NO HOLDS BARRED

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman spoke with Ernie Ciaccio, the associate director of the newly-founded Agon Wrestling Championships.

Using a blend of American folkstyle and freestyle wrestling rules, the Agon Wrestling Championships is planning a series of shows featuring real professional wrestling.

The first event, named Agon 1 - The Revolution, will take place at the Rio Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Sunday, October 27, 2013. The main event will feature the undefeated Bellator MMA welterweight champion, two-time NCAA champion, and 2008 U.S. Olympian, Ben Askren, against another two-time NCAA champion and four-time NCAA All-American wrestler, Quentin Wright. More matches are set to be announced, starting at their kickoff news conference in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Saturday, August 31.

A live Internet pay-per-view of Agon 1 - The Revolution is also being planned to be shown on FloWrestling.org.

We spoke with Ernie Ciaccio by phone Friday night about this new organization and their plans.

"The pinnacle of wrestling should be a professional world champion," he said. "If we can create that system, it will protect the Olympic dream, the collegiate dream, and high school wrestling and wrestling at the grassroots."

He added, "That's what we believe. It's our conviction, and we're going to execute on it."

We had a lengthy discussion on the highlights of the rules for this new event.

"This is going to be a style unique to itself," he said. "It's going to take the best of folkstyle and the best of freestyle and combine them, and take the worst part of those styles and throw them out the window."

In the Agon Wrestling Championships, a takedown is worth two points, but requires control, as in American folkstyle. There are no points for escapes.

Getting back exposure, like in freestyle, will be worth two points, with extended exposure such as in a near-fall worth an additional point. The push-out rule will also be kept.

After the action goes to the mat, the offensive wrestler will have 30 seconds to score. If there is no scoring, then the wrestlers are returned to their feet.

Pins are called after one-half second.

A system for dealing with stalling is being worked on, with the possibility of having a yellow card system, similar to the one Pride FC had, although that is not set.

Each match is three periods of three minutes each. If the score is tied at the end of three periods, there is an unlimited, sudden victory overtime, with no time limit.

"These rules easy for fans to understand," he said, while also guaranteeing action.

We also discussed the philosophy behind the establishment of the Agon Wrestling Championships; why creating an event which showcases role models for the youth is key; why they want to develop a "quality show" which learns from the best parts of how MMA has been promoted; the need for getting the best personnel and building a self-sustaining enterprise; why they are developing this independently from the "wrestling bureaucracy"; how they can avoid the mistakes which led to the downfall of previous attempts at building real professional wrestling organizations; 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.

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/.

The First Annual Liberty Bell Classic East Coast King of Catch Tournament, organized by the North American Catch Wrestling Association in conjunction with Scientific Wrestling. This catch wrestling tournament will take place Saturday, August 31, 2013, at the Klein JCC, 10100 Jamison Ave., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19116. No points! No politics! Only submissions and pins win! For more information, go to http://nacwa.weebly.com.

Labels: Agon Wrestling Championships, Ben Askren, Eddie Goldman, Ernie Ciaccio, folkstyle, freestyle, No Holds Barred, Quentin Wright

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman once again spoke with the Singapore-based Fox Sports presenter, a writer. and a commentator on the ONE FC MMA telecasts and webcasts, Steve Dawson.

Steve regularly visits New York, so we sat down to talk with him Wednesday at a Chinese restaurant in uptown Manhattan in Washington Heights, near the George Washington Bridge.

We of course discussed the phenomenal growth of ONE FC, the king of MMA in Asia, and how MMA is becoming a mainstream sport in Asia and is appealing not just to fight fans and martial artists, but to the general public.

"Many Asian markets are just not into sport the way we are in the West, and the mainstream sports that we see in the West," he said. "So I think that the combat sports that have been around for such a long time are an easier fit for people to enjoy in Asia."

After visiting New York and attending many sporting and other events, he will return home next week to face a very busy schedule. as ONE FC is holding back-to-back shows. Their next show will be called ONE FC: Champions and Warriors, and will take place Friday, September 13, at the Istora Senayan in Jakarta, Indonesia. They return the following month, with ONE FC: Total Domination on Friday, October 18, at the Singapore Indoor Stadium in Singapore. Two more shows are slated for 2013, with details to be announced shortly, and an even busier schedule planned for 2014 and beyond.

We also discussed more on the culture in Asia and the attitude there to the combat sports and the martial arts as compared to the West, the changing media landscape since Fox purchased the half of Star Sports from ESPN which it did not already own, 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.

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/.

The First Annual Liberty Bell Classic East Coast King of Catch Tournament, organized by the North American Catch Wrestling Association in conjunction with Scientific Wrestling. This catch wrestling tournament will take place Saturday, August 31, 2013, at the Klein JCC, 10100 Jamison Ave., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19116. No points! No politics! Only submissions and pins win! For more information, go to http://nacwa.weebly.com.

Labels: Asia, combat sports, Eddie Goldman, martial arts, MMA, No Holds Barred, One FC, Singapore, Star Sports, Steve Dawson

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

The king of MMA in Asia, ONE FC is getting ready for back-to-back shows. Their next show will be called ONE FC: Champions and Warriors, and will take place Friday, September 13, at the Istora Senayan in Jakarta, Indonesia. They return the following month, with ONE FC: Total Domination on Friday, October 18, at the Singapore Indoor Stadium in Singapore.

