NO HOLDS BARRED

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman spoke with the only college wrestler ever to win four NCAA Division I national championships in four different weight classes, Kyle Dake.

Now that his college wrestling career is over, besides aiming to wrestle in the Olympics, he is very much involved in many aspects of the sport of wrestling. He is currently serving as a volunteer assistant coach at his alma mater, Cornell, as well as appearing at various wrestling events and wrestling camps, and preparing to compete in international wrestling competitions.

He will be returning to action in a freestyle wrestling match in the main event of the second annual Grapple at the Garden on Sunday, December 1, at the world's most famous arena, Madison Square Garden in New York. His opponent will be another former NCAA Division I national champion, Bubba Jenkins, who was also a freestyle wrestling junior world champion and is currently a professional MMA fighter.

We spoke with Kyle Dake by phone Tuesday.

"It's a great time to try to be a professional wrestler, because there's so many opportunities," he said. "It's unfortunate that when I say professional wrestler, 99 percent of the population thinks of WWE, WWF, things like that."

He continued, "I think of myself as a professional, I really do. It's my job to be the best that I can be. I don't think of myself any different than, say, a UFC fighter, or a basketball player, or a baseball player. I'm trying to reach the peak of wrestling."

We also discussed his full-time training at Cornell, the need for wrestling to adapt to what fans want to see, his preference for remaining in wrestling rather than transitioning to MMA or grappling, 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/.

Labels: college, Cornell, Eddie Goldman, freestyle, Grapple at Garden, Kyle Dake, Madison Square Garden, No Holds Barred, real professional wrestling

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with Kevin Jackson, the Olympic gold medalist and two-time world champion freestyle wrestler, who is starting his fifth season as head wrestling coach for the legendary Iowa State Cyclones.

Before last season, Iowa State was not even ranked among the top 25 teams in the NCAA Division I by the college wrestling preseason polls. Coach Jackson proved them wrong by leading a young team to an 11th-place finish in the national championships, and having three wrestlers earn All-American status. This season, he sees even more success.

"We're in a good position to continue to move the program forward," he said in this interview, recorded by phone Monday. "We have Mike Moreno and Kyven Gadson, two athletes that were All-Americans last year, returning to our starting lineup." And they only lost two seniors from last year's starting lineup.

"We're excited about this year and can't wait to get started."

They will get started with their regular season Thursday, November 7, when they face both Drexel and Grand View in home dual meets at the historic Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa.

Before that, Mike Moreno, ranked number three in the preseason polls at 165 pounds, will be wrestling top-ranked David Taylor of Penn State, a 2012 NCAA Div. I champion and three-time finalist. This match will take place Saturday, November 2, as part of a loaded lineup at the annual NWCA All-Star Classic, held at the Patriot Center in Fairfax, Virginia, on the campus of George Mason University.

We also discussed with Coach Jackson who else on the Cyclone wrestling team he expects to start and achieve success this season.

In addition, we discussed some of the ongoing problems facing the sport of wrestling, both internationally and nationally. He bemoaned the fact that 2012 Olympic gold medalists Jordan Burroughs and Jake Varner are not getting all sorts of major nationwide product endorsements. The continuing problems with marketing, media, and promotion of wrestling once again show, he said, "It takes professionals to do a professional job."

And we discussed the upcoming fight this Saturday, November 2, on the Bellator MMA card in Long Beach, California, involving "King" Mo Lawal, who had trained with Coach Jackson for several years at the Olympic Training Center, against Emanuel Newton, who had upset him with a first-round knockout when they first met in February of this year.

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/.

Labels: college, Eddie Goldman, Iowa State Cyclones, Kevin Jackson, King Mo Lawal, Kyven Gadson, Mike Moreno, MMA, NCAA, No Holds Barred, wrestling

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman spoke with veteran combat sports journalist Donovan Craig, to introduce the new grappling and wrestling web site, GrappleGnostic.

"The way I kind of conceive it is sort of a conversation about excellence in the grappling martial arts," he said in our interview, recorded through Skype Thursday.

