Tuesday, June 29, 2010
No Holds Barred: John Perretti on Werdum-Fedor, Jiu-Jitsu, and Death of MMA Fighter Michael Kirkham
(The late Michael Kirkham, from his Facebook profile.)On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with our senior correspondent, the legendary former matchmaker John Perretti.
We spoke Monday night about the tragic breaking news reports that mixed martial arts fighter Michael Kirkham, after his first professional bout on Saturday, June 26, in Aiken, South Carolina, had died from of a brain hemorrhage Monday morning. We discussed footage of Kirkham on YouTube from an amateur fight he had, and lost, in April. John Perretti commented that Kirkham did not show the skills necessary to become a pro fighter. We also discussed the lax medical requirements for fighters in the state of South Carolina, and how this was the kind of tragedy we have been warning about as mixed martial arts becomes a less safe sport than it had been previously.
Earlier Monday we had a lengthy discussion about the submission victory by Fabricio Werdum over Fedor Emelianenko at the Strikeforce-M-1 Global mixed martial arts card Saturday, June 26, in San Jose, California. We discussed how Fedor was defeated by a move from "Jiu-Jitsu 101". We discussed the place of Fedor in mixed martial arts history, the devolution of the heavyweight division which he dominated for many years, why there should not be an immediate rematch between Fedor and Werdum, how this fight highlights the key role of grappling in mixed martial arts, the impressive performance on this card by Cung Le, why fighters like Brock Lesnar do not have a "complete toolbox", 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:
BJJMart.com, your premier source for all Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu gear, videos, books, and much more.
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/.
Bragging Rights Corner, for news and always independent opinion about the sport and business of boxing. Check out their web site at http://www.braggingrightscorner.com.
FightBeat.com, for news, results, interviews, and free exclusive videos from the worlds of boxing and mixed martial arts.
We spoke Monday night about the tragic breaking news reports that mixed martial arts fighter Michael Kirkham, after his first professional bout on Saturday, June 26, in Aiken, South Carolina, had died from of a brain hemorrhage Monday morning. We discussed footage of Kirkham on YouTube from an amateur fight he had, and lost, in April. John Perretti commented that Kirkham did not show the skills necessary to become a pro fighter. We also discussed the lax medical requirements for fighters in the state of South Carolina, and how this was the kind of tragedy we have been warning about as mixed martial arts becomes a less safe sport than it had been previously.
Earlier Monday we had a lengthy discussion about the submission victory by Fabricio Werdum over Fedor Emelianenko at the Strikeforce-M-1 Global mixed martial arts card Saturday, June 26, in San Jose, California. We discussed how Fedor was defeated by a move from "Jiu-Jitsu 101". We discussed the place of Fedor in mixed martial arts history, the devolution of the heavyweight division which he dominated for many years, why there should not be an immediate rematch between Fedor and Werdum, how this fight highlights the key role of grappling in mixed martial arts, the impressive performance on this card by Cung Le, why fighters like Brock Lesnar do not have a "complete toolbox", 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:
BJJMart.com, your premier source for all Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu gear, videos, books, and much more.
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/.
Bragging Rights Corner, for news and always independent opinion about the sport and business of boxing. Check out their web site at http://www.braggingrightscorner.com.
FightBeat.com, for news, results, interviews, and free exclusive videos from the worlds of boxing and mixed martial arts.
Labels: Eddie Goldman, John Perretti, Michael Kirkham, MMA, No Holds Barred
Sunday, June 27, 2010
No Holds Barred: Bob Carson On Werdum Defeating Fedor, and Implications for MMA
Photo: Esther Lin/Strikeforce
On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with our colleague and correspondent Bob Carson about the stunning submission victory by Fabricio Werdum over Fedor Emelianenko at the Strikeforce-M-1 Global mixed martial arts card Saturday, June 26, in San Jose, California. Bob Carson is also the host of Carson's Corner.
In the main event, after Fedor had dropped him with a right hand and followed him to the ground, Werdum, a two-time Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and ADCC world champion, caught Fedor in an armbar-triangle combination. Unable to escape, Fedor tapped out at just 1:09 of the first round.
Right after this fight, we discussed its implications for the careers of Fedor and Werdum, for the future of Strikeforce and M-1 Global, and for the mixed martial arts in general. We noted that a legend and the best MMA fighter of the 1990s, Frank Shamrock, had announced his retirement as a fighter on this show, and now the best MMA fighter of the first decade of this century, Fedor, had gone down to defeat in its second decade. We discussed the technique used by Werdum in this short fight, and how very basic Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is still very effective in mixed martial arts.
We discussed how this fight hurt Strikeforce and M-1 Global, and criticized a number of blunders made by both organizations in their marketing and media relations. We also ripped those in the media who will purposely fail to put the loss by Fedor into its proper historical perspective and use it to denigrate his entire career, and how this is related to the passivity and lack of critical thinking so prevalent in the U.S. today. We discussed how the best televised mixed martial arts product in the U.S. is now coming from the Bellator Fighting Championships, 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:
BJJMart.com, your premier source for all Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu gear, videos, books, and much more.
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/.
Bragging Rights Corner, for news and always independent opinion about the sport and business of boxing. Check out their web site at http://www.braggingrightscorner.com.
FightBeat.com, for news, results, interviews, and free exclusive videos from the worlds of boxing and mixed martial arts.
On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with our colleague and correspondent Bob Carson about the stunning submission victory by Fabricio Werdum over Fedor Emelianenko at the Strikeforce-M-1 Global mixed martial arts card Saturday, June 26, in San Jose, California. Bob Carson is also the host of Carson's Corner.
In the main event, after Fedor had dropped him with a right hand and followed him to the ground, Werdum, a two-time Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and ADCC world champion, caught Fedor in an armbar-triangle combination. Unable to escape, Fedor tapped out at just 1:09 of the first round.
Right after this fight, we discussed its implications for the careers of Fedor and Werdum, for the future of Strikeforce and M-1 Global, and for the mixed martial arts in general. We noted that a legend and the best MMA fighter of the 1990s, Frank Shamrock, had announced his retirement as a fighter on this show, and now the best MMA fighter of the first decade of this century, Fedor, had gone down to defeat in its second decade. We discussed the technique used by Werdum in this short fight, and how very basic Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is still very effective in mixed martial arts.
