NO HOLDS BARRED

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with Kevin Jackson, the Olympic gold medalist and two-time world champion freestyle wrestler, who is starting his fourth season as head wrestling coach for the legendary Iowa State Cyclones.

Injuries and a series of other factors led to disappointing results for the Cyclones last season, including none of their wrestlers winning a national championship or All-American status. Coach Jackson, however, is convinced that his young team, many now with a taste of top-level NCAA Division I wrestling, will perform much better in the coming 2012-13 season.

"We can expect everyone to perform at a higher level," said Coach Jackson in this interview, which was recorded by phone Monday afternoon. "The group of young men that we threw out there last year had a great opportunity to gain some valuable experience, to wrestle the best teams in the country, and to wrestle the hardest schedule in the country, and recognize that they are capable, that they should be in the hunt, that they should win." He added that they are still a relatively young team which is dominated by sophomores. "All those sophomore have seen the best competition, and there will be no surprises for them going into this year."

We discussed who are the likely starters for the Cyclones this season, which officially opens for them Saturday, November 10, at the Harold Nichols Cyclone Open at the historic Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa. We also discussed the realignment of college conferences and the possibility of wrestling teams being grouped in regional conferences, the proposed change to the format of crowning a national team champion in NCAA Division I wrestling through a new national duals tournament, the importance for wrestling of the use of social media, and more.

You can play or download No Holds Barred here and here. If one link doesn't work, please try another.

No Holds Barred is also available on mobile phones and iPads through Stitcher.

Also, No Holds Barred is available through iTunes.

The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", which is also available on iTunes by composer Ian Snow.

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

ONE Fighting Championship. ONE FC is Asia's largest and most prestigious mixed martial arts event. ONE FC features the best Asian fighters and has initiated the ONE Asia Partnership Network, which includes most of the major MMA promotions and MMA gyms in Asia. For more information, go to their web site, at ONEFC.com.

MMA World Expo. The mixed martial arts community comes to New York City December 1 and 2 for the fourth annual MMA World Expo, featuring an amateur MMA tournament, the Big Apple BJJ Open, MMA fighters, seminars with world-class trainers, vendors, panel discussions, and much more. The 2012 MMA World Expo takes place Saturday, December 1, and Sunday, December 2, at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City.

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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/.

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with Bas Boon, the vice-president of business development of Glory Sports International.

It was announced at a press conference Thursday in Tokyo that Glory Sports International will be responsible for presenting 'DREAM 18 - Special NYE 2012', a New Year's Eve MMA mega-event at the Saitama Super Arena on December 31. The card will include ten MMA fights and three kickboxing matches. So far, three Japanese fighters have been confirmed for this event: the Dream featherweight champion Hiroyuki Takaya, the 'Crusher' Tatsuya Kawajiri, and the lightweight contender Satoru Kitaoka. Many more fighters on this card, including international fighters, will be announced in the coming weeks.

We spoke with Bas Boon about this historic event by Skype on Friday (Thursday night in New York). Of course, the issue of the problems which have caused the previous management of Dream not to run any more shows, such as fighters not getting paid, were among the first things we discussed.

"We cleaned up the mess," said Bas Boon in this interview. "The Dream brand is revived. The New Year's Eve show basically is going to take place under Dream 18. It is clean. There is a new management. Of course, we are going to use a lot of the old producers because the production of Dream was out of this planet, and that's certainly a thing we want to maintain."

We also discussed several other major kickboxing cards which Glory is putting on, including the Glory 3 Rome 'Final 8' (70 kilogram/154 pound) one-night tournament at the famed PalaLottomatica arena in Rome on November 3, and the Glory 4 Tokyo 'Heavyweight Grand Slam' 16-man one-night tournament at the Makuhari Messe, Chiba, Greater Tokyo, on December 2.

The revival of the popular New Year's Eve show in Japan featuring both MMA and kickboxing is already getting major attention around the world, as is the continuing expansion of Glory Sports International. "It's pretty intense," commented Bas Boon on all this activity, a fact which no doubt will please many fans of the combat sports.

You can play or download No Holds Barred here and here. If one link doesn't work, please try another.

No Holds Barred is also available on mobile phones and iPads through Stitcher.

Also, No Holds Barred is available through iTunes.

The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", which is also available on iTunes by composer Ian Snow.