"It's not a news site. It's a very focused title and it's exploring how the grappling martial arts are expressions of people's quest for personal excellence and competitive excellence."

Sponsored by Defense Soap, the site already has interviews with Terry Brands, Marcos Torregrosa, Steve Garland, and Eddie Bravo, articles about the evolution of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and wrestling, and a short history and commentary on the revival of catch wrestling, among others.

In particular, we discussed the article "Catch Wrestling Is Back: The Revival Of A Working Class Sport".

This new site, he said, wants journalistically to "raise the bar. It will consistently raise it as time goes on."

He added that it will "really elevate the level of discourse about something that we all love."

Make sure to check out the site, and look for a lot more to come on GrappleGnostic.

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/.

Labels: BJJ, catch, catch-as-catch-can, combat sports, Defense Soap, Donovan Craig, Eddie Goldman, GrappleGnostic, grappling, jiu-jitsu, martial arts, MMA, No Holds Barred, wrestling

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman spoke with Kristen Brown of Live To Fight.

Live to Fight is a newly-formed charity established to raise support for fighters and their loved ones who have been affected by cancer and other life-threatening illnesses.

Their first event will be held this Sunday, October 27, and will be a no-gi Brazilian jiu-jitsu seminar called "Grappling Cancer". It will be hosted by LiveToFight.org board member, UFC middleweight champion, and ADCC veteran Chris Weidman, along with guest instructors MMA fighter Jim Miller and BJJ and MMA legend Renzo Gracie.

The location is the Renzo Gracie Academy at 224 West 30th Street (between 7th and 8th Ave.), New York, NY 10001. The seminar will start at 1 PM.

We spoke with a very busy Kristen Brown by phone Wednesday.

"I'm really, really excited. This is our first event. I'm very excited to have the people that we have teaching," she said.

"Live to Fight is a charity that I recently started. It's a non-profit organization that helps people in the martial arts, combat sports, (and) mixed martial arts community who are fighting cancer and other life-threatening illnesses."

She explained, "It's for fighters, for people who train, and their loved ones," especially to help them pay their medical bills. Its focus is "Mostly cancer, since I'm a cancer survivor, but any life-threatening illness."

Besides discussing the details of this event, we also talked about her own battles against cancer, dealing with the "crazy, crazy medical bills," plans to build awareness of the need for people in the martial arts and combat sports to assist those who are fighting these diseases, 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/.

Labels: BJJ, cancer, charity, Chris Weidman, combat sports, Eddie Goldman, grappling, Jim Miller, jiu-jitsu, Kristen Brown, Live To Fight, martial arts, MMA, No Holds Barred, Renzo Gracie

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman spoke with Sensei Sonny Williams about the Battle of Bushido 4.

The Battle of Bushido 4 is a family-friendly martial arts event featuring demonstrations and fights in many styles of the martial arts, including kumite, continuous fighting, and weapons competition. It will take place this Sunday, October 27, from 9 AM to 6 PM, at the world-famous Hotel Pennsylvania in New York at 7th Avenue and 33rd Street, right across the street from Penn Station and Madison Square Garden. The morning and early afternoon will feature the kids' events, while the adult events start in the afternoon.

We spoke with Sensei Sonny Williams about the Battle of Bushido 4 by phone Saturday.

"One of the main things that I'm featuring on this year is having a children's Grand," he said. "A lot of promoters are now implementing that for their tournaments, to try to give the youth a little more edge, something more to inspire them to stay with the martial arts. So I'm offering the same this year."

He added, "Also, I'm putting emphasis on the kung fu and wushu divisions."

We also discussed fundraising efforts for Grandmaster Kevin Thompson, who is suffering from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease.

In addition, this edition of No Holds Barred opens with a commentary on the growth of the World Combat Games, currently taking place in St. Petersburg, Russia, through October 26.

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/.

Labels: Battle of Bushido, Eddie Goldman, karate, kung fu, martial arts, No Holds Barred, Sensei Sonny Williams, World Combat Games, wushu

(Alien Photo Credit: Brendan Montenegro/Roundbyround.com)

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman previews the October 26 fight between the IBF light heavyweight champion and boxing legend, Bernard Hopkins, and challenger Karo Murat.