We discussed how this fight hurt Strikeforce and M-1 Global, and criticized a number of blunders made by both organizations in their marketing and media relations. We also ripped those in the media who will purposely fail to put the loss by Fedor into its proper historical perspective and use it to denigrate his entire career, and how this is related to the passivity and lack of critical thinking so prevalent in the U.S. today. We discussed how the best televised mixed martial arts product in the U.S. is now coming from the Bellator Fighting Championships, 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:
BJJMart.com, your premier source for all Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu gear, videos, books, and much more.
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/.
Bragging Rights Corner, for news and always independent opinion about the sport and business of boxing. Check out their web site at http://www.braggingrightscorner.com.
FightBeat.com, for news, results, interviews, and free exclusive videos from the worlds of boxing and mixed martial arts.
Labels: Bob Carson, Eddie Goldman, Fedor, MMA, No Holds Barred, Werdum
Thursday, June 24, 2010
No Holds Barred: King Mo Lawal Previews Fedor-Werdum
Photo: Esther Lin/Strikeforce
On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with Strikeforce light heavyweight champion "King" Mo Lawal about the upcoming fight between Fedor Emelianenko and Fabricio Werdum. This fight will be the main event this coming Saturday, June 26, on a joint Strikeforce-M-1 Global mixed martial arts card in San Jose, California, which will be shown live in the U.S. on Showtime.
"King" Mo, who regularly trains with Werdum, offered his advice for a game plan for both Fedor and Werdum to win. We discussed the technique we expect to see displayed in this fight, including the mix of grappling and striking each fighter needs to use. We also discussed the Andre Ward- Allan Green fight in the Showtime Super Six super middleweight boxing tournament, and how mixed martial arts fighters should incorporate boxing technique into their repertoires. "King" Mo also left us with a prediction for the Fedor-Werdum fight, filled us in on what is known as of now about his next fight on August 21 in Houston, and much more.
We also open with a brief recap of the exciting Bellator 23 mixed martial arts card of June 24, where Joe Warren won a controversial split decision in a great fight with Patricio "Pitbull" Freire in the featherweight tournament finals, Alexander Shlemenko scored a first-round TKO over Bryan Baker in the middleweight tournament finals, and Zoila Frausto shocked the world with a first-round knockout of world-ranked Rosi Sexton.
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:
BJJMart.com, your premier source for all Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu gear, videos, books, and much more.
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/.
Bragging Rights Corner, for news and always independent opinion about the sport and business of boxing. Check out their web site at http://www.braggingrightscorner.com.
FightBeat.com, for news, results, interviews, and free exclusive videos from the worlds of boxing and mixed martial arts.
On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with Strikeforce light heavyweight champion "King" Mo Lawal about the upcoming fight between Fedor Emelianenko and Fabricio Werdum. This fight will be the main event this coming Saturday, June 26, on a joint Strikeforce-M-1 Global mixed martial arts card in San Jose, California, which will be shown live in the U.S. on Showtime.
"King" Mo, who regularly trains with Werdum, offered his advice for a game plan for both Fedor and Werdum to win. We discussed the technique we expect to see displayed in this fight, including the mix of grappling and striking each fighter needs to use. We also discussed the Andre Ward- Allan Green fight in the Showtime Super Six super middleweight boxing tournament, and how mixed martial arts fighters should incorporate boxing technique into their repertoires. "King" Mo also left us with a prediction for the Fedor-Werdum fight, filled us in on what is known as of now about his next fight on August 21 in Houston, and much more.
We also open with a brief recap of the exciting Bellator 23 mixed martial arts card of June 24, where Joe Warren won a controversial split decision in a great fight with Patricio "Pitbull" Freire in the featherweight tournament finals, Alexander Shlemenko scored a first-round TKO over Bryan Baker in the middleweight tournament finals, and Zoila Frausto shocked the world with a first-round knockout of world-ranked Rosi Sexton.
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:
BJJMart.com, your premier source for all Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu gear, videos, books, and much more.
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/.
Bragging Rights Corner, for news and always independent opinion about the sport and business of boxing. Check out their web site at http://www.braggingrightscorner.com.
FightBeat.com, for news, results, interviews, and free exclusive videos from the worlds of boxing and mixed martial arts.
Labels: Eddie Goldman, Fedor, King Mo Lawal, No Holds Barred, Werdum
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
No Holds Barred: Nancy Ury On Strikeforce
On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with sports journalist Nancy Ury of World MMA Fight Club. She also is currently a host and analyst for TVG Network, an interactive horse racing television network. You can see some of her work here.
Although she has seen mixed martial arts events for many years on television and live, and covered live professional sporting events like horse racing, the June 16 Strikeforce card in Los Angeles was the first time she has ever covered a live mixed martial arts show. We thus discussed how she became interested in mixed martial arts, and her impressions of this event as a journalist and the event itself.
It was, as she explained in this lively discussion, a positive experience overall, and one she hopes to repeat.
We also commented on some of the good and bad aspects of this card, which had four televised fights on Showtime, plus two non-televised fights. In the main event, fighting at a catch weight of 195 pounds, former Strikeforce light heavyweight champion Renato "Babalu" Sobral won a close, unanimous three-round decision over former Strikeforce middleweight champion Robbie Lawler.
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:
BJJMart.com, your premier source for all Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu gear, videos, books, and much more.
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/.
Bragging Rights Corner, for news and always independent opinion about the sport and business of boxing. Check out their web site at http://www.braggingrightscorner.com.
FightBeat.com, for news, results, interviews, and free exclusive videos from the worlds of boxing and mixed martial arts.
Although she has seen mixed martial arts events for many years on television and live, and covered live professional sporting events like horse racing, the June 16 Strikeforce card in Los Angeles was the first time she has ever covered a live mixed martial arts show. We thus discussed how she became interested in mixed martial arts, and her impressions of this event as a journalist and the event itself.
It was, as she explained in this lively discussion, a positive experience overall, and one she hopes to repeat.
We also commented on some of the good and bad aspects of this card, which had four televised fights on Showtime, plus two non-televised fights. In the main event, fighting at a catch weight of 195 pounds, former Strikeforce light heavyweight champion Renato "Babalu" Sobral won a close, unanimous three-round decision over former Strikeforce middleweight champion Robbie Lawler.
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:
BJJMart.com, your premier source for all Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu gear, videos, books, and much more.
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/.
Bragging Rights Corner, for news and always independent opinion about the sport and business of boxing. Check out their web site at http://www.braggingrightscorner.com.
FightBeat.com, for news, results, interviews, and free exclusive videos from the worlds of boxing and mixed martial arts.