ONE FC: Champions and Warriors on September 13 will be headlined by a flyweight bout between Shinichi Kojima of Japan and American Andrew Leone, who fights out of Thailand. The co-main event will have former ONE FC lightweight champion Kotetsu Boku of Japan facing Vuyisile Colossa of South Africa. There will also be fights involving fighters from or having roots in Indonesia, including separate bouts featuring Vincent Latoel and Vincent Majid.

ONE FC: Total Domination on October 18 will feature a bantamweight title unification fight between current champion Soo Chul Kim, who is returning from an injury, and interim champion Bibiano Fernades. Also on that card, Hong Kong native Eddie Ng faces Peter Davis of Malaysia, and Tatsuya Mizuno fights Rafael Silva.

Both these shows will be televised live in Asia on Star Sports, and streamed live as an online pay-per-view, at www.onefc.livesport.tv.

We spoke with Victor Cui by Skype Tuesday about these cards and the significance of running yet another MMA event in Indonesia.

Besides having the fourth largest population in the world and a rapidly growing economy, Indonesia has a special connection to MMA.

"Indonesia is actually a huge hotbed for MMA," said Victor Cui. He estimated that there are "over 30, maybe even over 40 MMA gyms just in Jakarta alone."

He added, "They actually have a very deep talent pool of MMA fighters with professional records because they used to have a professional event there several years ago."

So Indonesia has "a lot of people that know the sport, a big fan base, a lot of gyms, great support from the grassroots level. And you're talking about a culture that loves martial arts."

We also discussed ONE FC's plans to run events once a month for the rest of this year, their plans for 2014 and beyond, 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.

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/.

The First Annual Liberty Bell Classic East Coast King of Catch Tournament, organized by the North American Catch Wrestling Association in conjunction with Scientific Wrestling. This catch wrestling tournament will take place Saturday, August 31, 2013, at the Klein JCC, 10100 Jamison Ave., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19116. No points! No politics! Only submissions and pins win! For more information, go to http://nacwa.weebly.com.

Labels: Asia, Eddie Goldman, Indonesia, Jakarta, MMA, No Holds Barred, One FC, Singapore, Victor Cui

(Photo of (L-R) Arash Usmanee, Mike Tyson, and Argenis Mendez, by Tom Casino / Iron Mike Productions)

(Image credit for PBS Frontline's "League of Denial: The NFL's Concussion Crisis" courtesy of Nick Veasey / Getty Images)

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman discusses the concussion crisis in contact and combat sports, the coverage given it in the sports and general media, and the bubble in which the combat sports in particular live on this issue.

This past Friday night, August 23, ESPN's Friday Night Fights aired as a main event an exciting but brutal fight, where IBF junior lightweight champion Argenis Mendez (21-2-1, 11 KOs) retained his belt with a controversial majority draw with challenger Arash Usmanee (20-1-1, 10 KOs). This took place at the Turning Stone Resort Casino in Verona, New York, and was promoted by Iron Mike Productions in association with Greg Cohen Productions, with Mike Tyson prominently sitting ringside.

Earlier that day, the entire credibility of ESPN's journalism had been called into question. An article in The New York Times, entitled "N.F.L. Pressure Said to Lead ESPN to Quit Film Project" by James Andrew Miller, reported that ESPN had pulled out of a collaborative effort with PBS's "Frontline" series on a documentary film called "League of Denial: The NFL's Concussion Crisis". According to "Frontline", this two-part documentary, which will begin airing October 8 and 15, would examine "whether -- as thousands of former players allege -- the NFL has covered up the risks of football on the brain." The Times' article said that after 15 months of collaboration with "Frontline", ESPN pulled out of the project Thursday after a "combative meeting" involving four top executive from ESPN and the NFL. While ESPN later denied that it had caved in from pressure from the NFL -- whose "Monday Night Football" on ESPN is the highest-rated show on cable TV in the USA -- few were buying this story, and a furor erupted online over ESPN's commitment, or lack thereof, to independent journalism.

Interestingly, as if to counter this outpouring of criticism, ESPN did air a brief discussion Friday afternoon on "Outside the Lines" about a new study published in the American Academy of Neurology's journal "Neurology" about these issues. The study, authored by Robert A. Stern, PhD, a professor of neurology and neurosurgery at Boston University School of Medicine, said that chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) and repeated head injuries, including concussions and subconcussive trauma, in athletes, may adversely affect their memory, mood, and behavior. Dr. Stern was interviewed on "Outside the Lines".

The combat sports world, and in particular what calls itself its media, generally continued on, as if none of these controversies had taken place.

The bubble in which the combat sports live is thus discussed, including its seemingly inevitable bursting.

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.

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/.

The First Annual Liberty Bell Classic East Coast King of Catch Tournament, organized by the North American Catch Wrestling Association in conjunction with Scientific Wrestling. This catch wrestling tournament will take place Saturday, August 31, 2013, at the Klein JCC, 10100 Jamison Ave., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19116. No points! No politics! Only submissions and pins win! For more information, go to http://nacwa.weebly.com.