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

ONE Fighting Championship. ONE FC is Asia's largest and most prestigious mixed martial arts event. ONE FC features the best Asian fighters and has initiated the ONE Asia Partnership Network, which includes most of the major MMA promotions and MMA gyms in Asia. For more information, go to their web site, at ONEFC.com.

MMA World Expo. The mixed martial arts community comes to New York City December 1 and 2 for the fourth annual MMA World Expo, featuring an amateur MMA tournament, the Big Apple BJJ Open, MMA fighters, seminars with world-class trainers, vendors, panel discussions, and much more. The 2012 MMA World Expo takes place Saturday, December 1, and Sunday, December 2, at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City.

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/.

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with American Top Team fighter and the number one ranked MMA fighter in the world in the women's 115-pound division, Jessica Aguilar.

After defeating the legendary Megumi Fujii at Bellator 69 by a unanimous decision, Jessica Aguilar will next fight Friday, November 9, at Bellator 80 at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida, against an opponent to be announced. This card will be televised live in the U.S. on MTV2.

We spoke with Jessica Aguilar by phone Monday night about her next fight and her fighting career.

Speaking of her victory over Megumi Fujii, she said in this interview, "That was my dream fight. That was my goal, to become number one in the world in my weight class, and to go against an idol." And she added, "Megumi's still my idol."

We also discussed her involvement with Sweethearts and Heroes, a non-profit anti-bullying organization which writes that it "believes in educating society to the impact that bullying has on all of our schools, our neighborhoods, and individuals." We discussed her future as a fighter in Bellator, how her mother has accepted that she fights in MMA professionally, and much more.

We also open with the sad news about the passing of Jeff Blatnick at age 55 following complications from heart surgery. Jeff was an Olympic gold medalist in Greco-Roman wrestling in 1984 for the U.S., after overcoming Hodgkin's Disease, a type of cancer. He also was a television commentator for many years in both wrestling and MMA, and played a key role in developing the rules for UFC in the 1990s, which helped form the basis of the North American unified rules of MMA.

You can play or download No Holds Barred here and here. If one link doesn't work, please try another.

No Holds Barred is also available on mobile phones and iPads through Stitcher.

Also, No Holds Barred is available through iTunes.

The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", which is also available on iTunes by composer Ian Snow.

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

ONE Fighting Championship. ONE FC is Asia's largest and most prestigious mixed martial arts event. ONE FC features the best Asian fighters and has initiated the ONE Asia Partnership Network, which includes most of the major MMA promotions and MMA gyms in Asia. For more information, go to their web site, at ONEFC.com.

MMA World Expo. The mixed martial arts community comes to New York City December 1 and 2 for the fourth annual MMA World Expo, featuring an amateur MMA tournament, the Big Apple BJJ Open, MMA fighters, seminars with world-class trainers, vendors, panel discussions, and much more. The 2012 MMA World Expo takes place Saturday, December 1, and Sunday, December 2, at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City.

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/.

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with kickboxing and muay Thai legend Ray Sefo, who is now the president, co-owner, and co-founder of the new mixed martial arts promotion, the World Series of Fighting.

The much-anticipated debut card for the World Series of Fighting will take place Saturday, November 3, at Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. The top fights will be televised live in the U.S. on NBC Sports Network.

The main event will be a heavyweight battle between Andrei Arlovski and Devin Cole. The co-main event will be a light heavyweight fight between Anthony Johnson and D.J. Linderman. Also on the televised card, Miguel Torres will fight Marlon Moraes in a bantamweight bout and Gregor Gracie will take on Tyson Steele in a welterweight bout. The other fights on this card will be webcast, and plans are underway to webcast the entire card to the rest of the world outside the U.S.

We spoke with Ray Sefo by phone Monday afternoon to preview WSOF 1.

Speaking about why he expects the World Series of Fighting to be successful, he said in this interview, "There's so much talent out there, and there's not enough stages that these guys can showcase their talent." He added, "Not every league can have started and come out on NBC Sports Network."

We also discussed how a series of conversations got him involved as president of the World Series of Fighting, the transition of fellow kickboxer and WSOF fighter Tyrone Spong to MMA, the use of a ten-sided cage known as a Decagon for their events, how he expects the World Series of Fighting to advance step by step, why he still wants to continue fighting until he gets 100 fights, and much more.

You can play or download No Holds Barred here and here. If one link doesn't work, please try another.

No Holds Barred is also available on mobile phones and iPads through Stitcher.

Also, No Holds Barred is available through iTunes.

The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", which is also available on iTunes by composer Ian Snow.