Labels: Babalu, Eddie Goldman, MMA, Nancy Ury, No Holds Barred, Strikeforce
Monday, June 21, 2010
No Holds Barred: On Fedor, Staph, Bellator, Strikeforce, and Arizona
On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman addresses a number of issues in the mixed martial arts, including the recent comments of Fedor Emelianenko on a media conference call, MMA fighter Matt Hamill being allowed to fight despite having a very visible staph infection, the tournament finals in the Bellator Fighting Championships, the possibility of a joint Bellator-Strikeforce card, and the controversial plans for Strikeforce to run a show in Arizona, despite an international boycott of that state.
We open with an analysis of the situation involving UFC fighter Matt Hamill, who was cleared to compete on June 19 in a fight in Las Vegas, Nevada, despite having a staph infection on his back. We read a comment on this from Dr. Margaret Goodman, our medical correspondent and the former head of the Nevada State Athletic Commission Medical Advisory Board, which says: "I have seen the NSAC and UFC shut down their Ultimate Fighter gym and their personal gym when there was evidence of a staph infection. With that said, I know that if I had still been with the NSAC, I would have had the fighter cleared by a dermatologist and for him to submit a report from his treating physician to the commission. I believe this is the only true way to determine the stage of the lesion and whether or not it was contagious. And, I think it would be helpful to have the fighter and/or the fighter's doctor explain how the abnormality was treated prior to the fight." We also discuss the controversial history of the commission doctor who allowed Hamill to fight, Dr. Vicki Mazzorana.
Next we play an excerpt from the media conference call of June 18 featuring Fedor Emelianenko and Fabricio Werdum, who meet in a heavyweight fight this coming Saturday, June 26, on a joint Strikeforce-M-1 Global card in San Jose, California, which will be shown live in the U.S. on Showtime. Our focus was on fighting technique.
The second season for the Bellator Fighting Championships is coming to a close, and we discuss the dominating victory in the 170-pound tournament finals by two-time NCAA Div. I wrestling champion and 2008 U.S. freestyle wrestling Olympian Ben Askren over a very tough Dan Hornbuckle. This coming Thursday, June 24, the last two tournament finals in this season take place, as 2006 world Greco-Roman wrestling champion Joe Warren takes on Patricio "Pitbull" Freire in the featherweight finals, and Bryan Baker fights Alexander Shlemenko in the middleweight finals.
There has been talk of Strikeforce and Bellator working together later in the year, possibly on a champion vs. champion fight involving Strikeforce lightweight champ Gilbert Melendez facing Bellator lightweight champ Eddie Alvarez. We not only applaud this, but also call for a World MMA Classic, similar to the World Boxing Classic currently under way in the super middleweight division on Showtime.
But we also point out that Strikeforce appears to be considering running an event in Arizona in the coming months. There is an international boycott of Arizona because of the anti-immigrant law SB 1070, which is scheduled to go into effect July 29. Numerous organizations have already pulled events out of Arizona and have condemned this law, so we argue that Strikeforce should not break this international boycott.
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:
BJJMart.com, your premier source for all Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu gear, videos, books, and much more.
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/.
Bragging Rights Corner, for news and always independent opinion about the sport and business of boxing. Check out their web site at http://www.braggingrightscorner.com.
FightBeat.com, for news, results, interviews, and free exclusive videos from the worlds of boxing and mixed martial arts.
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We open with an analysis of the situation involving UFC fighter Matt Hamill, who was cleared to compete on June 19 in a fight in Las Vegas, Nevada, despite having a staph infection on his back. We read a comment on this from Dr. Margaret Goodman, our medical correspondent and the former head of the Nevada State Athletic Commission Medical Advisory Board, which says: "I have seen the NSAC and UFC shut down their Ultimate Fighter gym and their personal gym when there was evidence of a staph infection. With that said, I know that if I had still been with the NSAC, I would have had the fighter cleared by a dermatologist and for him to submit a report from his treating physician to the commission. I believe this is the only true way to determine the stage of the lesion and whether or not it was contagious. And, I think it would be helpful to have the fighter and/or the fighter's doctor explain how the abnormality was treated prior to the fight." We also discuss the controversial history of the commission doctor who allowed Hamill to fight, Dr. Vicki Mazzorana.
Next we play an excerpt from the media conference call of June 18 featuring Fedor Emelianenko and Fabricio Werdum, who meet in a heavyweight fight this coming Saturday, June 26, on a joint Strikeforce-M-1 Global card in San Jose, California, which will be shown live in the U.S. on Showtime. Our focus was on fighting technique.
The second season for the Bellator Fighting Championships is coming to a close, and we discuss the dominating victory in the 170-pound tournament finals by two-time NCAA Div. I wrestling champion and 2008 U.S. freestyle wrestling Olympian Ben Askren over a very tough Dan Hornbuckle. This coming Thursday, June 24, the last two tournament finals in this season take place, as 2006 world Greco-Roman wrestling champion Joe Warren takes on Patricio "Pitbull" Freire in the featherweight finals, and Bryan Baker fights Alexander Shlemenko in the middleweight finals.
There has been talk of Strikeforce and Bellator working together later in the year, possibly on a champion vs. champion fight involving Strikeforce lightweight champ Gilbert Melendez facing Bellator lightweight champ Eddie Alvarez. We not only applaud this, but also call for a World MMA Classic, similar to the World Boxing Classic currently under way in the super middleweight division on Showtime.
But we also point out that Strikeforce appears to be considering running an event in Arizona in the coming months. There is an international boycott of Arizona because of the anti-immigrant law SB 1070, which is scheduled to go into effect July 29. Numerous organizations have already pulled events out of Arizona and have condemned this law, so we argue that Strikeforce should not break this international boycott.
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:
BJJMart.com, your premier source for all Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu gear, videos, books, and much more.
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/.
Bragging Rights Corner, for news and always independent opinion about the sport and business of boxing. Check out their web site at http://www.braggingrightscorner.com.
FightBeat.com, for news, results, interviews, and free exclusive videos from the worlds of boxing and mixed martial arts.
Labels: Askren, Bellator, Eddie Goldman, Fedor, No Holds Barred, staph, Strikeforce
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Fedor Emelianenko, Fabricio Werdum, Scott Coker Media Conference Call
We have posted the complete, unedited audio from the media conference call of Friday, June 18, 2010, featuring Fedor Emelianenko, Fabricio Werdum, and Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker.
