Tuesday, January 29, 2013
No Holds Barred: Joel Resnick on Feb. 2 RUFF Super Fights to Crown China's First National MMA Champions
Based in China, RUFF will be holding its most important show on Saturday, February 2, where five super fights will be held in five different weight classes to crown, for the first time, Chinese national MMA champions. Each of the winners will earn RMB 1,000,000 (approximately US$160,000).
This card will take place at the Inner Mongolia Indoor Stadium in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, China, and be televised live throughout China on Inner Mongolia Satellite Channel as well as regionally on the Shandong Sports Channel and the Xinjiang Sports Channel.
There will be several online and mobile streams available in China, as well as a free, live stream available to the world on PPTV, scheduled to start at 2:30 PM China Standard Time (CST - UTC/GMT +8 hours). RUFF will be providing more information on the telecasts and webcasts, at http://www.ruffchina.com.
We spoke with Joel Resnick by Skype Tuesday (Monday in New York) to preview this important card and discuss the progress of RUFF as an organization.
"Really we've done everything we said we were going to do from the very beginning," he said in this interview.
"We work on facts over here. Fact one: We're the only ones that have a permit for professional MMA in China. That's just the way it is. And our permit just got extended through 2014.
"Fact two: We're giving out the first China national MMA belts sanctioned by the government.
"Fact three: We're giving out 1,000,000 RMB to each of the five winners.
"Fact four: We're on satellite TV live. No combat sport has ever been on satellite TV live in China."
He also listed some of the very impressive statistics for total TV viewership of RUFF events in China. RUFF 5 got just over seven million viewers, RUFF 6 got around six million viewers, with the numbers for RUFF 7 due shortly. He added, the "Super Fight, really, we're hoping for ten million viewers. It's the first time ever it will be aired live nationally."
RUFF has also had a reality show with millions of viewers to familiarize people with the mostly young group of fighters who compete in this organization.
We also discussed the fights on this championship card, why there was a late replacement this week for one of the fighters, how the fighters chosen to compete on this card were selected both for their fight records as well as how they will represent their country, the future of RUFF, 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.
"The Martist" with John Perretti. A "martist" is an artist as well as a martial artist. This is a blog for those who think about fighting, published by John Perretti, the lifelong martial artist and former UFC and Battlecade Extreme Fighting matchmaker. Check out John's writings at http://johnperretti.com.
MMA World Expo. The mixed martial arts community comes to New York City February 16 and 17, 2013, for the fourth annual MMA World Expo, featuring an amateur MMA tournament, grappling, MMA fighters, seminars with world-class trainers, vendors, panel discussions, and much more. The MMA World Expo takes place Saturday, February 16, and Sunday, February 17, 2013, 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/.
Labels: China, Eddie Goldman, Joel Resnick, MMA, national champions, No Holds Barred, Ranik Ultimate Fighting Federation, RUFF, super fights
Saturday, January 26, 2013
No Holds Barred: Victor Cui on ONE FC: Return of Warriors Feb. 2 Card in Malaysia
ONE FC returns with its first show of 2013 with a loaded card on Saturday, February 2, called ONE FC: Return of Warriors. This card will take place in the Stadium Putra in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and will be available live on an international pay-per-view webcast on LiveSport.TV.
ONE FC: Return of Warriors is headlined by a fight for the ONE FC featherweight championship between the unbeaten Eric Kelly and the URCC lightweight champion Honorio Banario. There will also be a four-man Malaysian national featherweight championship tournament.
Speaking of this national championship tournament, Victor Cui said in this interview, which was recorded by Skype Sunday (Saturday New York time), "We're going to start to do this in every country that we go to, where we are going to be able to crown a national MMA champion in those countries, if the talent pool is deep enough." ONE FC will then put the winners of these national championships "into the pipeline up for contention for the belt eventually." He added, "This is really exciting to me, because it is part of making local fans by giving them a national hero that they can follow and get excited about."
He also announced that the next ONE FC show will be held Friday, April 5, in Singapore, with the fighters to be named very shortly. ONE FC, he said, plans to hold 12 events in 2013 plus two more summits, and 24 events in 2014. The April 5 card will be televised live in Asia on Star Sports.
We also discussed how ONE FC is planning to expand local telecasts and have them in multiple languages, possible co-promotions with groups like Glory and Dream, potential locations of upcoming cards including China, how ONE FC is "actually ahead of track of where our plans were," 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 February 16 and 17, 2013, for the fourth annual MMA World Expo, featuring an amateur MMA tournament, grappling, MMA fighters, seminars with world-class trainers, vendors, panel discussions, and much more. The MMA World Expo takes place Saturday, February 16, and Sunday, February 17, 2013, 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/.