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

ONE Fighting Championship. ONE FC is Asia's largest and most prestigious mixed martial arts event. ONE FC features the best Asian fighters and has initiated the ONE Asia Partnership Network, which includes most of the major MMA promotions and MMA gyms in Asia. For more information, go to their web site, at ONEFC.com.

MMA World Expo. The mixed martial arts community comes to New York City December 1 and 2 for the fourth annual MMA World Expo, featuring an amateur MMA tournament, the Big Apple BJJ Open, MMA fighters, seminars with world-class trainers, vendors, panel discussions, and much more. The 2012 MMA World Expo takes place Saturday, December 1, and Sunday, December 2, at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City.

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/.

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with Victor Cui, the CEO of ONE FC.

Their most recent show, ONE FC: Rise of Kings, was held October 6 at a sold-out Singapore Indoor Stadium in Singapore. This show marked another step forward for ONE FC with the introduction of ONE FC title fights.

Both of the title fights on this card resulted in what many people consider to be upsets. In the lightweight title fight, Kotetsu Boku defeated Zorobabel Moreira by TKO at 1:02 of round 3. In the bantamweight title fight, Soo Chul Kim avenged a decision loss last year to Leandro Issa by defeating him by knockout at 15 seconds of round 2. Also in the top fight on this card, grappling legend Shinya Aoki defeated Arnaud Lepont by triangle choke submission at 1:25 of round 1.

In this interview, recorded by Skype on Wednesday, Victor Cui explained that on this, their sixth show, about one year after the founding of ONE FC, it was the "right time" to introduce championships in ONE FC.

He explained that their mandate directs them to "put together the most exciting fights for ONE FC so that we've got not only people that deserve a title shot but a world championship, but also what's going to really ignite fans and turn more Asians into more fans and turn more people around the world into ONE FC fans."

We also discussed the other fights on this card, the plans for future title fights and the bantamweight Grand Prix, the plans for running events for the rest of 2012 and in 2013 and in new cities and countries in Asia, the challenges resulting from the rapid growth of ONE FC, plans for getting on American TV, the possibility of a heavyweight Grand Prix, and much more.

You can play or download No Holds Barred here and here. If one link doesn't work, please try another.

No Holds Barred is also available on mobile phones and iPads through Stitcher.

Also, No Holds Barred is available through iTunes.

The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", which is also available on iTunes by composer Ian Snow.

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

ONE Fighting Championship. ONE FC is Asia's largest and most prestigious mixed martial arts event. ONE FC features the best Asian fighters and has initiated the ONE Asia Partnership Network, which includes most of the major MMA promotions and MMA gyms in Asia. For more information, go to their web site, at ONEFC.com.

MMA World Expo. The mixed martial arts community comes to New York City December 1 and 2 for the fourth annual MMA World Expo, featuring an amateur MMA tournament, the Big Apple BJJ Open, MMA fighters, seminars with world-class trainers, vendors, panel discussions, and much more. The 2012 MMA World Expo takes place Saturday, December 1, and Sunday, December 2, at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City.

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/.

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with Sensei Sonny Williams about the Battle of Bushido 3.

The Battle of Bushido 3 is a family-friendly martial arts event featuring demonstrations and fights in many styles of the martial arts, including a continuous sparring event. It will take place this Sunday, October 21, from 10 AM to 6 PM, on the top of the world-famous Hotel Pennsylvania in New York at 7th Avenue and 33rd Street, right across the street from Penn Station and Madison Square Garden. The morning and early afternoon will feature the kids' events, while the adult events start in the afternoon.

The Battle of Bushido 3 will also honor the CCNY9, nine people who died during a tragic 1991 stampede at a rap concert and charity basketball game party at the City College of New York, promoted by Sean "Puffy" Combs and Dwight "Heavy D" Myers. Many more were also injured in this stampede. One of the CCNY9 was the sister of Sensei Sonny Williams.

We spoke with Sensei Sonny Williams about the Battle of Bushido 3 by phone on Wednesday.

"We are one big family," said Sensei Sonny Williams of the martial arts in this interview. "I've met so many people from so many different walks of life, all religions, all races, who come for a common brotherhood concerning the martial arts. It really unifies the community. It unifies the nation. So I really love being involved with something that can bring a least-common-denominator and unify so many that are so divided."

We discussed the program of Battle of Bushido 3, how he also has trained in mixed martial arts, the bid by karate to be added to the Olympic program, and more.