Fedor Emelianenko is regarded by knowledgeable observers and analysts as the top heavyweight and pound-for-pound mixed martial arts fighter in the world. His next opponent is two-time ADCC and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu world champion Fabricio Werdum. They will headline a joint Strikeforce-M-1 Global card on Saturday, June 26, at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California. This card will be televised live in the U.S. on Showtime.
You can listen to or download this lengthy conference call, which lasted about 85 minutes, here.
Fedor Emelianenko is regarded by knowledgeable observers and analysts as the top heavyweight and pound-for-pound mixed martial arts fighter in the world. His next opponent is two-time ADCC and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu world champion Fabricio Werdum. They will headline a joint Strikeforce-M-1 Global card on Saturday, June 26, at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California. This card will be televised live in the U.S. on Showtime.
You can listen to or download this lengthy conference call, which lasted about 85 minutes, here.
Labels: Fabricio Werdum, Fedor Emelianenko, MMA, No Holds Barred, Scott Coker
Thursday, June 17, 2010
No Holds Barred: Andre Ward-Allan Green Preview, Al Bernstein
On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman previews the Andre Ward-Allan Green super middleweight fight scheduled for this Saturday, June 19, and speaks with one of the best boxing announcers in the world, Al Bernstein.
WBA super middleweight champion Andre Ward (20-0, 13 KOs) will both defend his title and continue his quest to win the Super Six World Boxing Classic when he takes on Allan Green (29-1, 20 KOs). Ward won his first fight in this tournament with an 11th-round technical decision over Mikkel Kessler, from whom he captured that WBA belt. Green is making his debut in the tournament, replacing Jermain Taylor, who withdrew after being brutally knocked out by Arthur Abraham in the first round of fights.
The Andre Ward-Allan Green fight will take place Saturday, June 19, at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, California. It will be televised live in the U.S. on Showtime.
On a recent media conference call, we got comments from both Andre Ward and Allan Green about how they view this fight and what to expect in it.
We also explain why this tournament is one of the best things happening now in the beleaguered and declining sport of boxing.
On Monday, June 14, there was a media roundtable in New York with the veteran boxing broadcaster Al Bernstein to celebrate his 30 years in boxing. At its conclusion, we had a chance to sit down for a lengthy interview with him, which lasted about 30 minutes.
We spoke about how he got into boxing, the role of the broadcaster, the influence of the legendary announcer Don Dunphy, boxing and mixed martial arts, what changes he would like to see in boxing, some of the many absurd conspiracy theories in boxing, the Super Six World Boxing Classic super middleweight tournament, whose fights he has been calling for Showtime, his latest boxing venture on the Internet, and more. This is a rare chance to hear the thoughts of someone most people just see and hear analyzing fights, commenting on his own career and life, and the sport in which he has become one of the most universally respected broadcasters.
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:
BJJMart.com, your premier source for all Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu gear, videos, books, and much more.
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/.
Bragging Rights Corner, for news and always independent opinion about the sport and business of boxing. Check out their web site at http://www.braggingrightscorner.com.
FightBeat.com, for news, results, interviews, and free exclusive videos from the worlds of boxing and mixed martial arts.
WBA super middleweight champion Andre Ward (20-0, 13 KOs) will both defend his title and continue his quest to win the Super Six World Boxing Classic when he takes on Allan Green (29-1, 20 KOs). Ward won his first fight in this tournament with an 11th-round technical decision over Mikkel Kessler, from whom he captured that WBA belt. Green is making his debut in the tournament, replacing Jermain Taylor, who withdrew after being brutally knocked out by Arthur Abraham in the first round of fights.
The Andre Ward-Allan Green fight will take place Saturday, June 19, at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, California. It will be televised live in the U.S. on Showtime.
On a recent media conference call, we got comments from both Andre Ward and Allan Green about how they view this fight and what to expect in it.
We also explain why this tournament is one of the best things happening now in the beleaguered and declining sport of boxing.
On Monday, June 14, there was a media roundtable in New York with the veteran boxing broadcaster Al Bernstein to celebrate his 30 years in boxing. At its conclusion, we had a chance to sit down for a lengthy interview with him, which lasted about 30 minutes.
We spoke about how he got into boxing, the role of the broadcaster, the influence of the legendary announcer Don Dunphy, boxing and mixed martial arts, what changes he would like to see in boxing, some of the many absurd conspiracy theories in boxing, the Super Six World Boxing Classic super middleweight tournament, whose fights he has been calling for Showtime, his latest boxing venture on the Internet, and more. This is a rare chance to hear the thoughts of someone most people just see and hear analyzing fights, commenting on his own career and life, and the sport in which he has become one of the most universally respected broadcasters.
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:
BJJMart.com, your premier source for all Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu gear, videos, books, and much more.
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/.
Bragging Rights Corner, for news and always independent opinion about the sport and business of boxing. Check out their web site at http://www.braggingrightscorner.com.
FightBeat.com, for news, results, interviews, and free exclusive videos from the worlds of boxing and mixed martial arts.
Labels: Al Bernstein, Andre Ward, Eddie Goldman, Green, No Holds Barred
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
No Holds Barred: John Perretti on Lawler-Babalu, Chuck Liddell, Shot Fighters, and Brain Injuries
On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with our senior correspondent John Perretti about the June 16 Robbie Lawler-Renato "Babalu" Sobral mixed martial arts fight in Strikeforce, the rise and fall of Chuck Liddell, and the dangerously disgraceful lack of oversight of the combat sports.
The Robbie Lawler-Renato "Babalu" Sobral fight is the main event on a Strikeforce card on Wednesday, June 16, at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles. It will be shown live in the U.S. on Showtime. We open with comments on this fight from both Robbie Lawler and Babalu from a media conference call on June 9.
As UFC matchmaker, John Perretti booked both Liddell and Babalu in bouts early in their careers. Our lengthy discussion examined the careers of Liddell and Babalu and analyzed the lessons to be learned from them.
Fighters like Chuck Liddell have suffered repeated knockouts in fights, yet have still been allowed to fight, both by promoters and the regulatory bodies which cater to the promoters. In his last fight, last August in Strikeforce, Babalu was knocked out in one minute of the first round by Gegard Mousasi. We thus focused on the growing trend of head injuries to fighters in the mixed martial arts and how next to nothing is being done to monitor and protect them.