Labels: Arash Usmanee, Argenis Mendez, boxing, bubble, concussions, CTE, Eddie Goldman, ESPN, football, Friday Night Fights, Frontline, Mike Tyson, MMA, New York Times, NFL, No Holds Barred, PBS

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman once again spoke with our colleague and correspondent Kid Peligro.

Our main topic was the 2013 ADCC Submission Fighting World Championship, which will be held October 19-20 in Beijing, China. It is the most important and prestigious grappling tournament in the world, and as always will feature competition in no-gi grappling.

Besides the competition in the five men's and two women's weight classes and the absolute division, there will be two superfights. Braulio Estima will take on Andre Galvao, and in a masters superfight, Mario Sperry will face Fabio Gurgel.

We spoke with Kid Peligro by phone Tuesday evening.

While many veterans are returning to the ADCC worlds this year, he expects there to be some new champions crowned.

"I'm looking this year to have more upsets and more new names coming to the top than ever. And that's really exciting to me," he said. While he added that "I love the champions of the past," the youth and the new names have really gotten his attention.

"Somebody doing something that's not expected and projecting themselves as a star is just really what it's all about. That's really what ADCC is all about basically. It's just a venue for people to showcase their greatness."

One of those possible new champions is the heavyweight sensation Marcus "Buchecha" Almeida, who has won gold medals in both the +100kg and absolute divisions in 2012 and 2013 at the IBJJF Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu World Championships. But he will have tough competition in this no-gi event in the +99kg division, including 2011 ADCC champion Vinny Magalhaes.

We also discussed how the ADCC rules, the officiating, and this style of grappling have made it faster than ever, and have resulted in "more submissions than ever."

Expect more updates on ADCC 2013 as we get closer to the event.

As Kid Peligro said, "It's ADCC time."

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.

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/.

The First Annual Liberty Bell Classic East Coast King of Catch Tournament, organized by the North American Catch Wrestling Association in conjunction with Scientific Wrestling. This catch wrestling tournament will take place Saturday, August 31, 2013, at the Klein JCC, 10100 Jamison Ave., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19116. No points! No politics! Only submissions and pins win! For more information, go to http://nacwa.weebly.com.

Labels: Abu Dhabi, ADCC, BJJ, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, China, Eddie Goldman, grappling, Kid Peligro, No Holds Barred, no-gi, Submission Fighting World Championship

(Photo courtesy of Mark Schultz)

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman spoke with wrestling legend Mark Schultz, a 1984 Olympic gold medalist and two-time world champion in freestyle wrestling for the U.S., a three-time NCAA Div. I wrestling champion at Oklahoma, and who was 1-0 in MMA.

He is being portrayed by the actor Channing Tatum in the upcoming film "Foxcatcher", which will focus on his life as well as the murder in January 1996 of his older brother and fellow Olympic gold medalist wrestler, Dave Schultz, by the multimillionaire John du Pont.

"Foxcatcher" is scheduled to be released in the U.S. December 20, 2013. The film is directed by the highly regarded Bennett Miller, and also stars Mark Ruffalo as Dave Schultz and Steve Carell as du Pont. It will be distributed by Sony Pictures Classics.

In what was an epic discussion, we spoke with Mark Schultz by phone Saturday.

"In 1996, I was the head coach at Brigham Young University. And I got a call from my dad, and he said my brother had been murdered by du Pont. And it just infuriated me to just no end. And I think I destroyed everything in my office," he said.

We went on to discuss his 1993 meeting with Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu legend Rickson Gracie and their submission grappling matches, which Rickson won. That inspired Mark to begin training in jiu-jitsu, which he did under Pedro Sauer and Walt Bayless. We also discussed his one and only MMA fight, in 1996 at UFC 9, which was arranged on less than 24 hours notice and where he defeated Gary Goodridge.

His entry into wrestling in his high school years, however, was inspired by something else. He was already training in gymnastics, which he called very useful for wrestling, but had not yet hit the mat. At that time, he would regularly tangle with older brother Dave, who was even then one of the best wrestlers in the US. Mark would always lose. To "learn how to beat him up," he tried tang soo do, but after a brief and unsuccessful stint learning that, he took up wrestling. His accomplishments on the mat speak for themselves. And his win in the 1982 NCAA finals at 177 pounds over Ed Banach of Iowa is still called by many the greatest college wrestling match ever.

His love of wrestling is still evident. "Wrestling is the ultimate martial art," he said.

But the numerous problems in the sport of wrestling have continued to eat away at it, and we discussed those in depth.

"Wrestling will never die. There will always be guys out on the front lawn wrestling each other, no matter what the administrators do, no matter what the committees do. Wrestling will be around forever. It's been around thousands of years. It's going to be around till the end of time," he said.

"It's just, the people in power are the problem. They're just making dumb decisions. They just don't think big enough." He talked about the reaction by some in the wrestling establishment to this upcoming movie, with its major stars and such a highly regarded director.

"It's not big enough for them. So, blackball me."

