NO HOLDS BARRED

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with Joel Resnick, the founder and CEO of RUFF (Ranik Ultimate Fighting Federation).

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/.