NO HOLDS BARRED

On this audio edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with two-time U.S. freestyle wrestling Olympian and undefeated mixed martial arts heavyweight fighter, Daniel Cormier.

He will next be fighting in the semifinals of the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix against Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva. This fight will take place Saturday, September 10, at the U.S. Bank Arena in Cincinnati, Ohio, on a card televised in the U.S. on Showtime.

We spoke with him by phone Thursday about how he plans to face his much heavier and more experienced opponent, who is renowned as a black belt in both jiu-jitsu and judo, and defeated the legendary Fedor Emelianenko by second-round TKO in the quarterfinals of the Grand Prix in February. We discussed how he was added to the Grand Prix after it had started, the role of wrestling in mixed martial arts, why MMA fighters must learn how to wrestle, the lessons of his recent fights, his training with UFC heavyweight titleholder and former All-American wrestler Cain Velasquez, whether or not he plans to return to wrestling, what wrestling must do to promote itself better, and much more.

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

No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by:

Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. Your #1 source for exciting auction shopping and outstanding deals on just about anything! Top rated, most trusted auction site online. Where do you shop? Beezid.com - Penny Auctions.

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.