The 48-year-old Hopkins (53-6-2, 32 KOs), from Philadelphia, will be facing the 30-year-old Murat (25-1-1, 15 KOs), born in Iraq and fighting out of Germany, at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey. This fight will headline a card which will be shown live in the U.S. on Showtime.

Both Hopkins and Murat were on a media conference call Thursday, and we have excerpts from that.

Despite his age advantage, Murat is a huge underdog. He has never fought for a major world title or in the U.S., and has never faced any opponent on the level of Hopkins. Still, he said on this conference call that Hopkins has been reduced to throwing one punch at a time and then clinching, and that he is confident he can win.

Hopkins - who has shed his long-standing nickname of "The Executioner" and is now calling himself "The Alien" because he is doing things a human of his age should not be able to do - not only dismissed such claims, but emphasized how he combines offense and defense. Such boxing skills, he said, are no longer seen as important or even marketable, especially by many TV executives. Boxing has changed today to where it "has sort of gotten to a barbaric" place. All-time greats like Sugar Ray Robinson and Sugar Ray Leonard, and in particular many Black fighters, he said, "would be boring today" and accused of not being able to sell tickets and pay-per-view buys. The TV executives believe, "if they duck, don't buy it." He attributed his longevity in boxing to his combination of offense and defense, proving "why it's good to duck."

He added, "I got two rules: I hit you, and I got to make you not hit me. What's wrong with that?"

But, he said, "The customers will drink anything you give them, if it's promoted right."

We play from this conference call our questions for Karo Murat, and the commentary by Bernard Hopkins on "why it's good to duck."

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/.

Labels: alien, Bernard Hopkins, Black fighters, boxing, duck, Eddie Goldman, Karo Murat, No Holds Barred, Showtime

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

It is now time for the 2013 ADCC Submission Fighting World Championship, the most important and prestigious grappling tournament in the world, which will as always feature competition in no-gi grappling.

It will take place Saturday, October 19, and Sunday, October 20, in Beijing, China, at the Beijing Ditan Sports Centre.

It also was just announced that ADCC 2013 will be available as an online pay-per-view, on Ustream. For more information on that, go to http://www.adcombat.com/adcc-worlds-2013-live-sream.

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.

To preview this event, we spoke with Kid Peligro by phone Monday.

Much attention has been given to the ADCC debut of the 23-year-old phenom, Marcus "Buchecha" Almeida of CheckMat. He has won double gold, at +100 kg and in the absolute division, in both the 2012 and 2013 Jiu-Jitsu World Championships, also known as the Mundials. That, however, is no guarantee of a victory for him in ADCC, where he will be competing at +99 kg.

"It's a different transition. ADCC is not jiu-jitsu without a gi," said Kid Peligro. "It's got its own set of rules, and it's got its own little quirks, how points are scored. And I've seen some great people stumble, especially first year."

He cited how it took Andre Galvao, now in this year's superfight, three times to win his weight and the absolute. "He didn't translate to the top form that he reached."

While there are returning champions including Rafael Mendes, Dean Lister, Vinny Magalhaes, and Gabrielle Garcia, this event has historically seen some unexpected winners.

As for this year, "It's really hard to determine a dark horse, because you just see it when you see it," said Kid Peligro.

Asked to name a possible dark horse, he said, "I think Rustam Chsiev is the one. That's the one I can see, off the top of my head.... I could see him going to the finals." Chsiev will be competing at -87.9 kg, which is expected to be one of the most wide-open weight classes.

We also discussed who is in and who is out in each weight class, who are the favorites at each weight, 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/.

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

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman spoke with ONE FC MMA fighter Peter Davis.

His next fight will be this Friday, October 18, at ONE FC: Total Domination. His opponent in this lightweight bout will be Eddie Ng.

ONE FC: Total Domination will take place at the Singapore Indoor Stadium in Singapore. It will be televised live on Star Sports in Asia and be shown as an online pay-per-view at http://www.onefc.livesport.tv.