He explained how when he wrestled, there was no money in it, even for the top wrestlers in the world in the US, and many were "forced into poverty." There was little or no help from USA Wrestling or elsewhere, so "That's why I went to Foxcatcher," du Pont's team and training facility, because they were the only ones at that time paying people to wrestle. He added that if he had been supported by USA Wrestling, he might have competed for five more years.

And there are more problems, with many college wrestling programs, including the one at BYU where he had coached, being closed down. Add to this the problems international wrestling is facing by being threatened with being dropped from the Olympics, and it is obvious that wrestling is reeling from one crisis to another.

He has proposed some solutions over the years, including asking the NCAA to add submissions to college wrestling. That advice, of course, was not heeded, and the diminution of college wrestling, partially fueled by a misapplication of Title IX, continues to this day.

But he did add that he does have a lot of support in the wrestling community, and that "only a small group of people don't support me."

We also discussed a lot more about his life and the movie, including his upcoming autobiographical book, and the potential for growth for some form of submission wrestling, with Mark Schultz.

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.

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/.

The First Annual Liberty Bell Classic East Coast King of Catch Tournament, organized by the North American Catch Wrestling Association in conjunction with Scientific Wrestling. This catch wrestling tournament will take place Saturday, August 31, 2013, at the Klein JCC, 10100 Jamison Ave., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19116. No points! No politics! Only submissions and pins win! For more information, go to http://nacwa.weebly.com.

Labels: BJJ, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, college, Dave, du Pont, Eddie Goldman, film, Foxcatcher, freestyle, Mark Schultz, MMA, NCAA, No Holds Barred, Olympics, submission, USA, wrestling

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman discusses the future of wrestling, the continuing problems and crisis facing Olympic wrestling, and the rebirth and growth of catch wrestling.

Highlighted are audio quotes we have gotten over the years on these topics from many people around the world, including: MMA pioneer and grappler John Perretti; Clint Kingsbury of Wrestling Canada Lutte; Olympic freestyle wrestling champion, coach, and former MMA fighter Kevin Jackson; MMA legend and former Greco-Roman wrestling US champion Randy Couture; NCAA Div. 2 wrestling champion and pro wrestler Bob Backlund; NCAA champion Teague Moore of Tour ACW; wrestling historians Nathan Hatton and Mike Chapman; Snake Pit Wigan catch wrestling legends Roy Wood and Billy Robinson; Garry Davis of Brazen Martial Arts; Steve Nelson of USWF Shootfighting and head wrestling coach at Palo Duro High School in Amarillo, Texas; Dan Kanagie of the North American Catch Wrestling Association; Jon Strickland of American Carny Style Catch as Catch Can Wrestling; John Potenza of the Snake Pit USA Catch Wrestling Association; Raul Ramirez of Catch Wrestling Los Angeles; Kris Iatskevich of the ISWA: Coach George Hero of Midwood High School Wrestling; and Jake Shannon of Scientific Wrestling.

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.

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/.

The First Annual Liberty Bell Classic East Coast King of Catch Tournament, organized by the North American Catch Wrestling Association in conjunction with Scientific Wrestling. This catch wrestling tournament will take place Saturday, August 31, 2013, at the Klein JCC, 10100 Jamison Ave., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19116. No points! No politics! Only submissions and pins win! For more information, go to http://nacwa.weebly.com.

Labels: catch, catch-as-catch-can, Eddie Goldman, folkstyle, freestyle, Greco, No Holds Barred, Olympics, Snake Pit Wigan, wrestling

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman spoke with our correspondent Dr. Raul Ramirez of Catch Wrestling Los Angeles.

On November 10, 2012, the first catch wrestling tournament in over 50 years in Wigan, England, the home of catch wrestling, was hosted by the historic Snake Pit Wigan.

In that event, Raul Ramirez wrestled, defeating Stephen Greenfield of Wales by crossface submission. This year, he plans to compete again, in what promises to be an even bigger event.

"Last year we had the event, the international catch wrestling tournament for the Snake Pit Wigan," he said in this interview, which was recorded by phone Monday.

"It was apparently a huge success, because there is such a demand now in England, the students there training with [Coach] Roy [Wood] at the Snake Pit Wigan have just ballooned."

He continued, "Last year since we had five matches, this year they're going to have 15 matches. This is going to be on November 9 in Wigan."

This year's tournament will also take place along with a major freestyle wrestling tournament, which is one reason many more participants are expected in the catch tournament.

He also talked about the plans for Catch Wrestling Los Angeles to become an official training camp for the Snake Pit Wigan. And we discussed the ongoing worldwide revival of catch wrestling, the different rules for catch wrestling used in different events, the future of catch wrestling and the many styles of grappling, 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.

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/.

The First Annual Liberty Bell Classic East Coast King of Catch Tournament, organized by the North American Catch Wrestling Association in conjunction with Scientific Wrestling. This catch wrestling tournament will take place Saturday, August 31, 2013, at the Klein JCC, 10100 Jamison Ave., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19116. No points! No politics! Only submissions and pins win! For more information, go to http://nacwa.weebly.com.