You can play or download No Holds Barred here and here. If one link doesn't work, please try another.

No Holds Barred is also available on mobile phones and iPads through Stitcher.

Also, No Holds Barred is available through iTunes.

The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", which is also available on iTunes by composer Ian Snow.

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

ONE Fighting Championship. ONE FC is Asia's largest and most prestigious mixed martial arts event. ONE FC features the best Asian fighters and has initiated the ONE Asia Partnership Network, which includes most of the major MMA promotions and MMA gyms in Asia. For more information, go to their web site, at ONEFC.com.

MMA World Expo. The mixed martial arts community comes to New York City December 1 and 2 for the fourth annual MMA World Expo, featuring an amateur MMA tournament, the Big Apple BJJ Open, MMA fighters, seminars with world-class trainers, vendors, panel discussions, and much more. The 2012 MMA World Expo takes place Saturday, December 1, and Sunday, December 2, at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City.

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/.

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with Dr. Margaret Goodman, the president and board chairman of VADA, the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association.

In recent months, more and more combat sport athletes have been signing up for VADA's voluntary program of random and unannounced blood and urine testing for performance-enhancing and banned substances, using state-of-the-art technology.

Nonito Donaire, who successfully defended his WBO super bantamweight title with a ninth-round TKO over Toshiaki Nishioka on October 13, and is one of the top pound-for-pound boxers in the world, is undergoing year-round testing by VADA, in and out of competition.

In MMA, Rosi Sexton and Sheila Gaff, who meet October 27 at Cage Warriors 49 in Cardiff, Wales, for the Cage Warriors women's flyweight title, are being tested by VADA. B.J. Penn and Rory MacDonald, who fight on a UFC card on December 8, will participate in the VADA program. Bellator welterweight champion and 2008 Olympic freestyle wrestler Ben Askren has agreed to be part of the VADA program as well, and is awaiting the date of his next fight. Other fighters have also inquired about the VADA program and may sign up shortly.

We spoke with Dr. Margaret Goodman by phone Tuesday afternoon about the strides VADA has been making.

"There are plenty of athletes like Nonito [Donaire], like Rosi Sexton, like B.J. Penn and Rory MacDonald, that want to stand up for clean sport and want to demonstrate that, and this is a way they can do it," she said in this interview. Part of the importance of the VADA program is for athletes to set an example for "the young people out there that are coming up in sport," she added. And she emphasized that essentially this is an athlete saying "'the buck stops with me. I'm going to do something to protect myself and to stand up for something myself.' So that's the whole point of all of this. I think sometimes that gets lost in the shuffle, the purpose."

We also discussed new research studying the relationship between the risk factors for the brain disease CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy) and the use of performance-enhancing drugs, some of the recent controversies involving VADA, and much more.

You can play or download No Holds Barred here and here. If one link doesn't work, please try another.

No Holds Barred is also available on mobile phones and iPads through Stitcher.

Also, No Holds Barred is available through iTunes.

The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", which is also available on iTunes by composer Ian Snow.

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

ONE Fighting Championship. ONE FC is Asia's largest and most prestigious mixed martial arts event. ONE FC features the best Asian fighters and has initiated the ONE Asia Partnership Network, which includes most of the major MMA promotions and MMA gyms in Asia. For more information, go to their web site, at ONEFC.com.

MMA World Expo. The mixed martial arts community comes to New York City December 1 and 2 for the fourth annual MMA World Expo, featuring an amateur MMA tournament, the Big Apple BJJ Open, MMA fighters, seminars with world-class trainers, vendors, panel discussions, and much more. The 2012 MMA World Expo takes place Saturday, December 1, and Sunday, December 2, at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City.

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/.

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with Mark Pavelich, the owner and president of the Maximum Fighting Championship (MFC).

The next show for the MFC is called MFC 35: Explosive Encounter, and takes place Friday, October 26, at the Mayfield Conference Centre in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It will be televised live on AXS TV Fights throughout the U.S. on Friday, Oct. 26, beginning at 10 p.m. ET/8 p.m. MT/7 p.m. PT (check local listings for channel designation). The main card will then air on tape-delay on TSN 2 throughout Canada.

In the main event, in what is expected to be a slugfest ending in someone getting knocked out, Joseph "Leonidas" Henle takes on Elvis "The King" Mutapcic for the MFC middleweight title.

We spoke with Mark Pavelich by phone Monday about this card and the MFC, Canada's top MMA promotion.