We spoke with Peter Davis by Skype Wednesday Singapore time/ Tuesday New York time.

Peter Davis has won all three of his fights in ONE FC, two by TKO and one by submission. Interestingly, his opponent, Eddie Ng, has also won all three of his ONE FC fights, and also two by TKO/KO and one by submission.

"He's got a very similar sort of statistical winning streak in ONE FC compared to me," said Peter Davis.

However, he added, "I'm more of a standup sort of striker. I have range on him, which I'll be using. I'll try to keep the fight standing. But if it goes to the ground, I don't believe my grappling's all so bad."

He then promised, "It's going to be an all-out war. I really want to watch the fight, but I have to do it first."

Peter Davis is also a well-known actor and model in Asia, so we discussed how he balances his different professional careers. Originally from the U.K. and now training in Malaysia and Thailand, we discussed how he ended up living in Asia and becoming a fighter. We also discussed the tremendous growth of MMA in Asia, 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/.

Labels: Eddie Goldman, Malaysia, MMA, Ng, No Holds Barred, One FC, Peter Davis, Singapore, Total Domination

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman once again spoke with the legendary and iconic world champion of ring announcers, Lenne Hardt.

As the best in the business, the Tokyo-based Lenne Hardt is always in great demand. This weekend, for example, she will be announcing at three different events in two different countries.

On Friday, October 18, she will be displaying her talents at the ONE FC: Total Domination card at the Singapore Indoor Stadium in Singapore. In the main event of that card, ONE FC interim bantamweight champion Bibiano Fernandes will fight the current ONE FC bantamweight champion, the 21-year-old Soo Chul Kim of Korea, who is returning from an injury. This fight will thus be a title unification bout.

ONE FC: Total Domination will be televised live on Star Sports in Asia and be shown as an online pay-per-view at http://www.onefc.livesport.tv.

Right after the ONE FC card, she will fly to Beijing, China, to announce two events, both on Sunday, October 20. First, she will be announcing the finals of the 2013 ADCC Submission Fighting World Championship, which is the most important and prestigious grappling tournament in the world. Later that day, she will also be announcing the Real Fight MMA event.

Her country-hopping schedule will take her to Moscow, Russia, on Friday, November 8, for the Legend 2 MMA show, headlined by Alexander Emelianenko facing Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic. And there are more ONE FC events this year, a possible trip to South America, plans for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, and even more.

With this kind of schedule, that is why, in our interview recorded by Skype Tuesday (Monday New York time), she sang the line "I'm just a girl who can't say no" from the Rodgers and Hammerstein song "I Cain't Say No" from the Broadway show and film "Oklahoma!".

"So that's going to keep me pretty busy," she said with a laugh.

We also discussed her announcing for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, a Japanese professional baseball team, who regard her as their "lucky charm" since they seem to win whenever she announces for them. And we discussed how various cultures around the world view combat sports; the interrelationship of music, arts, sports, and entertainment; 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/.

Labels: ADCC, Beijing, China, Eddie Goldman, Lenne Hardt, MMA, No Holds Barred, One FC, Real Fight, Singapore, Total Domination

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 Tour ACW inaugural and test event, using a blend of freestyle and American folkstyle wrestling rules, is set to take place Sunday, October 20, 2013, at the Hyatt Regency - Pittsburgh International Airport in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

There will be a free, live stream of this event at Nside Wrestling.

Among the competitors in the five weight classes being contested are former NCAA Div. I national champions Frank Molinaro, Jay Borschel, and Cam Simaz, as well as numerous former All-American and experienced folkstyle and freestyle wrestlers.

The format for the competition in each weight class is a same-day, single elimination tournament. Each match will have no time limit, with the winner being determined when one wrestler scores ten points, or, of course, scores a pin. The winners in each weight class will earn $2500.

We spoke with Teague Moore by phone Sunday to preview this event.

"We're excited to see how they mix it up next Sunday, this twist in the rules that we've created with the first-to-ten," he said. "We really think that we're going to see some great head-to-head matchups, and we're excited about that."