Labels: Billy Robinson, catch, Eddie Goldman, freestyle, grappling, Los Angeles. catch-as-catch-can, No Holds Barred, Raul Ramirez, Roy Wood, Snake Pit Wigan, wrestling

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman spoke with Teague Moore, head wrestling coach at American University and a founder of the Association of Career Wrestlers - Tour ACW.

The Association of Career Wrestlers - Tour ACW is a new, independent organization which aims at creating a series of wrestling events featuring "past collegiate wrestlers not focusing on training for the senior level to be able to continue to compete in the sport of wrestling," according to their web site. Eventually they hope to establish a new, real professional wrestling circuit, using a combination of American folkstyle and freestyle rules.

A major difference of Tour ACW rules, however, is that there will be no time limits, with the winner being determined when one wrestler scores ten points, or, of course, scores a pin. This is to ensure that there is continuous action and as little stalling as possible.

Their first event will be a test event, and will be held Sunday, October 20, 2013, at the Hyatt Regency - Pittsburgh International Airport in the Grand Ballroom. The event will award a total of $12,500 in prize money.

We spoke with Teague Moore by phone Thursday about this innovative concept and the plans for ACW.

"This first test event in Pittsburgh is really to just get our feet wet and see if we're on the right path," he said. "As we get into 2014, our hope is to have an event in April, another in July, and another in October of next year."

This one aims to "work out the kinks," and will mainly attract "dedicated wrestling fans," but this will also hopefully just be the start. ACW wants to build "something that mainstream media can start to look at."

He continued, "Ultimately long-term, we want to start to reach out to the casual sports fan, maybe the MMA fan that hasn't seen the sport of wrestling or followed the sport of wrestling. We're thinking we might be able to create a better product for them to follow."

We also discussed some of the problems that led to the early demise of the Real Pro Wrestling organization, in which he wrestled, almost a decade ago. He elaborated on the ACW scoring system, the possibility of webcasts of their events and eventually having them televised, 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.

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/.

The First Annual Liberty Bell Classic East Coast King of Catch Tournament, organized by the North American Catch Wrestling Association in conjunction with Scientific Wrestling. This catch wrestling tournament will take place Saturday, August 31, 2013, at the Klein JCC, 10100 Jamison Ave., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19116. No points! No politics! Only submissions and pins win! For more information, go to http://nacwa.weebly.com.

Labels: Association of Career Wrestlers, Eddie Goldman, folkstyle, freestyle, No Holds Barred, Teague Moore, Tour ACW, wrestling

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman spoke with Luke Dowdney, the founder of Fight for Peace and Luta Sportswear .

Originally from the UK where he was an amateur boxer, Luke Dowdney now lives in a favela in the Rio de Janeiro area in Brazil. In 2000, he founded Fight for Peace, a non-profit organization which supports young people in communities affected by gun crime, violence, and drugs. The organization set up academies in Rio, and later London, to provide youth with training in boxing and many styles of martial arts, as well as education.

Fight for Peace is now an independent NGO, and receives funding from many sources, including Luta Sportswear, also founded by him, which gives half of their profits to Fight for Peace.

The programs supported by Luta Sportswear are expanding to New York, and he was in town this week to start this process and promote the Luta brand. We spoke with him by phone Thursday afternoon.

Why boxing?

"Boxing is something that is so important to teach us about discipline, to teach us about what you put in is what you get out, that whole notion of never quitting," he said.

We also discussed the expansion of the program to include many disciplines in the martial arts including MMA, their working together with local organizations and gyms, their working with boxers including 2012 Olympic super heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua and world heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko, the recent mass protests in Brazil against the massive government spending for the 2014 FIFA World Cup and 2016 Rio Olympics while the needs of the people are not being met, 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.

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/.

The First Annual Liberty Bell Classic East Coast King of Catch Tournament, organized by the North American Catch Wrestling Association in conjunction with Scientific Wrestling. This catch wrestling tournament will take place Saturday, August 31, 2013, at the Klein JCC, 10100 Jamison Ave., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19116. No points! No politics! Only submissions and pins win! For more information, go to http://nacwa.weebly.com.

Labels: boxing, Brazil, Eddie Goldman, favela, Fight for Peace, London, Luke Dowdney, Luta Sportswear, martial arts, MMA, New York, No Holds Barred, Rio

Below is a letter sent by the Brazilian Women's Group, a non-profit organization based in Brighton, Massachusetts, opposing the licensing of UFC fighter Chael Sonnen by the Massachusetts State Athletic Commission. It is reposted in its entirety, minus only the footnotes.

July 26, 2013

Ms. LaTeisha Adams
Chairperson, Massachusetts State Athletic Commission
One Ashburton Place, Room 1301
Boston, Massachusetts 02108

Re: Recommendation to Deny a Fighter’s License to Chael Patrick Sonnen

Dear Ms. Adams:

We are writing to recommend that members of the Massachusetts State Athletic Commission deny the application for a professional fighter’s license to Chael Patrick Sonnen, who is scheduled to compete in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) event on August 17th at the TD Garden in Boston.

The Brazilian Women's' Group (BWG) was started in 1995 by a group of Brazilian immigrant women of various backgrounds and occupations. The women hoped to "make a difference" in the wider Brazilian community, encouraging its members, particularly women, to stand up for their rights in the United States. The Brazilian Women’s Group’s Mission is to promote the empowerment of Brazilian women and the Brazilian community in the Boston area.