John Perretti called for mandatory retirement for such shot fighters, exposed the grossly incompetent refereeing where fighters who have already been knocked out continue to get hit while referees watch from afar, and called for urgent action to be taken by those with both integrity and knowledge of the combat sports to protect the fighters. He also explained how fighters like Liddell and Babalu, who have suffered from accumulating so many head blows in their careers, may be awaiting tragic fates.
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:
BJJMart.com, your premier source for all Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu gear, videos, books, and much more.
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/.
Bragging Rights Corner, for news and always independent opinion about the sport and business of boxing. Check out their web site at http://www.braggingrightscorner.com.
FightBeat.com, for news, results, interviews, and free exclusive videos from the worlds of boxing and mixed martial arts.
The Robbie Lawler-Renato "Babalu" Sobral fight is the main event on a Strikeforce card on Wednesday, June 16, at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles. It will be shown live in the U.S. on Showtime. We open with comments on this fight from both Robbie Lawler and Babalu from a media conference call on June 9.
As UFC matchmaker, John Perretti booked both Liddell and Babalu in bouts early in their careers. Our lengthy discussion examined the careers of Liddell and Babalu and analyzed the lessons to be learned from them.
Fighters like Chuck Liddell have suffered repeated knockouts in fights, yet have still been allowed to fight, both by promoters and the regulatory bodies which cater to the promoters. In his last fight, last August in Strikeforce, Babalu was knocked out in one minute of the first round by Gegard Mousasi. We thus focused on the growing trend of head injuries to fighters in the mixed martial arts and how next to nothing is being done to monitor and protect them.
John Perretti called for mandatory retirement for such shot fighters, exposed the grossly incompetent refereeing where fighters who have already been knocked out continue to get hit while referees watch from afar, and called for urgent action to be taken by those with both integrity and knowledge of the combat sports to protect the fighters. He also explained how fighters like Liddell and Babalu, who have suffered from accumulating so many head blows in their careers, may be awaiting tragic fates.
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:
BJJMart.com, your premier source for all Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu gear, videos, books, and much more.
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/.
Bragging Rights Corner, for news and always independent opinion about the sport and business of boxing. Check out their web site at http://www.braggingrightscorner.com.
FightBeat.com, for news, results, interviews, and free exclusive videos from the worlds of boxing and mixed martial arts.
Labels: Babalu, Eddie Goldman, John Perretti, Liddell, MMA, No Holds Barred
Monday, June 14, 2010
No Holds Barred: Suszannah Warner, Florina Petcu, Shelley Devine, Cathlin Daley
(Photo by Cathlin Daley, Daley Photography, http://daleyphotography.net)
On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman discusses the role of women in the combat sports and reviews the Friday Night Fights NYC amateur muay Thai card held in New York June 11.
We first spoke with Shelley Devine of Evolve Fights in New Hampshire and Cathlin Daley of Daley Photography, who were covering this event. We spoke with them before the fights about the combat sports scene in New England, the role of women fighters, and more.
In the main event, Florina Petcu of the Renzo Gracie Academy in New York scored five-round split decision over Jill Guido of Team Tsutsui of Concord, California. We spoke with Florina Petcu right after her fight.
Attending this event also was veteran professional boxer Suszannah Warner, who was watching live muay Thai fights for the first time. We spoke with her after the event to get her thoughts, as well as to find out what is happening in her boxing career.
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:
BJJMart.com, your premier source for all Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu gear, videos, books, and much more.
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/.
Bragging Rights Corner, for news and always independent opinion about the sport and business of boxing. Check out their web site at http://www.braggingrightscorner.com.
FightBeat.com, for news, results, interviews, and free exclusive videos from the worlds of boxing and mixed martial arts.
On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman discusses the role of women in the combat sports and reviews the Friday Night Fights NYC amateur muay Thai card held in New York June 11.
We first spoke with Shelley Devine of Evolve Fights in New Hampshire and Cathlin Daley of Daley Photography, who were covering this event. We spoke with them before the fights about the combat sports scene in New England, the role of women fighters, and more.
In the main event, Florina Petcu of the Renzo Gracie Academy in New York scored five-round split decision over Jill Guido of Team Tsutsui of Concord, California. We spoke with Florina Petcu right after her fight.
Attending this event also was veteran professional boxer Suszannah Warner, who was watching live muay Thai fights for the first time. We spoke with her after the event to get her thoughts, as well as to find out what is happening in her boxing career.
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:
BJJMart.com, your premier source for all Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu gear, videos, books, and much more.
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/.
Bragging Rights Corner, for news and always independent opinion about the sport and business of boxing. Check out their web site at http://www.braggingrightscorner.com.
FightBeat.com, for news, results, interviews, and free exclusive videos from the worlds of boxing and mixed martial arts.
Labels: boxing, Daley, Devine, Eddie Goldman, No Holds Barred, Petcu, Warner
Friday, June 11, 2010
No Holds Barred: Donovan Craig of Fight! Magazine
On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman discusses mixed martial arts and boxing with Donovan Craig, the editor-in-chief of Fight! Magazine.
We opened with a discussion of media, magazines, and MMA, since our approach to journalism is so important to clarify. We then went on to discuss the many cards coming up this month of June, including the return of the great heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko June 26 against Fabricio Werdum on a Strikeforce-M-1 Global card in San Jose, California. We discussed the emergence as a star in MMA of Strikeforce light heavyweight champion "King" Mo Lawal, the future of Strikeforce middleweight champion Jake Shields whose contract is up with that company and may be leaving it, and how professional boxers would do in mixed martial arts. We also discussed whether it is harder to predict fights in boxing or MMA, who the next great American heavyweight boxer will be, 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:
BJJMart.com, your premier source for all Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu gear, videos, books, and much more.
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/.
Bragging Rights Corner, for news and always independent opinion about the sport and business of boxing. Check out their web site at http://www.braggingrightscorner.com.
FightBeat.com, for news, results, interviews, and free exclusive videos from the worlds of boxing and mixed martial arts.
We opened with a discussion of media, magazines, and MMA, since our approach to journalism is so important to clarify. We then went on to discuss the many cards coming up this month of June, including the return of the great heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko June 26 against Fabricio Werdum on a Strikeforce-M-1 Global card in San Jose, California. We discussed the emergence as a star in MMA of Strikeforce light heavyweight champion "King" Mo Lawal, the future of Strikeforce middleweight champion Jake Shields whose contract is up with that company and may be leaving it, and how professional boxers would do in mixed martial arts. We also discussed whether it is harder to predict fights in boxing or MMA, who the next great American heavyweight boxer will be, 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:
BJJMart.com, your premier source for all Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu gear, videos, books, and much more.
