NO HOLDS BARRED

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with the Maximum Fighting Championship lightweight champion, the always-outspoken Antonio McKee.

He will be defending his title against Brazilian submission expert Luciano Azevedo on Friday, September 10, in the co-main event of the MFC 26: Retribution card at the River Cree Resort and Casino, just outside Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. This mixed martial arts card will be televised live on HDNet Fights throughout North America.

The 40-year-old Antonio McKee, who has an extensive background in wrestling, has not lost a fight in over seven years. However, he has won most of those fights by decision, by taking his opponents down, outwrestling them, outstriking them both standing and on the ground, but not finishing them. Some people have criticized this effective and technical style as not exciting, so he has vowed to retire after this fight if it is perceived as being a "boring" decision, even if he wins the fight.

We thus spoke with Antonio McKee Saturday about this fight and what to expect. He critiqued the prevailing culture in mixed martial arts, especially in North America, which has labeled his winning style as "boring". He also explained why he believes that he has to retire if his September 10 fight is once again criticized as such, and what his plans are for coaching and training athletes. He ripped into what he believes to be a very prevalent double standard for Black athletes in mixed martial arts, both in terms of compensation, perception, and opportunities. He also recounted his experiences with the now-defunct International Fight League, and much more in a very candid interview.

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:

MMA WORLD EXPO. The mixed martial arts community comes to New York City, featuring the Renzo Gracie Open No-Gi 2010 tournament, a Muay Thai tournament, MMA fighters from the Bellator Fighting Championships, training seminars, vendors, panel discussions, and more to come. The second annual MMA WORLD EXPO, in association with Madison Square Garden Sports, takes place Friday, November 12, and Saturday, November 13, at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City.

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/.

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

Labels: Antonio McKee, Eddie Goldman, MFC, MMA, No Holds Barred, wrestling