Since 2010 and continuing into the current year, Sonnen has repeatedly violated the standards for professional behavior for unarmed combatants in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as set forth under Sections 20.03 of the Code of Massachusetts Regulations (CMR).[Note:i] These rules empower the Commission to revoke the license of any combatant who has behaved in a manner that is “deemed by the Commission to reflect discredit to unarmed combat,” or to suspend the license of a combatant arrested or convicted on a charge involving moral turpitude. [Note:ii]

Sonnen, who goes by the nickname “American Gangster,”[Note:iii] has demonstrated that he is unable to meet these minimum standards of professional behavior. Sonnen has made public statements that are insulting to Brazilians, African Americans, women and members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community, in violation of Section 20.03 of Title 523 of CMR:

The Commission would bring discredit to the activity of unarmed combat, and to thousands of people who train and compete in this activity, if it approved Sonnen’s application for a professional fighter’s license and allowed him to compete on national television at the August 17th event in Boston. The UFC event will coincide with the launch of the new “FOX Sports 1” network[Note:iv], which means that potentially millions of young viewers will be exposed to Sonnen and his insulting and incendiary language.

Sonnen has brought discredit to professional unarmed combat by making a series of remarks in public that are insulting to minority groups or, in other cases, that encourage violence or gross insults. The following are some examples of some irresponsible and offensive public statements by Sonnen:

o In 2010, through his public Twitter account, Sonnen reportedly told his Brazilian opponent’s manager to, “Pray to whatever demon effigy you prance and dance in front of with your piglet tribe of savages that I decide not to CRUCIFY you.”[Note:v] Also through his Twitter account, Sonnen reportedly wrote of his opponent, “You are going to be on your back more than a pornstar with a mortgage.” Sonnen denied that he made the statements and said that the Twitter account was fake.[Note:vi]

o At a pre-fight UFC press conference in 2010, Sonnen said of Portuguese, “It's a step harder picking up that language than it is understanding Pig Latin."[Note:vii]

o In a July 2011 interview, Sonnen said two UFC fighters from Brazil confused a bus for a horse on a visit to the United States. Sonnen said of Brazilian fighter Antônio Rogério Nogueira, known by the nickname “Little Nog,” and Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira, known as “Big Nog,” that, “There was a bus that pulled up to a red light and Little Nog tried to feed it a carrot, while Big Nog was petting it. He thought it was a horse. This really happened. He tried to feed a bus a carrot, and now you’re telling me that country has computers?”[Note:viii] In the same interview, Sonnen referred to Wanderlei Silva, another fighter from Brazil, as “an immigrant.”[Note:ix]

o In July 2011, Sonnen threatened criminal activity against opponent Wanderlei Silva. He said, “Listen Wanderlei, I will do a home invasion on you. I will cut the power to your house and the next thing you hear will be me climbing up your stairs in a pair of night-vision goggles I bought in the back of Soldier of Fortune magazine. I’ll pick the lock to the master-room door, take a picture of you in bed with the Nogueira brothers working on your Jiu-Jitsu.”[Note:x]

o In November 2011, Sonnen used demeaning language to insult Arianny Celeste, a UFC “Octagon Girl.” Sonnen referred to Celeste, who entertains the crowd between rounds at UFC events by holding up cards with round numbers[Note:xi], as the “IQ card girl.” Sonnen said, “Arianny kind of walks around and holds up her latest test score. One time when there was a title fight, she got all the way up to five and we were very proud of her.”[Note:xii]

o In a 2011 interview, Sonnen referred to his opponent Anderson Silva as “a little fruity boy.”[Note:xiii]

o In August 2011, Sonnen made an anti-gay comment when describing unarmed combat. He said, "Even if I could get a submission, I’m not laying under a grown man with my legs spread on worldwide TV. There are some guys who subscribe to that theory, but I’m a Republican. We don’t do that."[Note:xiv]

o In January 2012, Sonnen appeared in an online video on YouTube giving advice to young people on fighting. He said, “If he slaps you punch him. If he punches you, kick him. If he kicks you, stab him. If he stabs you, shoot him. If he shoots you, you go kill his family.” Although Sonnen mentioned in the same speech, “I hope that we’re old enough that I can tell this without people taking it for something that it’s not” and “of course I’m not talking about hurting someone,” the young audience he was addressing might have been impressed or misled.[Note:xv]

o In April 2012, Sonnen said, “When I was a little kid, I'd go outside with my friends and we'd talk about the latest technology, in medicine, gaming and American ingenuity -- and [Brazilian fighter Anderson Silva] and the Brazilian kids are sitting outside playing in the mud.”[Note:xvi]

o In July 2012, Sonnen directed derogatory comments at the wife of his opponent, Anderson Silva, stating, “You tell Anderson Silva I'm coming over and I'm kicking down his back door and patting his little lady on the (butt), and I'm telling her to make me a steak, medium-rare, just how I like it.”[Note:xvii]