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/.
Bragging Rights Corner, for news and always independent opinion about the sport and business of boxing. Check out their web site at http://www.braggingrightscorner.com.
FightBeat.com, for news, results, interviews, and free exclusive videos from the worlds of boxing and mixed martial arts.
Labels: boxing, Donovan Craig, Eddie Goldman, Fight, MMA, No Holds Barred
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Nevada State Athletic Commission Holds Hearing June 9 on Drug Testing
The Nevada State Athletic Commission, the governmental body which regulates the combat sports of boxing, mixed martial arts, and kickboxing in the state of Nevada, held a hearing Wednesday, June 9, in Las Vegas, discussing many topics. One of those, however, stood out and took up over half the meeting: "Review of Protocol for Steroid/Drug Testing and Disciplinary Matters".
Commission chair Pat Lundvall explained that this meeting was for "information gathering" purposes only and not to decide upon any action. Four main speakers presented their views, and were questioned by commission members.
Three of them basically defended the current commission practices, which only utilize urine testing. They were Dr. Robert Voy, the former Chief Medical Officer and Director of Sports Medicine and Science for the United States Olympic Committee; Dr. David Watson, currently the chief ringside physician for the commission; and boxing attorney Pat English. They argued that blood testing for the banned substance human growth hormone was either ineffective or unable to stand up in court. "We're doing a great job," concluded Dr. Watson.
On the other side was Travis Tygart, the CEO of the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), which is the independent agency which is recognized by the U.S. Congress as the official anti-doping agency for Olympic, Pan American, and Paralympic sport in the United States, and is affiliated with the World Anti-Doping Agency. He characterized the current testing by the Nevada commissions as "inadequate." He said blood testing was needed not only to detect doping through use of human growth hormone, but also synthetic hemoglobin (HBOC), blood transfusions (HBT), and some types of EPO. He also called for "no advance notice" random urine and blood testing, as had been done by USADA for the Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Shane Mosley fight of May 1, 2010, and defended the HGH blood tests as "reliable" which would stand up in court.
This was an open, public meeting, which was also available to those who called in by phone to listen to it. We thus have a recording of the audio of the part of this meeting devoted to drug testing. Because this part lasted about two hours, we have divided it up into two parts, with all the discussion just as it happened.
You can listen to or download part one here. You can listen to or download part two here.
Part one includes the testimony of Dr. Robert Voy and Dr. David Watson. Part two includes the testimony of Travis Tygart and Pat English.
No doubt what was said at this hearing will be debated for some time to come, and we hope this assists the public in deciding for themselves what is the best course of action to take.
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Commission chair Pat Lundvall explained that this meeting was for "information gathering" purposes only and not to decide upon any action. Four main speakers presented their views, and were questioned by commission members.
Three of them basically defended the current commission practices, which only utilize urine testing. They were Dr. Robert Voy, the former Chief Medical Officer and Director of Sports Medicine and Science for the United States Olympic Committee; Dr. David Watson, currently the chief ringside physician for the commission; and boxing attorney Pat English. They argued that blood testing for the banned substance human growth hormone was either ineffective or unable to stand up in court. "We're doing a great job," concluded Dr. Watson.
On the other side was Travis Tygart, the CEO of the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), which is the independent agency which is recognized by the U.S. Congress as the official anti-doping agency for Olympic, Pan American, and Paralympic sport in the United States, and is affiliated with the World Anti-Doping Agency. He characterized the current testing by the Nevada commissions as "inadequate." He said blood testing was needed not only to detect doping through use of human growth hormone, but also synthetic hemoglobin (HBOC), blood transfusions (HBT), and some types of EPO. He also called for "no advance notice" random urine and blood testing, as had been done by USADA for the Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Shane Mosley fight of May 1, 2010, and defended the HGH blood tests as "reliable" which would stand up in court.
This was an open, public meeting, which was also available to those who called in by phone to listen to it. We thus have a recording of the audio of the part of this meeting devoted to drug testing. Because this part lasted about two hours, we have divided it up into two parts, with all the discussion just as it happened.
You can listen to or download part one here. You can listen to or download part two here.
Part one includes the testimony of Dr. Robert Voy and Dr. David Watson. Part two includes the testimony of Travis Tygart and Pat English.
No doubt what was said at this hearing will be debated for some time to come, and we hope this assists the public in deciding for themselves what is the best course of action to take.
Labels: boxing, doping, drug testing, MMA, Nevada State Athletic Commission, Tygart
Tuesday, June 08, 2010
No Holds Barred: Charles Farrell on Cotto-Foreman and the Decline of New York
On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman once again speaks with our correspondent Charles Farrell about a bad boxing matchup with bad attendance in a big ballpark, and which was brutally blemished by bad officiating, bad announcing, and bad reporting, held in a big "hick town" known as New York.
That, of course, refers to the June 5 fight between Miguel Cotto and Yuri Foreman held in the new Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York. Cotto won by a TKO after referee Arthur Mercante finally stopped the fight in the ninth round, after Mercante refused to stop the fight one round earlier when the corner of Foreman, who was by then hobbling around on one leg, tried to end it by several methods.
We spoke Monday night and present our lengthy and cutting critique here in its entirety. We not only analyzed the many bad points of this fight and its promotion, but also tied it to the overall decline of New York, the home of many of the guilty parties in this debacle. We didn’t spare anybody, the promoters, HBO, the officials, and the media included. And as our guest philosopher, Jerome Lester Horwitz, explained, "Truth is stranger than fiction."
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:
BJJMart.com, your premier source for all Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu gear, videos, books, and much more.
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/.
Bragging Rights Corner, for news and always independent opinion about the sport and business of boxing. Check out their web site at http://www.braggingrightscorner.com.
FightBeat.com, for news, results, interviews, and free exclusive videos from the worlds of boxing and mixed martial arts.
That, of course, refers to the June 5 fight between Miguel Cotto and Yuri Foreman held in the new Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York. Cotto won by a TKO after referee Arthur Mercante finally stopped the fight in the ninth round, after Mercante refused to stop the fight one round earlier when the corner of Foreman, who was by then hobbling around on one leg, tried to end it by several methods.
We spoke Monday night and present our lengthy and cutting critique here in its entirety. We not only analyzed the many bad points of this fight and its promotion, but also tied it to the overall decline of New York, the home of many of the guilty parties in this debacle. We didn’t spare anybody, the promoters, HBO, the officials, and the media included. And as our guest philosopher, Jerome Lester Horwitz, explained, "Truth is stranger than fiction."
