NO HOLDS BARRED

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman once again speaks with the ex-pugilist, lifelong martial artist, former UFC and Battlecade Extreme Fighting matchmaker, TV commentator, and our senior correspondent, John Perretti.

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.

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