o In a video posted online in January, dubbed “Chael Sonnen - Truth Talk Academy,” Sonnen purports to be coaching people on how to degrade others through insults. Sonnen said, “You’ve heard me incite entire countries, and you will continue to watch me verbally massacre anybody who gets in my way.”[Note:xviii] Sonnen continues, “Here at the Chael Sonnen Truth Talk Academy, you’ll learn the most basic principle of verbal attack - the insult.”[Note:xix] Sonnen then ridicules a young person’s weight,[Note:xx] and then he encourages a woman to be more creative with a physical threat after she has already threatened to rip out a person’s intestines.[Note:xxi]

o Sonnen has twice referred to an African American opponent as “boy,” a term that is often perceived as racist and demeaning when it is used to refer to an adult black male. In April, Sonnen was quoted as yelling, “Come on, boy!” at opponent Jon Jones.[Note:xxii] On the television show “UFC Tonight,” Sonnen again used the derogatory term “boy” while threatening Jones on the show. Sonnen said, “I'm a fully-loaded cannon, boy, and I'm pointed right at you.”[Note:xxiii]

o This month, at a UFC fan event in Las Vegas, Sonnen threatened violence against a mixed-martial arts fan who criticized him. Sonnen, who was speaking from a microphone on a stage, yelled at the fan, “Man, I’m about to come down there and whip your ass in a second.”[Note:xxiv] Sonnen then yelled, “Speak English! I don’t speak ghetto.”[Note:xxv]

In April, Sonnen brought further discredit to unarmed combat, and to thousands of athletes who participate and train in the various disciplines of martial arts, when he publicly dismissed the validity of martial arts as a sport. Sonnen was quoted by FOX Sports as saying:

“Martial arts isn’t a sport. Martial arts is a bunch of crap. This is a fistfight. Martial arts is a legal term. The legislature in Nevada in 2001, when we were trying to get a bill passed, needed to call it something to regulate it. It isn’t martial arts. This is a fistfight in a steel cage on Saturday night.” [Note:xxvi]

Sonnen has used his reputation as a notorious trash talker to bolster his own popularity and to denigrate mixed-martial arts as an activity. A columnist for the Huffington Post wrote, “In the UFC, Chael Sonnen has become better known for vitriol and increasingly racist sounding messages on twitter than his fighting ability.”[Note:xxvii] A Sports Illustrated columnist said of Sonnen that, “He shows no respect for the sport and its fighters.”[Note:xxviii]

Given Sonnen’s history of racist comments in public, the Commission should be concerned that he could use the opportunity to appear before a nationally televised audience on August 17th in Boston to insult minority groups and bring further discredit to unarmed combat.

Under Section 20.03 of Title 523 of the CMR, the Commission is empowered to suspend or revoke the license of any unarmed combatant who has:

o “Conducted themselves at any time or place in a manner which is deemed by the Commission to reflect discredit to unarmed combat” [Note:xxix]

o “Failed to execute the duties of their position in a skillful, professional manner generally expected of an individual holding that position”[Note:xxx]

o Knowingly dealt or consorted with a person who has “engaged in any activity or practice that is detrimental to the best interests of unarmed combat” [Note:xxxi]

There is no question that Sonnen has violated these basic guidelines, and should be prevented from bringing further discredit to unarmed combat by appearing at a public event in Boston. No combatant with such a history of behavioral problems and incendiary language should be allowed to compete in Massachusetts, much less on a nationally televised stage.

Therefore, we strongly recommend that the Commission exercise its statutory authority and deny Sonnen a professional license to compete in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Sincerely, Heloisa Maria Galvão
BWG Co-Founder and Executive Director
verdeamarelo.org

Labels: Brazilian Women's Group, Chael Sonnen, Massachusetts State Athletic Commission, UFC

(Photo of Rampage and Tito by Dr. Raul Ramirez)

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman spoke with our correspondent Dr. Raul Ramirez of Catch Wrestling Los Angeles.

He was in attendance at Monday's Bellator MMA news conference at the Bellator offices in Newport Beach, California, to announce their debut pay-per-view on November 2 featuring a fight between MMA veterans Quinton "Rampage" Jackson and Tito Ortiz, with more fights to be announced. We discussed what happened there, and issues related to this fight, the pay-per-view, and Bellator's approach to MMA.

Both fighters had a lot to say at this news conference, insisting that they are not through as fighters. They praised the "positive environment" at Bellator, contrasting it to their rocky relations, especially in recent years, with UFC management.

"Actually, I really believe that this is the beginning of a possible change in labor relations in MMA, because that's basically what Rampage and Tito talked about the majority of the time," Raul Ramirez said in our interview, which was recorded by phone Tuesday.

"Hopefully other fighters, if they're feeling taken advantage of, so they also come out and speak up, and follow Rampage and Tito's examples."

We also play an excerpt from the media conference call part of this press conference, with questions for Rampage, Tito, and Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney.

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.

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/.

The First Annual Liberty Bell Classic East Coast King of Catch Tournament, organized by the North American Catch Wrestling Association in conjunction with Scientific Wrestling. This catch wrestling tournament will take place Saturday, August 31, 2013, at the Klein JCC, 10100 Jamison Ave., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19116. No points! No politics! Only submissions and pins win! For more information, go to http://nacwa.weebly.com.