Labels: Asia, Eddie Goldman, Eric Kelly, Honorio Banario, Malaysia, MMA, No Holds Barred, One FC, Return of Warriors, Victor Cui
Friday, January 25, 2013
No Holds Barred: John Perretti, the Martist
A "martist" is a term coined by John Perretti, meaning someone who has "the duality of the spirit of the martial and the aesthetic, a split if you will in interests within one human being. The artist preceded the pugilist and they have had a symbiotic relationship ever since." John's new blog is also called "'The Martist' with John Perretti".
We spoke with John Perretti by phone Tuesday about his blog, aesthetics and martial arts, the current states of MMA and grappling, and more.
Although he is a pioneer in MMA and created the basics of the modern structure of the sport, he is no longer enthusiastic about present-day MMA. "I don't want to focus on this car accident that this sport has become, because I don't feel that it's worth my time any longer," he said in this interview. "I donated incredible time and energy and resources and personal money to make this thing happen, and it for me is something that I don't enjoy watching."
John also was the producer of the 1997 all-grappling pay-per-view show, "The Contenders". While that show was a financial failure, he still maintains his love of grappling: "I am a giant proponent of grappling. Meeting Gene LeBell changed my whole life. I'm one of his four original black belts. And that's why I started 'The Contenders' and that's why I took striking out of the martial arts and created straight grappling."
We also discussed fixed fights and purposeful mismatches, the need for the Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform Act to be extended to MMA fighters, why he is writing his autobiography, aesthetics and martial arts, his current coaching of weightlifting, the issues of head trauma and CTE in combat and contact sports, 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 February 16 and 17, 2013, for the fourth annual MMA World Expo, featuring an amateur MMA tournament, grappling, MMA fighters, seminars with world-class trainers, vendors, panel discussions, and much more. The MMA World Expo takes place Saturday, February 16, and Sunday, February 17, 2013, 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/.
Labels: Battlecade Extreme Fighting, concussions, Contenders, CTE, Eddie Goldman, grappling, John Perretti, Martist, MMA, NFL, No Holds Barred, UFC
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
No Holds Barred: Dr. Margaret Goodman
In a little over a year of existence, VADA has had a major impact on the combat sports. Another step forward will be taken this week when the first MMA fighter to complete the VADA pre-fight drug-testing program, Bellator welterweight champion Ben Askren, defends his title on January 24 against Karl Amoussou.
But a lot more needs to be done, especially in the combat sports, to educate people on the dangers of performance-enhancing drugs.
"It's always been amazing to me that the public gets so up in arms when they think a decision wasn't judged properly," said Dr. Goodman in this interview, which was recorded by phone Tuesday.
"But I cannot for my life imagine why the fans, who really can have a strong voice and put pressure on these athletic commissions, don't speak out when they see that an athlete has tested positive for a performance-enhancing substance, and they themselves the fans watched that fight under false pretenses."
We discussed the growing use of these substances even among children, and the book by Dr. Robert C. Cantu, "Concussions and Our Kids", which advocates that children under the age of 14 should be restricted from participating in contact sports where there is the likelihood of head trauma.
In addition, we discussed the continuing widespread granting of therapeutic-use exemptions for testosterone, especially in MMA, without proper medical testing and evaluation. We discussed the relationship between drug use and CTE, chronic traumatic encephalopathy. We commented on the suicide at age 43 last year of popular NFL linebacker Junior Seau, who suffered from CTE.
And we discussed what all this might mean in future years and decades for sports like boxing, kickboxing, American football, MMA, and ice hockey, where head trauma is part of the sport itself. We also discussed the Lance Armstrong situation, the need for further study of the effects of chokes on the brain in sports like grappling, what the public can do on these issues, 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 February 16 and 17, 2013, for the fourth annual MMA World Expo, featuring an amateur MMA tournament, grappling, MMA fighters, seminars with world-class trainers, vendors, panel discussions, and much more. The MMA World Expo takes place Saturday, February 16, and Sunday, February 17, 2013, 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/.
Labels: boxing, chronic traumatic encephalopathy, concussions, CTE, Eddie Goldman, Junior Seau, Lance Armstrong, Margaret Goodman, MMA, NFL, No Holds Barred, testosterone, TRT, VADA, Voluntary Anti-Doping Association
Friday, January 18, 2013
No Holds Barred: Bellator Conference Call with Ben Askren, King Mo, Karl Amoussou, Bjorn Rebney, Kevin Kay
This conference call focused on the next Bellator MMA card slated for Thursday, January 24, at the WinStar World Casino in Thackerville, OK. It will be televised live in the U.S. on Spike TV.
