NO HOLDS BARRED

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with John Rallo, the owner of the Baltimore, Maryland-based MMA promotion Shogun Fights.

Founded in 2009, a year after MMA was legalized in Maryland, Shogun Fights mainly features local up-and-coming fighters.

Their next card is Shogun Fights VIII, which takes place Saturday, April 13, at the 1st Mariner Arena in Baltimore, Maryland. Among the main fights on this card are a lightweight fight between Dan Root and Noe Quintanilla, and the first-ever women's MMA fight in Shogun, between Rosanna Garcia and Gabby Holloway.

We spoke with John Rallo by phone Monday about Shogun Fights, its history, this card, and the sporting scene in Baltimore.

Speaking about the growth of MMA and the impressive crowds who attend Shogun Fights, he said, "Anytime that we can pull regional fighters from the area and draw the crowds that we're drawing, I think it's pretty amazing. I've been around for a long time, and we're pulling better crowds than Bellator. I wish I had Viacom money behind us and maybe we could grow ourselves as well."

We also discussed why Shogun Fights currently runs just two special shows per year, their place in sports-crazed Baltimore, wrestling and MMA, and more.

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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.

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Labels: Baltimore, Eddie Goldman, John Rallo, Maryland, No Holds Barred, Shogun Fights MMA