We also spoke about how he expects this test event to unfold, what changes may have to be made in the future, the future plans for Tour ACW in 2014 and beyond, the growing list of this event's sponsors, the essential use of social media to promote wrestling, and much more.

"Our future is in the hands of the fans," he stressed.

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/.

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

Below are some photos I was able to find of some of the legends of MMA and myself. This is NOT a complete or exhaustive list of these legends, just the photos of some of them with me which I could dig out. But they all deserve to be honored, despite what some non-fighter parasites currently running some of the MMA companies want you to believe.

Labels: Conan Silveira, Eddie Goldman, Fedor Emelianenko, Frank Shamrock, Gina Carano, honor, legends, Mark Coleman, Mike Thomas, MMA, No Holds Barred, Randy Couture, Renzo Gracie, Royce Gracie

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman once again spoke with Coach George Hero, the legendary coach and founder of the Midwood High School wrestling team in Brooklyn, New York.

On Friday, October 11, Midwood High School will be the scene of the Midwood Wrestling Exhibition 2013.

The event runs from 3:30 PM to 6:30 PM, at the Campus Road Gymnasium of Midwood High School, 2839 Bedford Avenue, Brooklyn, New York 11210, right across the street from Brooklyn College.

As in previous years, the Midwood Wrestling Exhibition 2013 both kicks off and promotes the upcoming 2013-14 wrestling season, and features a number of alumni matches, all under American folkstyle rules.

The current Midwood wrestlers have been divided into a blue team against a red team. Coach Hero, now 55 years old, will be wrestling in a folkstyle tag team match, otherwise under NCAA rules, teaming with Dan Brereton against the team of Brian Anderson and Jon Guarino. This match will have three four-minute periods, with only one tag allowed per period, and only when there is a lull or stop in the action. There will also be three individual alumni matches under folkstyle rules.

We spoke with Coach George Hero by phone Monday about the Midwood Wrestling Exhibition 2013 and the state of wrestling.

Besides what is going on at Midwood wrestling, the historical and abject failure of the people running wrestling to publicize and promote the sport was one of our main topics.

"Again, part of the problem is we really don't advertise the sport enough. People aren't familiar enough with it," said Coach Hero. "And as a result, most people tend to associate wrestling with WWE and the sideshows. And they really don't understand what wrestling is.

"For me, I think wrestling is probably the purest sport in the sense that it's physical chess. It really requires not only conditioning and strength, and drilling and technique, it also requires a lot of strategy. It's a thinking person's sport. It really is."

He continued, "It's the purest form, because you're not beating someone bloody or knocking them out. You're not putting them in holds to punish them, to make them submit. You're actually using skill, technique, endurance, and strategy to beat the person, to pin their shoulders, or to be able to scores point. And I think that there's something about that that makes it even more challenging."

We also discussed the need for wrestling to be aggressively promoted, why his favorite wrestling style is American folkstyle, why champion wrestlers like Jordan Burroughs and Kyle Dake should be major sports stars, 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.

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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/.

Labels: Brooklyn, Coach George Hero, Eddie Goldman, folkstyle, Midwood Wrestling Exhibition 2013, No Holds Barred, purest sport, tag teams, wrestling

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman spoke with MMA fighter Fallon Fox.

Now 3-0 as a pro, her next fight will be Saturday, October 12, at CFA 12, in the highly-anticipated finals of the Championship Fighting Alliance (CFA) women's 145-pound tournament, at the BankUnited Center in Coral Gables, Florida.

Her opponent will be Ashlee Evans-Smith, who is 1-0 as a pro. From 2006 to 2009, Ashlee Evans-Smith was an All-American in women's wrestling and captain of the women's wrestling team at Menlo College in Atherton, California. After college, she trained in MMA with former MMA star fighter Eugene Jackson.

CFA 12 will be televised live in the U.S. on AXS TV.

We spoke with Fallon Fox by phone Friday.

Regarding her opponent's wrestling ability, Fallon Fox confidently said she is ready face her.