"Heaven forbid, ladies and gentleman, we're going to watch a fight on October 26, live on AXS TV. Can you imagine that?" he said in this interview. "We are going to be watching a real fight, right. This is not going to be some MMA fight. This isn't going to be, we're going to sit on top of each other. It's not going to be like that. It's a real fight. They're going to fight for real. And that's what's lacking in our sport. And that's what you're going to see on October 26. Tune in everybody, I'm telling you."

We also discussed how MFC is continuously reinventing itself, the plans for 2013 and beyond, why MFC is still going strong after 13 years and remains one of the longest-running MMA promotions in the world, the need for real fights which are competitive and not mismatches, and much more.

You can play or download No Holds Barred here and here. If one link doesn't work, please try another.

No Holds Barred is also available on mobile phones and iPads through Stitcher.

Also, No Holds Barred is available through iTunes.

The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", which is also available on iTunes by composer Ian Snow.

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

ONE Fighting Championship. ONE FC is Asia's largest and most prestigious mixed martial arts event. ONE FC features the best Asian fighters and has initiated the ONE Asia Partnership Network, which includes most of the major MMA promotions and MMA gyms in Asia. For more information, go to their web site, at ONEFC.com.

MMA World Expo. The mixed martial arts community comes to New York City December 1 and 2 for the fourth annual MMA World Expo, featuring an amateur MMA tournament, the Renzo Gracie BJJ Open 2012 tournament, the Big Apple No-Gi tournament, MMA fighters, seminars with world-class trainers, vendors, panel discussions, and much more. The 2012 MMA World Expo takes place Saturday, December 1, and Sunday, December 2, at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City.

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/.

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman reviews the Midwood Wrestling Exhibition 2012 with Midwood High School head wrestling coach George Hero, NYU wrestlers Jakub Pawlowski and John Klein, and Bob Backlund, a 1971 Div. II NCAA national champion at North Dakota State who is best known for his WWF days.

The Midwood Wrestling Exhibition 2012 took place Saturday, October 13, at Midwood High School in Brooklyn, New York, and featured numerous matches between current and alumni wrestlers from Midwood High School and other schools and colleges.

In the main event, the 54-year-old Coach Hero faced NYU freshman John Klein in a match under NCAA rules, and, despite almost succumbing to an injury, pinned his younger opponent in the third period. Fellow NYU senior wrestlers Jakub Pawlowski, a Midwood alumnus, and David Rice also faced off in a close match. Although David Rice was leading late in the third period, Jakub Pawlowski scored a takedown and near fall in the closing seconds to take a 12-10 decision.

We spoke with Coach Hero, Jakub Pawlowski, and John Klein right after Coach Hero's victory.

A longtime friend of Coach Hero and Midwood wrestling is Bob Backlund, who has maintained his involvement with amateur wrestling for many decades. We spoke with him at the post-match luncheon about his views about this event and amateur wrestling.

"This was the toughest guy I faced yet," said Coach Hero in his interview. "A couple of times he had me." Coach Hero had nothing but praise for his opponent, saying, "This kid is definitely going to go places. You're going to hear about him at NYU." And he added, with an exhausted sigh, "But I tell you, I was seeing stars before the end."

"Athletics at the high school level, and especially wrestling, it's about preparing a person for life," said Bob Backlund in his interview. "Wrestling made me what I am today. And I like that, trying to return some of that to young kids in wrestling. It's going to make them better people when they grow up and they're going to make better decisions and just be a strong person."

We also discussed with Bob Backlund the necessity of exercise for life, his "gym in a box" product, his continued involvement with amateur wrestling for children, and more. The significance of this event is that it once again demonstrated how a wrestling program can creatively market, promote, and advertise itself, without the benefit of a huge budget.

You can play or download No Holds Barred here and here. If one link doesn't work, please try another.

No Holds Barred is also available on mobile phones and iPads through Stitcher.

Also, No Holds Barred is available through iTunes.

The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", which is also available on iTunes by composer Ian Snow.

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

ONE Fighting Championship. ONE FC is Asia's largest and most prestigious mixed martial arts event. ONE FC features the best Asian fighters and has initiated the ONE Asia Partnership Network, which includes most of the major MMA promotions and MMA gyms in Asia. For more information, go to their web site, at ONEFC.com.