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:
BJJMart.com, your premier source for all Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu gear, videos, books, and much more.
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/.
Bragging Rights Corner, for news and always independent opinion about the sport and business of boxing. Check out their web site at http://www.braggingrightscorner.com.
FightBeat.com, for news, results, interviews, and free exclusive videos from the worlds of boxing and mixed martial arts.
Labels: boxing, Charles Farrell, Cotto, Eddie Goldman, Foreman, No Holds Barred
Saturday, June 05, 2010
No Holds Barred: Bjorn Rebney on the State of the Bellator Fighting Championships
On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman once again speaks with Bjorn Rebney, the founder and CEO of the mixed martial arts company, the Bellator Fighting Championships.
For the next three Thursdays, Bellator will be running their season 2 tournament finals. On Thursday, June 10, Toby Imada faces Pat Curran in the lightweight (155 lbs.) finals in Hollywood, Florida. On Thursday, June 17, Ben Askren fights Dan Hornbuckle in the welterweight (170 lbs.) finals in Kansas City, Missouri. And on Thursday, June 24, there are two finals, as Joe Warren fights Patricio "Pitbull" Freire in the featherweight (145 lbs.) finals and Bryan Baker takes on Alexander Shlemenko in the middleweight (185 lbs.) finals, in Louisville, Kentucky.
All three cards will be televised live in the U.S. on Fox Sports Net and their affiliates, which will also air replays of these shows. In addition, highlight shows of these cards will air on NBC, Telemundo, and mun2. In Canada, The Score will telecast these shows on tape-delay. As always, check your local listings.
The winners of these four tournaments will face the Bellator champions in their respective weight classes in season 3, which starts Thursday, August 12.
We spoke with Bjorn Rebney Friday afternoon by phone about these tournament finals. Our lengthy discussion not only previewed these fights, but also focused on the business side of Bellator. We discussed the results thus far of their multi-network television deal, and the problems associated with running live shows for Fox Sports Net, where they have been preempted in many markets in various weeks over the course of season 2. We discussed the average number of viewers Bellator has been getting in season 2, the possibility of a new television deal in the future where there will be no preemptions, and how their national tour has been going for their live events.
We also discussed a number of other issues, including the possibility of Bellator lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez fighting Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez in what would be a co-promotion, and the future of Roger Huerta, who lost in the semifinals of the season 2 lightweight tournament.
We got a glimpse of season 3, which will feature these four championship fights as well as at least three new tournaments. There will be a heavyweight tournament, including two-time NCAA Div. I wrestling champion Cole Konrad. There will be a bantamweight (135 lbs.) tournament. And there will be the first women's tournament for Bellator, in the 115-pound weight class, scheduled to include such top fighters as Megumi Fujii, Rosi Sexton, Lisa Ward, and Jessica Pene.
Overall, Bjorn Rebney painted a positive and optimistic picture. "Projections that were in our business model are projections that we are currently exceeding," he said during this interview.
Make sure not only to listen to this informative interview, but also to send in your comments and reactions to No Holds Barred.
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:
BJJMart.com, your premier source for all Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu gear, videos, books, and much more.
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/.
Bragging Rights Corner, for news and always independent opinion about the sport and business of boxing. Check out their web site at http://www.braggingrightscorner.com.
FightBeat.com, for news, results, interviews, and free exclusive videos from the worlds of boxing and mixed martial arts.
For the next three Thursdays, Bellator will be running their season 2 tournament finals. On Thursday, June 10, Toby Imada faces Pat Curran in the lightweight (155 lbs.) finals in Hollywood, Florida. On Thursday, June 17, Ben Askren fights Dan Hornbuckle in the welterweight (170 lbs.) finals in Kansas City, Missouri. And on Thursday, June 24, there are two finals, as Joe Warren fights Patricio "Pitbull" Freire in the featherweight (145 lbs.) finals and Bryan Baker takes on Alexander Shlemenko in the middleweight (185 lbs.) finals, in Louisville, Kentucky.
All three cards will be televised live in the U.S. on Fox Sports Net and their affiliates, which will also air replays of these shows. In addition, highlight shows of these cards will air on NBC, Telemundo, and mun2. In Canada, The Score will telecast these shows on tape-delay. As always, check your local listings.
The winners of these four tournaments will face the Bellator champions in their respective weight classes in season 3, which starts Thursday, August 12.
We spoke with Bjorn Rebney Friday afternoon by phone about these tournament finals. Our lengthy discussion not only previewed these fights, but also focused on the business side of Bellator. We discussed the results thus far of their multi-network television deal, and the problems associated with running live shows for Fox Sports Net, where they have been preempted in many markets in various weeks over the course of season 2. We discussed the average number of viewers Bellator has been getting in season 2, the possibility of a new television deal in the future where there will be no preemptions, and how their national tour has been going for their live events.
We also discussed a number of other issues, including the possibility of Bellator lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez fighting Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez in what would be a co-promotion, and the future of Roger Huerta, who lost in the semifinals of the season 2 lightweight tournament.
We got a glimpse of season 3, which will feature these four championship fights as well as at least three new tournaments. There will be a heavyweight tournament, including two-time NCAA Div. I wrestling champion Cole Konrad. There will be a bantamweight (135 lbs.) tournament. And there will be the first women's tournament for Bellator, in the 115-pound weight class, scheduled to include such top fighters as Megumi Fujii, Rosi Sexton, Lisa Ward, and Jessica Pene.
Overall, Bjorn Rebney painted a positive and optimistic picture. "Projections that were in our business model are projections that we are currently exceeding," he said during this interview.
Make sure not only to listen to this informative interview, but also to send in your comments and reactions to No Holds Barred.
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:
BJJMart.com, your premier source for all Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu gear, videos, books, and much more.
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/.
Bragging Rights Corner, for news and always independent opinion about the sport and business of boxing. Check out their web site at http://www.braggingrightscorner.com.
FightBeat.com, for news, results, interviews, and free exclusive videos from the worlds of boxing and mixed martial arts.
Labels: Bellator Fighting Championships, Bjorn Rebney, Eddie Goldman, No Holds Barred
Thursday, June 03, 2010
No Holds Barred: Dr. Margaret Goodman on Next Steps in Anti-Doping Battle
On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks about the latest developments in the battle against doping in the combat sports of boxing and mixed martial arts with Dr. Margaret Goodman, a neurologist, the former chair of the Medical Advisory Board of the Nevada State Athletic Commission, and the medical correspondent for No Holds Barred.
