NO HOLDS BARRED

On this audio edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman discusses the successful first effort for the Ultimate Absolute grappling event with finals winner Andre Galvao, runner-up Rustam Chsiev, BJJ and grappling legend Renzo Gracie, and event organizer Rob Constance.

The Ultimate Absolute was held Saturday, July 30, at the historic Hotel Pennsylvania in New York, right across the street from Madison Square Garden. It was a one-day, 16-man, single-elimination, open-weight grappling tournament. The winner won $10,000, while $1000 was awarded for every submission.

Right after his victory, we spoke with Andre Galvao, a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu world champion, about his victory and his plans. We spoke with Rustam Chsiev, who won the ADCC North American trials and has won numerous Grapplers Quest and NAGA titles, about this match, his background, and his plans. The thrilling final match of this tournament was scoreless after the ten-minute regulation, a five-minute overtime, and a ten-minute sudden death overtime. Galvao was declared the winner by the judges.

We also spoke with Renzo Gracie about the Ultimate Absolute, the tremendous technique on display by the athletes at it, and his plans to continue competing both in grappling and MMA. And we summed up the maiden voyage of the Ultimate Absolute with event organizer Rob Constance, himself a black belt and instructor for Renzo Gracie, and got his take on the plans to continue with this successful event.

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The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by Ian Carpenter.

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M-1 Global. Founded in 1998, M-1 Global has staged over 100 mixed martial arts events worldwide including the M-1 Selection tournaments and M-1 Challenge events, in Eastern and Western Europe, North America, and Asia. While discovering and developing the world's next generation of superstar fighters, M-1 Global's greatest asset is the number one heavyweight in mixed martial arts history, Fedor Emelianenko. Make sure to catch their shows from around the world, including on Showtime in the U.S., and visit their web site, M-1Global.com, and the M-1 Facebook page for news, videos, and live streaming events.

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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/.

The American Sambo Association, which is committed to becoming the premier association in the U.S. dedicated to the advancement of Sambo. Sambo is a form of sport, self-defense, and combat established in the former Soviet Union during the early twentieth century. For more information, go to ussambo.com.