Labels: catch, catch-as-catch-can, Eddie Goldman, Los Angeles. Bellator, MMA, No Holds Barred, pay-per-view, Quinton Rampage Jackson, Raul Ramirez, Tito Ortiz, UFC, wrestling

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman spoke with Jon Strickland of the Billy Wicks Foundation and head coach of American Carny Style Catch as Catch Can Wrestling.

Based in South Carolina and now retired as a wrestler, Jon has been involved with many aspects of wrestling his whole life. He started learning about catch wrestling in the early 1980s, later trained under catch wrestling legend Billy Wicks, and wrestled in college.

The non-profit Billy Wicks Foundation was set up to preserve the catch wrestling legacy of Billy Wicks and "to spread catch wrestling" worldwide, he said in this phone interview, which was recorded Thursday. It will be "working with underprivileged children here in the rural South and southern Appalachia, and trying to get these kids interested in wrestling, starting out at an amateur level."

Catch wrestling, he said, where you can win by pin or submission, is currently experiencing "almost a boom". There are more and more tournaments and people training in it than in recent memory, and more and more grapplers from many other styles, including Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, becoming interested in training and competing in it, he observed.

He also had been involved as a coach for MMA, but now focuses on catch wrestling and grappling. He had a fighter on an amateur MMA card in August 2012 in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, but that show was cancelled after a fighter named Tyrone Mims fell ill and was taken to a local hospital. About an hour later, Tyrone Mims passed away. His death was the second in MMA in the U.S. in 2012, and the second in South Carolina, which only legalized the sport in 2009. Although the coroner's report would say that the cause of death of the 30-year-old Mims was "undetermined", it was obviously directly related to his MMA fight.

Arguing that the current unified rules of MMA have actually "made it more dangerous by the way they've done it," he said that the current emphasis on striking in MMA makes it questionable to say that MMA is safer than boxing.

"I don't know what the stats are. I haven't looked at them. But personally, I do not want my son fighting in MMA. That's it. I would try anything I can do to discourage that," he said.

"It's not putting down these guys. I got a lot of respect for them. If guys want to do it, that's great for them. I just know I don't want my loved ones, my family, doing it."

We discussed the risks stemming from blows to the head and brain injuries in MMA, as well as why he prefers submissions to striking. "I prefer wrestling," he said.

He also noted that wrestler and trainer Farmer Burns, who trained world heavyweight wrestling champion Frank Gotch in the early 1900s and played a key role in the development of amateur wrestling in Iowa, has not received proper credit. Burns, he said, is the "Godfather of American Grappling", and should be recognized as such.

We also discussed how the growth of catch wrestling around the world requires that the budding catch wrestling organizations work together; why he would like to see more major submission wrestling shows like "The Contenders", which was held in 1997; why "MMA has peaked"; some of the history of catch wrestling, including the experiences of the old carnival shows or "carny wrestling"; the devolution of the sport of professional wrestling last century into staged shows; and much more in this lengthy interview.

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.

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/.

The First Annual Liberty Bell Classic East Coast King of Catch Tournament, organized by the North American Catch Wrestling Association in conjunction with Scientific Wrestling. This catch wrestling tournament will take place Saturday, August 31, 2013, at the Klein JCC, 10100 Jamison Ave., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19116. No points! No politics! Only submissions and pins win! For more information, go to http://nacwa.weebly.com.

Labels: Billy Wicks, boxing, carny, catch wrestling, catch-as-catch-can, death, Eddie Goldman, Foundation, grappling, Jon Strickland, MMA, No Holds Barred, submissions

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman discusses the implications of the July 31, 2013, Bellator MMA card held at New Mexico's Santa Ana Star Center and shown live in the US on Spike TV. There were five TKOs in the five live televised fights, with champions Michael Chandler and Ben Askren retaining their belts, "King" Mo Lawal and Vitaly Minakov winning their respective tournament finals, and Patricio "Pitbull" Freire winning as well.

Bellator also announced its first pay-per-view, which will take place November 2 and will feature a fight between two former UFC champions, Quinton "Rampage" Jackson and Tito Ortiz, with more fights to be announced.

The commentary includes considering the significance of all five TV fights ending in TKO, why their two champions on this card may be the top MMA fighters in the world in their weight classes, how the wrestlers-turned-fighters and others could benefit from training in catch wrestling, the misinformation spread by some claiming that Rampage would be boxing Roy Jones Jr., the problems with head trauma and brain injuries in MMA and why this may be Bellator's biggest problem, 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.

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/.

The First Annual Liberty Bell Classic East Coast King of Catch Tournament, organized by the North American Catch Wrestling Association in conjunction with Scientific Wrestling. This catch wrestling tournament will take place Saturday, August 31, 2013, at the Klein JCC, 10100 Jamison Ave., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19116. No points! No politics! Only submissions and pins win! For more information, go to http://nacwa.weebly.com.

Labels: Bellator, Ben Askren, boxing, catch, Eddie Goldman, grappling, King Mo Lawal, Michael Chandler, MMA, No Holds Barred, pay-per-view, Rampage Jackson, Roy Jones, Tito Ortiz, UFC, Vitaly Minakov, wrestling