On that card, Bellator welterweight champion Ben Askren will defend his title against welterweight tournament winner Karl Amoussou. Also on that card will be the Bellator debut of "King" Mo Lawal in an opening round fight against Przemyslaw Mysiala in the Bellator light heavyweight tournament.
While the unbeaten Ben Askren may be the favorite in his title fight, challenger Karl Amoussou is quite confident he will capture the belt.
"Obviously Ben is a very good wrestler. That's not a surprise to anybody. But I think I'm the most-well rounded fighter," said Karl Amoussou on this conference call. He also noted his unpredictability as giving him the advantage in this fight.
Spike TV president Kevin Kay joined the discussion towards the end of the call, providing the ratings information for Bellator's Spike TV debut on Thursday, January 17. For the past two seasons, live Bellator shows in the U.S. were seen on the lower-rated MTV2.
"It is the most-watched Bellator event in the history of Bellator," said Kevin Kay on this conference call. "We started the night in the first 15 minutes with 1.2 million viewers. The Curran-Pitbull fight, 1.1 million watched the Curran-Pitbull fight in that first half-hour. Overall, we were up 394 percent increase over last season's show premiere. And 938,000 viewers watched the entire broadcast." He added that 950,000 viewers watched the Michael Chandler-Rick Hawn fight, won by Bellator lightweight champion Chandler with a second-round submission, a fight considered by many to be the highlight of the telecast.
There also was much more discussion with all the fighters and Bjorn Rebney and Kevin Kay about the January 17 and 24 Bellator cards, their tournaments, 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 February 16 and 17, 2013, for the fourth annual MMA World Expo, featuring an amateur MMA tournament, grappling, MMA fighters, seminars with world-class trainers, vendors, panel discussions, and much more. The MMA World Expo takes place Saturday, February 16, and Sunday, February 17, 2013, 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/.
Labels: Bellator, Ben Askren, Bjorn Rebney, Eddie Goldman, Karl Amoussou, Kevin Kay, King Mo Lawal, MMA, No Holds Barred, Spike TV
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
No Holds Barred: Ben Askren on January 24 Bellator Title Defense and Voluntary Anti-Doping Association
His next fight will be Thursday, January 24, when he defends his title against welterweight tournament winner Karl Amoussou. This fight will take place at the WinStar World Casino in Thackerville, Oklahoma, and be telecast live in the U.S. on Spike TV. Also on that card will be the Bellator debut of "King" Mo Lawal in an opening round fight in the Bellator light heavyweight tournament.
We spoke with Ben Askren by phone Wednesday afternoon about what to expect in this fight, as well as his participation in the drug-testing program of the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA).
"Karl's an explosive fighter. He comes out and goes hard," he said of his opponent in this interview. "He is dangerous in a lot of different areas, but at the same time I don't think he poses a big challenge for me. He doesn't strike very proficiently. He does come out and be aggressive. But I know I'll be able to weather that initial storm and then do a lot of damage and control him in the fight, because he doesn't fight hard for very long. He fights hard for a short period of time. And if he doesn't win, then he tries to kind of hang on for the rest of the fight."
The VADA testing program consists of voluntary, random, unannounced blood and urine testing for performance-enhancing drugs. While Ben is one of the few MMA athletes to participate in the VADA program, he said that the various athletic commissions and promoters must take further measures and have better testing to stop the widespread use of PEDs in MMA.
PED use in MMA is so widespread that he commented, "Some people are very open about it. Some people don't even make it a secret, which is embarrassing." Asked to make a guesstimate as to what percentage of MMA fighters use PEDs, he replied, "I would go somewhere around 50. 50 percent would be a good guess."
We discussed his transition from college and Olympic freestyle wrestling into being a mixed martial arts fighter, and how he continues to follow closely the sport of wrestling. We also discussed that his younger brother, Max Askren, who like Ben had been a Div. I NCAA wrestling champion for Missouri, will be representing the U.S. at the 2013 Freestyle Wrestling World Cup at 84kg in Tehran, Iran, February 21-22, 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 February 16 and 17, 2013, for the fourth annual MMA World Expo, featuring an amateur MMA tournament, grappling, MMA fighters, seminars with world-class trainers, vendors, panel discussions, and much more. The MMA World Expo takes place Saturday, February 16, and Sunday, February 17, 2013, 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/.