"If she takes me down to the ground, that's great. I'm happy. That's exactly where I want her to take me," she said. "My specialty is jiu-jitsu and muay Thai. So if I'm on my feet, I'm going to bang her there. If I'm on the ground, I'm just going to submit her."

We also discussed her training at the Midwest Training Center in Schaumburg, Illinois; how the bigotry directed at her by some as the first openly transgender MMA fighter is "irrelevant" and her focus is on this fight; the growing participation and acceptance of women athletes in MMA and the combat sports over the past several decades; 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.

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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/.

Labels: Ashlee Evans-Smith, BJJ, CFA, Eddie Goldman, Fallon Fox, fighter, jiu-jitsu, LGBT, MMA, muay Thai, No Holds Barred, transgender, transsexual, women, wrestling

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman spoke with the ONE FC interim bantamweight champion, a multi-time Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and MMA champion, and one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in the world, Bibiano Fernandes.

His next fight will be Friday, October 18, in the main event of the ONE FC: Total Domination card at the Singapore Indoor Stadium in Singapore.

His opponent will be the current ONE FC bantamweight champion, the 21-year-old Soo Chul Kim of Korea, who is returning from an injury. This fight will thus be a title unification bout.

ONE FC: Total Domination will be televised live in Asia on Star Sports, and streamed live as an online pay-per-view, at http://www.onefc.livesport.tv.

We spoke with Bibiano Fernandes by phone Thursday.

Regarding his younger opponent, the 33-year-old Bibiano Fernandes had only praise.

"The kid is a very good athlete. He's very quick. He has good conditioning. And he's very young," he said. He noted that "he has a good right hand" as well as good wrestling, and is thus "very dangerous."

But, he added, "I've fought with a lot of tough guys already," and "I'm going to be my best the day of the fight. October 18, in Singapore, at ONE FC, I'm going to bring my best."

We also discussed his own storied career; how he transitioned from just being a champion in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu to becoming "a complete athlete" and to win championships in MMA; why he said "I love fighting in Asia"; how long he may continue to fight; 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/.

Labels: Asia, bantamweight, Bibiano Fernandes, BJJ, Eddie Goldman, MMA, No Holds Barred, One FC, Singapore, Soo Chul Kim, Total Domination

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman spoke with Mark Pavelich, the owner and president of the Maximum Fighting Championship (MFC).

The next card for MFC, the largest MMA company in Canada, is MFC 38: Behind Enemy Lines, which will take place this Friday, October 4, at the Shaw Conference Centre in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It will be televised live in the U.S. on AXS TV, with the undercard fights on MFC's Facebook page.

There are three title fights on this card. Anthony Hamilton takes on the unbeaten Smealinho Rama for the MFC heavyweight title, the unbeaten Jason South fights Sam Alvey for the MFC middleweight title, and Tito Jones squares off against Anthony Birchak for the MFC bantamweight title.

With all these title fights, MFC decided to leave it up to the fans to vote on which one would be the main event. They chose the bantamweight bout, between Jones and Birchak. This was largely due to Birchak's last fight, at MFC 37 in May of this year, when he defeated Ryan Benoit by unanimous decision in an exciting, back-and-forth, technique-filled fight of the year candidate.

We spoke with Mark Pavelich by phone and Google Voice Monday.

"I'm telling you now right now, we're going to have a fight of the year, 100 percent, this Friday night, October 4th, at the Shaw Conference Centre in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada," he said. "So people, tune in to AXS TV and you'll see what I'm talking about."

He added, "I'm going to shoot my mouth off, and then it's going to be backed up by these great fighters this Friday night."

We also discussed why he chose to go to fan voting to select this main event, which he said is done "nowhere else"; the importance of MFC running fights in a ring; how MFC is looking for an investor to buy "49 percent" of the company to take things to the next level; how he knows "how to do everything" in MMA; the new TV deal for MFC with the Fight Network in Canada; 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/.

Labels: AXS, Canada, Eddie Goldman, Mark Pavelich, Maximum Fighting Championship, MFC, MMA, No Holds Barred