NO HOLDS BARRED

(Eddie Goldman and Joel Casamayor in New York, Nov. 7, 2007. Photo by Keisha Morrisey.)

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman discusses the problems with the television deal of the Bellator Fighting Championships on Fox Sports Net, and what to expect from the "Cuban style" of fighting promised by "King" Mo Lawal in his April 17 Strikeforce mixed martial arts fight with Gegard Mousasi, which will be shown in the U.S., on CBS.

We begin by noting how, in most markets in the U.S., the Bellator show of April 8, their first of 2010, will only be aired on tape delay. We discuss how this greatly hurts their overall plans to become a successful national mixed martial arts promotion. And we critique the failed model in mixed martial arts of trying to create standalone national promotions, similar to those which have existed in the fake pro "wrestling".

When "King" Mo Lawal stated on a media conference call this week that he would be using a "Cuban style" against Gegard Mousasi, almost no one in the so-called mixed martial arts "media" had any clue about what he was talking, since they are willfully ignorant of the sport of wrestling where so many Cuban athletes have excelled. Few also have any familiarity with the many great Cuban boxers, both professional and amateur, who have done so well. We thus shed a little light on the history of a few of these top Cuban combat sports champions, and urge serious fans of mixed martial arts to educate themselves about the styles of combat sports which together form the basis of mixed martial arts.

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Labels: Bellator, Cuban, Eddie Goldman, King Mo, Mousasi, No Holds Barred