NO HOLDS BARRED

(Photo credit: WSOF/Lucas Noonan)

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman once again spoke with the world's top-ranked MMA fighter in the women's 115-pound division, and the WSOF women's strawweight champion, American Top Team fighter Jessica Aguilar.

Her first title defense will at WSOF 10 on Saturday, June 21, at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. Her opponent will be Japanese veteran MMA fighter and kickboxer Emi "The Kamikaze Angel" Fujino, who has never lost in MMA by submission or knockout/TKO.

This fight will be part of the live telecast of WSOF 10 in the U.S. on NBC Sports Network.

We spoke with Jessica Aguilar by phone Wednesday.

Speaking of her opponent, she said, "I know that she's very experienced and she's a vet. She's fought tough competition and I know that she loves to fight, she comes to fight."

She added, "That's normal with Japanese fighters. They always come to fight. They're warriors and they're very tough."

And she noted, "She's never lost by submission. She's lost by decision. She's tough to tap. She has a wrestling background as well and she looks strong. So it's going to be a really, really good fight for me."

We also discussed her connections with Japan. "I love Japan," she said, adding that she hopes to fight there again soon.

In addition, she spoke about the many activities in which she is involved outside combat sports in her community in south Florida and elsewhere. Those included hosting an event as part of this year's Aqua Girl events in south Florida, whose aim "is to provide a safe and positive environment for LBT [lesbian, bisexual, and transgender] women to socialize and network"; attending and being honored on stage along with other openly LGBT athletes at the 2014 GLAAD Media Awards in New York; and doing volunteer work at the Miami Children's Hospital, among other things.

Plus, she also recently had a successful return to the mat, winning a gold medal in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu at the IBJJF Boca Raton International Open 2014. We discussed her grappling background, where her MMA career is at right now, her future plans, the growing acceptance of LGBT athletes, and much more.

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The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", which is also available on iTunes by composer Ian Snow.

No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by:

MMA World Expo. The mixed martial arts community comes to New York City July 26 and 27, 2014, for the fifth annual MMA World Expo, featuring the Fighters Source U.S. Nationals amateur MMA tournament, two days of ADCC no-gi and gi grappling tournaments, MMA fighters, seminars with world-class trainers, vendors, panel discussions, catch wrestling competition, and much more. The MMA World Expo takes place Saturday, July 26, and Sunday, July 27, 2014, at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City.

Catch Wrestling Alliance International Invitational: The Rebirth. This invitational event will be held under catch wrestling rules, where you can only win by pin or submission. It will take place Saturday, June 7, in Collins Court in the John Wooden Center on the campus of UCLA in Los Angeles, California. For more information, go to catchwrestlingalliance.com.

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/.

Takedown Wrestling Media, America's wrestling TV and radio shows, which are hosted by founder Scott Casber, and have been airing on radio and Internet for over 17 years. Takedown Media produces a weekly TV program seen in 54 million homes in the U.S. on DirecTV, Dish Network, and cable affiliates around the country, called Takedown TV. Takedown Media also produces the weekly USA Wrestling TV show for the governing body of the sport, USA Wrestling. For more information, go to http://takedownradio.com.

Labels: American Top Team, BJJ, Eddie Goldman, Emi Fujino, grappling, Japan, Jessica Aguilar, jiu-jitsu, LGBT, MMA, No Holds Barred, World Series Fighting, WSOF