Labels: Bellator, Ben Askren, Eddie Goldman, Karl Amoussou, MMA, No Holds Barred, Spike TV, VADA, Voluntary Anti-Doping Association, wrestling
Sunday, January 13, 2013
No Holds Barred: Bellator Debut on Spike January 17 Preview with Michael Chandler, Rick Hawn, Pat Curran, Patricio Pitbull, Babalu, Bjorn Rebney
The highly-anticipated debut of Bellator MMA on Spike TV will take place this Thursday, January 17, on a card at the University of California’s Bren Center in Irvine, California. It will be broadcast live in the U.S. on Spike TV and in the Spanish language on mun2.
Bellator returns with a bang by featuring two title fights on this first card of 2013. Bellator lightweight champion Michael Chandler will defend his belt against challenger and former U.S. judo Olympian Rick Hawn. Bellator featherweight champion Pat Curran will face Patricio "Pitbull" Freire. This card will also feature the start of the Bellator season eight light heavyweight tournament, including an opening round bout between grappling and MMA veteran Renato "Babalu" Sobral and Russian MMA fighter and former combat sambo champion Mikhail Zayats.
On a series of recent Bellator media conference calls, we had a chance to speak with Michael Chandler, Rick Hawn, Pat Curran, Patricio "Pitbull" Freire, Renato "Babalu" Sobral, and Bjorn Rebney. We discussed with the fighters what to expect in these important title and tournament fights, and with Bjorn Rebney the plans for upcoming tournaments.
In these interviews, former Missouri wrestling All-American Michael Chandler called it "an honor" to fight an Olympian and an "awesome" opponent like Rick Hawn, while Rick Hawn noted that this fight "has the potential to live up to the Alvarez-Chandler fight", the four-round war in November 2011 where Chandler captured the Bellator lightweight title from Eddie Alvarez. Both fighters come from different grappling backgrounds, but have added effective striking to their arsenals to sustain them at this level of competition.
Pat Curran described his transformation from being a wrestler who fought MMA into a fighter who has become more confident as a striker. "I love striking. I love everything about it. I love learning new moves, new techniques." Patricio "Pitbull" Freire stated that his opponent is an "all-around" fighter and "complete in all areas". We shall see how much striking and grappling will take place in this fight, but both fighters can win on their feet or on the ground.
With their compelling title fights, championship tournament format, and the best TV deal they've ever had, Bellator MMA, which began in 2009, is now in a position to make a major and lasting impact on the MMA world. Their January 17 debut card on Spike is one of the strongest MMA shows which will ever be shown on free TV in the U.S., so make sure to watch it.
Plus, we briefly comment on the Eddie Alvarez contract situation and its coverage in the media.
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 February 16 and 17, 2013, for the fourth annual MMA World Expo, featuring an amateur MMA tournament, grappling, MMA fighters, seminars with world-class trainers, vendors, panel discussions, and much more. The MMA World Expo takes place Saturday, February 16, and Sunday, February 17, 2013, 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/.
Labels: Bellator, Bjorn Rebney, Eddie Goldman, Michael Chandler, MMA, No Holds Barred, Pat Curran, Patricio Pitbull Freire, Renato Babalu Sobral, Rick Hawn, Spike TV
Thursday, January 10, 2013
No Holds Barred: King Mo on His Bellator Debut January 24
"King" Mo will be making his Bellator debut Thursday, January 24, when he faces Przemyslaw Mysiala in the opening round of the Bellator season eight, eight-man light heavyweight tournament. This fight takes place at the WinStar World Casino in Thackerville, Oklahoma. It will be broadcast live in the U.S. on Spike TV and in the Spanish language on mun2.
Although "King" Mo is perhaps the most prominent fighter to join the ranks of Bellator MMA, he will start his title quest like everyone else, in a tournament - and that is fine with him.
"I started off in wrestling tournaments. To me I look at this tournament as a prolonged wrestling tournament," said "King" Mo, a three-time U.S. national champion in freestyle wrestling, in this interview which was recorded by phone Thursday.
"I'm actually honored to be in the tournament because I don't feel like I deserve a title shot right away. I have to prove myself by beating the rest of the guys in the tournament to get a title shot," he continued.
We also discussed whether he expects to be hampered by ring rust since he hasn't fought in about a year, what to expect in his fight with Mysiala, advice he received from Floyd Mayweather Jr., boxing and MMA, why he is so impressed with three-time NCAA champion wrestler Kyle Dake, freestyle and folkstyle wrestling, his release last year from Strikeforce being a blessing in disguise, 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 February 16 and 17, 2013, for the fourth annual MMA World Expo, featuring an amateur MMA tournament, grappling, MMA fighters, seminars with world-class trainers, vendors, panel discussions, and much more. The MMA World Expo takes place Saturday, February 16, and Sunday, February 17, 2013, 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/.