The Nevada State Athletic Commission will be holding a meeting Wednesday, June 9, at the Grant Sawyer State Office Building in Las Vegas, which includes on its agenda "Review of Protocol for Steroid/Drug Testing and Disciplinary Matters." This meeting is open to the public.
We spoke with Dr. Goodman Thursday about this meeting and the lessons to be drawn from the anti-doping procedures used for the Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Shane Mosley fight on May 1, where drug-testing was conducted by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) as well as the Nevada commission. We discussed how even this testing by USADA was inadequate, since they stopped blood testing over two weeks before this fight.
Among the many other issues we addressed were the continued refusal of Manny Pacquiao and his camp to accept the international anti-doping procedures; why drug testing for a Mayweather-Pacquiao fight must strictly adhere to the procedures of the World Anti-Doping Agency and include random, unannounced testing up to the fight and right after the fight; the award being given by some boxing writers to Pacquiao as best fighter of the past decade despite his opposition to serious drug testing; why the widespread use of human growth hormone by athletes is both dangerous to their health and difficult to detect; why agencies independent of the various athletic commissions in North America must be used to conduct drug testing; the current role of former BALCO founder and convicted dope distributor Victor Conte, who is now working with anti-doping forces; the role of the media in the fight against doping; 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:
BJJMart.com, your premier source for all Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu gear, videos, books, and much more.
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/.
Bragging Rights Corner, for news and always independent opinion about the sport and business of boxing. Check out their web site at http://www.braggingrightscorner.com.
FightBeat.com, for news, results, interviews, and free exclusive videos from the worlds of boxing and mixed martial arts.
The Nevada State Athletic Commission will be holding a meeting Wednesday, June 9, at the Grant Sawyer State Office Building in Las Vegas, which includes on its agenda "Review of Protocol for Steroid/Drug Testing and Disciplinary Matters." This meeting is open to the public.
We spoke with Dr. Goodman Thursday about this meeting and the lessons to be drawn from the anti-doping procedures used for the Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Shane Mosley fight on May 1, where drug-testing was conducted by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) as well as the Nevada commission. We discussed how even this testing by USADA was inadequate, since they stopped blood testing over two weeks before this fight.
Among the many other issues we addressed were the continued refusal of Manny Pacquiao and his camp to accept the international anti-doping procedures; why drug testing for a Mayweather-Pacquiao fight must strictly adhere to the procedures of the World Anti-Doping Agency and include random, unannounced testing up to the fight and right after the fight; the award being given by some boxing writers to Pacquiao as best fighter of the past decade despite his opposition to serious drug testing; why the widespread use of human growth hormone by athletes is both dangerous to their health and difficult to detect; why agencies independent of the various athletic commissions in North America must be used to conduct drug testing; the current role of former BALCO founder and convicted dope distributor Victor Conte, who is now working with anti-doping forces; the role of the media in the fight against doping; 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:
BJJMart.com, your premier source for all Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu gear, videos, books, and much more.
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/.
Bragging Rights Corner, for news and always independent opinion about the sport and business of boxing. Check out their web site at http://www.braggingrightscorner.com.
FightBeat.com, for news, results, interviews, and free exclusive videos from the worlds of boxing and mixed martial arts.
Labels: doping, drug-testing, Eddie Goldman, Margaret Goodman, No Holds Barred, Pacquiao
Tuesday, June 01, 2010
No Holds Barred: Kid Peligro Previews 2010 World Jiu-Jitsu Championship, the Mundials
On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with our colleague and correspondent Kid Peligro about the 2010 World Jiu-Jitsu Championship, also known as the Mundials.
This event, the most prestigious in the world in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, takes place Thursday, June 3, through Sunday, June 6, at California State University Long Beach, in Long Beach, California.
There will be a free, live webcast of the final two days of this event, including the much-anticipated black belt finals, on Saturday, June 5, and Sunday, June 6, on Budovideos Online.
With the registration for athletes now closed, we discuss some of the favorites to win in both the men's and women's weight divisions. Roger Gracie, who dominated in 2009 by submitting all eight opponents en route to winning both his weight and the absolute, will be competing again, but less than a month after fighting in a Strikeforce mixed martial arts event. His longtime rival, Xande Ribeiro, who did not compete last year but defeated Roger Gracie in the 2008 black belt absolute finals, is back this year, and the world awaits another rematch between these two.
We also discuss the problems faced by athletes who try to compete at the top level in jiu-jitsu and mixed martial arts at the same time, the enduring culture and camaraderie in the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu community that keeps so many people involved in it despite the absence of the type of financial rewards available in other sports, 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:
BJJMart.com, your premier source for all Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu gear, videos, books, and much more.
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/.
Bragging Rights Corner, for news and always independent opinion about the sport and business of boxing. Check out their web site at http://www.braggingrightscorner.com.
FightBeat.com, for news, results, interviews, and free exclusive videos from the worlds of boxing and mixed martial arts.
This event, the most prestigious in the world in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, takes place Thursday, June 3, through Sunday, June 6, at California State University Long Beach, in Long Beach, California.
There will be a free, live webcast of the final two days of this event, including the much-anticipated black belt finals, on Saturday, June 5, and Sunday, June 6, on Budovideos Online.
With the registration for athletes now closed, we discuss some of the favorites to win in both the men's and women's weight divisions. Roger Gracie, who dominated in 2009 by submitting all eight opponents en route to winning both his weight and the absolute, will be competing again, but less than a month after fighting in a Strikeforce mixed martial arts event. His longtime rival, Xande Ribeiro, who did not compete last year but defeated Roger Gracie in the 2008 black belt absolute finals, is back this year, and the world awaits another rematch between these two.
We also discuss the problems faced by athletes who try to compete at the top level in jiu-jitsu and mixed martial arts at the same time, the enduring culture and camaraderie in the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu community that keeps so many people involved in it despite the absence of the type of financial rewards available in other sports, 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:
BJJMart.com, your premier source for all Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu gear, videos, books, and much more.
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/.
Bragging Rights Corner, for news and always independent opinion about the sport and business of boxing. Check out their web site at http://www.braggingrightscorner.com.
FightBeat.com, for news, results, interviews, and free exclusive videos from the worlds of boxing and mixed martial arts.
Labels: BJJ, Eddie Goldman, jiu-jitsu, Kid Peligro, Mundials, No Holds Barred