MMA World Expo. The mixed martial arts community comes to New York City December 1 and 2 for the fourth annual MMA World Expo, featuring an amateur MMA tournament, the Renzo Gracie BJJ Open 2012 tournament, the Big Apple No-Gi tournament, MMA fighters, seminars with world-class trainers, vendors, panel discussions, and much more. The 2012 MMA World Expo takes place Saturday, December 1, and Sunday, December 2, at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City.

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/.

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with Riccardo Ammendolia, board director of ADCC North America, about the 2012 ADCC North American Championships.

The 2012 ADCC North American Championships will take place Sunday, October 14, at the Mira Mesa High School, 10510 Reagan Road, in San Diego, California. The winners in each of the five men's weight divisions will receive an official invite to the 2013 ADCC Submission Fighting World Championships. Next year there will be another ADCC North American Championships, which will serve as a qualifying event for the 2013 ADCC Worlds for both men and women.

We spoke with Riccardo Ammendolia by Skype Tuesday about the 2012 ADCC North American Championships and the significance of this event.

"This is the North American Championship for 2012. The ADCC World Federation wants there to be championships throughout the world," said Riccardo Ammendolia in this interview. "The benefits that the North American champions will receive is that they receive the first invites to represent North America in the upcoming ADCC World Championship."

We also discussed the rules of this event which encourage participation from athletes in all styles of grappling, the coming establishment of rankings by ADCC, and more.

You can play or download No Holds Barred here and here. If one link doesn't work, please try another.

No Holds Barred is also available on mobile phones and iPads through Stitcher.

Also, No Holds Barred is available through iTunes.

The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", which is also available on iTunes by composer Ian Snow.

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

ONE Fighting Championship. ONE FC is Asia's largest and most prestigious mixed martial arts event. ONE FC features the best Asian fighters and has initiated the ONE Asia Partnership Network, which includes most of the major MMA promotions and MMA gyms in Asia. For more information, go to their web site, at ONEFC.com.

MMA World Expo. The mixed martial arts community comes to New York City December 1 and 2 for the fourth annual MMA World Expo, featuring an amateur MMA tournament, the Renzo Gracie BJJ Open 2012 tournament, the Big Apple No-Gi tournament, MMA fighters, seminars with world-class trainers, vendors, panel discussions, and much more. The 2012 MMA World Expo takes place Saturday, December 1, and Sunday, December 2, at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City.

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/.

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with Coach George Hero, the legendary coach and founder of the Midwood High School wrestling team in Brooklyn, New York.

The 54-year-old Coach Hero will once again be going to the mat himself, as he takes on NYU wrestler John Klein under NCAA rules in the main event of the Midwood Wrestling Exhibition 2012.

The Midwood Wrestling Exhibition 2012 takes place Saturday, October 13, at Midwood High School at 2839 Bedford Avenue, in Brooklyn, New York, in the Campus Road Gymnasium, from 10 AM to 3 PM. There will also be numerous matches featuring current and alumni wrestlers from Midwood High School and other schools and colleges who will compete under folkstyle, freestyle, and Greco-Roman rules.

We spoke with Coach Hero by phone Monday night.

"The whole idea behind this, behind all the exhibitions that we do, is basically exposing the public at large to real wrestling. That's the purpose of it," he said in this interview.

Besides discussing this event itself, we addressed his continuing to wrestle at age 54, the need for the people running wrestling to advertise and market the sport better than they are doing now, and much more.

You can play or download No Holds Barred here and here. If one link doesn't work, please try another.

No Holds Barred is also available on mobile phones and iPads through Stitcher.

Also, No Holds Barred is available through iTunes.

The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", which is also available on iTunes by composer Ian Snow.

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

ONE Fighting Championship. ONE FC is Asia's largest and most prestigious mixed martial arts event. ONE FC features the best Asian fighters and has initiated the ONE Asia Partnership Network, which includes most of the major MMA promotions and MMA gyms in Asia. For more information, go to their web site, at ONEFC.com.

MMA World Expo. The mixed martial arts community comes to New York City December 1 and 2 for the fourth annual MMA World Expo, featuring an amateur MMA tournament, the Renzo Gracie BJJ Open 2012 tournament, the Big Apple No-Gi tournament, MMA fighters, seminars with world-class trainers, vendors, panel discussions, and much more. The 2012 MMA World Expo takes place Saturday, December 1, and Sunday, December 2, at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City.

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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/.

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with Anne Pellaud, the head of sport and communication department of the international wrestling federation, FILA.