Labels: Bellator, boxing, Eddie Goldman, King Mo Lawal, MMA, No Holds Barred, Przemyslaw Mysiala, Spike TV, wrestling
Sunday, January 06, 2013
No Holds Barred: The Death of Strikeforce and the Rise of Bellator
We trace some of the history of Strikeforce, and how its first show in March 2006, featuring Frank Shamrock vs. Cesar Gracie, was directly related to the rebirth of this show. No Holds Barred. After slowly growing, culminating in the inception of the Heavyweight Grand Prix in 2011, Strikeforce was sold in March 2011 to Zuffa. After that, it was only a matter of time until it was closed down, which will happen following the final Strikeforce card on January 12, 2013. We thus discuss the some of the main lessons of the rise and fall of Strikeforce.
Bellator began running shows in April 2009, which were only televised live in the U.S. in Spanish on ESPN Deportes. After a year there and one on Fox Sports Net, where it was preempted numerous times amidst a different schedule in many markets, Bellator began to get more stability with a deal for weekly live shows on TV giant Viacom's MTV2 beginning in March 2011. Then, on October 26, 2011, Viacom itself announced the purchase of a majority stake in Bellator. Beginning on January 17, 2013, Bellator's live weekly shows will be shown in the U.S. on Spike TV, a cable powerhouse and former home of the UFC.
We thus also discuss the growth of Bellator, their tournament format for crowning champions and number-one contenders, their rebranding efforts as Bellator MMA, and their prospects now that they will be live on Spike TV. We also play an excerpt from a Bellator and Spike TV media conference call of December 11, 2012, with Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney and Spike TV President Kevin Kay about Bellator MMA's first season on Spike TV.
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 February 16 and 17, 2013, for the fourth annual MMA World Expo, featuring an amateur MMA tournament, grappling, MMA fighters, seminars with world-class trainers, vendors, panel discussions, and much more. The MMA World Expo takes place Saturday, February 16, and Sunday, February 17, 2013, 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/.
Labels: Bellator, Bjorn Rebney, Eddie Goldman, mixed martial arts, MMA, No Holds Barred, Spike TV, Strikeforce
Thursday, January 03, 2013
No Holds Barred: Peter Maguire and John Perretti on the Real Origin of Mixed Martial Arts
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Peter Maguire was doing his graduate work in American history at Columbia University in New York. He earned his Ph.D in American history at Columbia in December 1993. His dissertation, "Nuremberg: A Cold War Conflict of Interest", was awarded distinction by a unanimous vote of the dissertation committee, which included Telford Taylor, the chief counsel for the prosecution at the Nuremburg Trials, and the noted history professor James Shenton. Since then, Dr. Maguire has written books including "Law and War: International Law and American History" and "Facing Death in Cambodia". He has written numerous articles and given countless lectures, and appeared on many TV and radio programs.
But while he was doing his graduate work in American history, he was also enrolled in a different kind of graduate program at John Perretti's New York martial arts school. There he learned what he described as "truly a mixed martial art".
In an interview recorded by phone on December 17, 2012, along with John Perretti, he detailed the curriculum there which included "wing chun kung fu, Western boxing, Thai boxing, kickboxing, and grappling."
As he termed it, "It was remarkable. It was a real graduate seminar in terms of all the information that was coming in." He recalled how even then John Perretti was scouring the world to bring in new talent.
Our discussion continued to explain how the style started by John Perretti called Tao Jutsu Do was itself a "mixed martial art" and a direct precursor to what we today call MMA. We also discussed the training there involving weapons and the important role of wrestlers in the development of MMA. Dr. Maguire went on to explain why he finds today's MMA "boring". We also discussed the real history of MMA, the underestimated influence of Gene LeBell, why it might be a good idea always to carry a mouthpiece, 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 February 16 and 17, 2013, for the fourth annual MMA World Expo, featuring an amateur MMA tournament, grappling, MMA fighters, seminars with world-class trainers, vendors, panel discussions, and much more. The MMA World Expo takes place Saturday, February 16, and Sunday, February 17, 2013, 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/.
Labels: boxing, Eddie Goldman, grappling, John Perretti, mixed martial arts, MMA, No Holds Barred, Peter Maguire, Tao Jutsu Do, wrestling
