NO HOLDS BARRED

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.

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