, Rolles Gracie, Andy Pi, and Luca Atalla on Art of War 12
On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman begins a series of shows reviewing the historic Art of War 12 mixed martial arts card, which we covered live from Beijing, China, Saturday, May 23, 2009.
The night after the show, we had a roundtable discussion in Beijing with Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and mixed martial arts legend Renzo Gracie; Rolles Gracie of Brazil, who defeated Baga Agaev of Russia by rear naked choke in the first round of their fight on Art of War 12; Andy Pi, the co-founder of the Art of War Fighting Championship; and the veteran journalist Luca Atalla of Gracie Magazine.
In this lengthy and lively discussion, we examined what happened on this card, the rules, the prospects for the Art of War Fighting Championship to become a world-class promotion, the relation of grappling and mixed martial arts, and much 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.
The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by Ian Carpenter.
Make sure to visit the official boxing forum for No Holds Barred, the MySpace Boxing Forum.
No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by:
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.
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/.
BJJMart.com, your premier source for all Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu gear, videos, books, and much more.
Wrestling 411, providing coverage of the sport of wrestling on TV, the Internet, and radio. Wrestling 411 is produced by Media Sports Productions, whose sole mission is the marketing and promotion of the sport of wrestling.
FightBeat.com, for news, results, interviews, and free exclusive videos from the worlds of boxing and mixed martial arts.
Labels: Andy Pi, Art of War, BJJ, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, China, Eddie Goldman, Gracie Magazine, Konrad Pi, Luca Atalla, mixed martial arts, MMA, No Holds Barred, Renzo Gracie, Rolles Gracie, UAE, Wu Hao Tian
I hope the Pis can grow their event, but they'll have to be aggressive. For starters, the website needs updating. I've looked for two days for videos of the event and can't find them anywhere. Fans aren't just fans. Fans are also unpaid promoters. If I could see their stuff I'd promote it. This is a day and age when websites need daily updating. This isn't expensive. It takes less than half an hour. Get it done.
: 1:43 AMYes, the Art of War FC people need to be better at using their web site and posting their videos. But remember a few things.
First, their main audience is in China. YouTube, as I understand it, is currently blocked in China by the government. So they do have to post their videos and information in a more timely way on their own site. They know this, but have a small operation in China, and are learning how to promote themselves on the Internet. I mentioned some of this to them while I was in China, and they were very anxious to start to do this more.
Second, unlike the Fertittas and their trained dog, they are honorable guys. I think they feel the need to be diplomatic about them, as do most people publicly. I certainly don’t, but I’m obviously in a different position than them.
Third, they are young and also new to promoting. They have to learn what has been done in the West, and adapt that to the conditions in their country. They are in this for the long run. Both Andy and Konrad train in BJJ, and love these sports and disciplines. So it will take some time for them to create a larger promotion, but I think they have the potential to become a world-class promotion in a number of years.
Getting a major TV deal in China as well as Asia and elsewhere is a key goal, and they are making progress with that. When they get more TV exposure, it will be easier for them to solve a lot of other problems.
But I am glad you raised these points, so hopefully they can post more videos soon and put more resources into their web site. Unlike BLAF, they are listening.
2 Comments:
I must speak against the false appreciation for the fertitta brothers and "all they've done for the sport." The Fertittas fluked out and their brand got profitable. I don't believe they've ever done anything to grow the sport. I don't believe they've done anything for the sport. The popularity of their brand opened up things for others, but this was never the fertittas motive. Their concern was spreading a brand (which is now a disease that is killing mma). You can't give someone credit for an unintended consequence. Besides, they are dirty, sneaky louses. Why even pretend otherwise? MMA will be better off without them.
I hope the Pis can grow their event, but they'll have to be aggressive. For starters, the website needs updating. I've looked for two days for videos of the event and can't find them anywhere. Fans aren't just fans. Fans are also unpaid promoters. If I could see their stuff I'd promote it. This is a day and age when websites need daily updating. This isn't expensive. It takes less than half an hour. Get it done.
By , at
1:43 AM
Agreed, of course, on the Fertittas and BLAF. Spike put them on right after the fake “wrestling”, and they absorbed a good chunk of their audience. Now they are W”W”E2.
Yes, the Art of War FC people need to be better at using their web site and posting their videos. But remember a few things.
First, their main audience is in China. YouTube, as I understand it, is currently blocked in China by the government. So they do have to post their videos and information in a more timely way on their own site. They know this, but have a small operation in China, and are learning how to promote themselves on the Internet. I mentioned some of this to them while I was in China, and they were very anxious to start to do this more.
Second, unlike the Fertittas and their trained dog, they are honorable guys. I think they feel the need to be diplomatic about them, as do most people publicly. I certainly don’t, but I’m obviously in a different position than them.
Third, they are young and also new to promoting. They have to learn what has been done in the West, and adapt that to the conditions in their country. They are in this for the long run. Both Andy and Konrad train in BJJ, and love these sports and disciplines. So it will take some time for them to create a larger promotion, but I think they have the potential to become a world-class promotion in a number of years.
Getting a major TV deal in China as well as Asia and elsewhere is a key goal, and they are making progress with that. When they get more TV exposure, it will be easier for them to solve a lot of other problems.
But I am glad you raised these points, so hopefully they can post more videos soon and put more resources into their web site. Unlike BLAF, they are listening.
By 
Eddie Goldman, at
8:55 AM