FILA (the International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles, or Fédération Internationale des Luttes Associées) may be best known for governing Olympic wrestling, but they also govern many non-Olympic styles, including grappling, Pankration, and amateur mixed martial arts. Anne Pellaud also manages the competition in these non-Olympic styles.

In what is a historic development, FILA will be hosting the first-ever FILA North American Invitational, an international amateur MMA tournament. This tournament will take place as part of the 2012 MMA World Expo in New York City, December 1-2. (Under New York law, professional MMA is banned but amateur MMA is legal and unregulated.)

We spoke with Anne Pellaud by Skype Wednesday about this important development.

"It is a historical event. I think it is for New York and it is also for FILA," she said in this interview. "I also believe that it will be the first step to many big returning events in New York."

We discussed how FILA wants to build amateur MMA as a real sport which is self-sustained, the need for national federations to govern amateur MMA in their countries, the use of the tournament format which avoids matchmaking and guarantees that the best will win, the need for a code of conduct and adhering as closely as possible to Olympic standards, fighter safety and anti-doping in amateur MMA, the rules and scoring, the importance of SportAccord and the World Combat Games, how grappling and MMA might one day in the future become Olympic sports, and much, much more.

You can play or download No Holds Barred here and here. If one link doesn't work, please try another.

No Holds Barred is also available on mobile phones and iPads through Stitcher.

Also, No Holds Barred is available through iTunes.

The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", which is also available on iTunes by composer Ian Snow.

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

ONE Fighting Championship. ONE FC is Asia's largest and most prestigious mixed martial arts event. ONE FC features the best Asian fighters and has initiated the ONE Asia Partnership Network, which includes most of the major MMA promotions and MMA gyms in Asia. For more information, go to their web site, at ONEFC.com.

MMA World Expo. The mixed martial arts community comes to New York City December 1 and 2 for the fourth annual MMA World Expo, featuring an amateur MMA tournament, the Renzo Gracie BJJ Open 2012 tournament, the Big Apple No-Gi tournament, MMA fighters, seminars with world-class trainers, vendors, panel discussions, and much more. The 2012 MMA World Expo takes place Saturday, December 1, and Sunday, December 2, at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City.

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/.

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with mixed martial arts legend and the vice president of operations and competition for the ONE Fighting Championship (ONE FC), Matt Hume.

The next ONE FC card will be this Saturday, October 6, at the Singapore Indoor Stadium in Singapore. There will be a lightweight super fight between Shinya "Tobikan Judan" Aoki and Arnaud "The Game" Lepont and two fights for newly-created ONE FC titles. Zorobabel "Zoro" Moreira will face Kotetsu Boku for the lightweight belt and Leandro Issa will fight Soo Chul Kim for the bantamweight belt.

ONE FC: Rise of Kings will be shown on same-day tape-delay on pay-per-view television in the U.S., and on a live online pay-per-view at http://www.onefc.com/livestream.

We spoke with Matt Hume by phone Thursday before he left for Singapore for this show. We discussed this stacked card, as well as issues related to the ONE FC rules, their model of self-governance, fighter safety, the allowing of soccer kicks to the head of downed fighters, the establishment of ONE FC belts and titles, amateur MMA, and more.

"When you have self-governance, someone without integrity or a group without integrity can do things they shouldn't be doing," he said in this interview. "But if you have integrity, the group that you're working with has integrity, then that's going to be the best situation because you provide the quality control. There's nothing that's beyond your control there."

You can play or download No Holds Barred here and here. If one link doesn't work, please try another.

No Holds Barred is also available on mobile phones and iPads through Stitcher.

Also, No Holds Barred is available through iTunes.

The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", which is also available on iTunes by composer Ian Snow.

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

ONE Fighting Championship. ONE FC is Asia's largest and most prestigious mixed martial arts event. ONE FC features the best Asian fighters and has initiated the ONE Asia Partnership Network, which includes most of the major MMA promotions and MMA gyms in Asia. For more information, go to their web site, at ONEFC.com.

MMA World Expo. The mixed martial arts community comes to New York City December 1 and 2 for the fourth annual MMA World Expo, featuring an amateur MMA tournament, the Renzo Gracie BJJ Open 2012 tournament, the Big Apple No-Gi tournament, MMA fighters, seminars with world-class trainers, vendors, panel discussions, and much more. The 2012 MMA World Expo takes place Saturday, December 1, and Sunday, December 2, at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City.

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/.