NO HOLDS BARRED

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

Their next card, MFC 41, takes place Friday, October 3, at the Shaw Conference Centre in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, and will be shown live on AXS TV Fights.

The original lineup planned for MFC 41 had to be scrapped due to a series of injuries. Now, Marcus Edwards will meet Shane Campbell in a superfight at a catchweight of 161 pounds. If Edwards wins, he will be named the MFC interim lightweight champion and directly placed into a title fight with lightweight champion Tom Gallicchio, who is recovering from an elbow injury, or, if Gallicchio cannot fight, a new challenger. Should Campbell win, he will get an immediate shot at the vacant MFC welterweight title. Also on this card, Andrew McInnes will face Ryan Healy.

We spoke with Mark Pavelich by phone Friday.

"The reason why it's so interesting is because I had seven injuries in 12 days on the main card. And that's never happened in the history of my organization in 15 years," he said.

At one point, all these injuries actually jeopardized the card taking place October 3. While considering if he should cancel the show like other promotions have done, he relayed that his wife reminded him, "Mark, you're not like other people, right? You can fix this problem." And, he said, "You know what, she's right. I can, and I did." Thus a revamped lineup was set.

"But I guarantee you, every show in the world, including the UFC, would have cancelled their show. No question in my mind."

We also discussed many of the problems in MMA which are causing major sponsors either to cancel sponsorships or avoid MMA altogether, the constant use of profanity in MMA, how MFC is one of the few MMA promotions in the world making a profit, that MMA needs to get to the "next level", 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:

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 AmericanTopTeam.com.

Defense Soap, an effective, deep penetrating body soap with natural antifungal, antiviral, and antibacterial soap ingredients. Defense Soap is the best cleansing body soap for men and women athletes who are involved in contact sports such as MMA, wrestling, grappling, jiu-jitsu, and judo, to help their antifungal, anti-ringworm, anti-jock itch strategy. Check out their web site, at DefenseSoap.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 TakedownRadio.com.

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

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman discusses the final acts of the careers of MMA fighter Wanderlei Silva and boxer Floyd Mayweather, and whether they can expect storybook endings to their careers like Derek Jeter of the New York Yankees.

Wanderlei Silva recently posted a video announcing his retirement, and slamming his promoters, at: http://youtu.be/7HvZPUewM68.

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:

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 AmericanTopTeam.com.

Defense Soap, an effective, deep penetrating body soap with natural antifungal, antiviral, and antibacterial soap ingredients. Defense Soap is the best cleansing body soap for men and women athletes who are involved in contact sports such as MMA, wrestling, grappling, jiu-jitsu, and judo, to help their antifungal, anti-ringworm, anti-jock itch strategy. Check out their web site, at DefenseSoap.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 TakedownRadio.com.

Labels: baseball, boxing, careers, Derek Jeter, Eddie Goldman, Floyd Mayweather, MMA, No Holds Barred, Wanderlei Silva

I have just started writing a series of blog posts on wrestling and combat sports for the Defense Soap site. The first one, "The Choice", is up at http://defensesoap.com/blog/news/the-choice/.

Labels: choice, Defense Soap, Eddie Goldman, wrestling

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman spoke with the new ONE FC welterweight champion, Ben Askren.

He won that title by defeating Nobutatsu Suzuki with a ground-and-pound TKO victory at just 1:24 of the first round at the ONE FC show in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, August 29.

We spoke with Ben Askren by phone Sunday night. He was in California, helping run a youth wrestling camp.

"Youth wrestling is growing all over America," he said. In recent years, he noted, there have been "a lot of high-level coaches going back to the youth level," including himself and his brother Max Askren, also a former NCAA Div. I champion. Both Ben and Max Askren are co-founders of the Wisconsin-based Askren Wrestling Academy.

As for the use of wrestling in sports like MMA, he said, "Wrestling is a sport that, now we've seen at the highest level, works, works in real hand-to-hand combat. It's the most effective martial art."

But Ben Askren has also been a center of controversy in MMA, most recently when he was abruptly cut off during an interview on the "Inside MMA" TV show just when he was getting to an explanation of his criticisms of UFC. As of now, no plans for them to have a follow-up interview have been announced.

He is far from alone in voicing criticisms of how UFC treats fighters. Recently MMA legend Wanderlei Silva released a video both announcing his retirement from MMA and slamming the UFC owners and management.

He has seen that video, and commented, "I think that anyone who really follows the sport closely, all the things that Wanderlei Silva was saying, they're not really a shock to anybody." He added that the way UFC treats fighters, "at most times they don't have the fighters' best interests in mind."

Needless to say, Ben Askren was not cut off in his comments on No Holds Barred, and we discussed more on this issue, why he considers UFC to be a monopoly, and how the "media" have been covering such issues.

While he continued his criticisms of UFC, he said he was quite happy fighting for ONE FC in Asia. We discussed his views on that, when he might fight next, his future plans in wrestling, 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:

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 AmericanTopTeam.com.

Defense Soap, an effective, deep penetrating body soap with natural antifungal, antiviral, and antibacterial soap ingredients. Defense Soap is the best cleansing body soap for men and women athletes who are involved in contact sports such as MMA, wrestling, grappling, jiu-jitsu, and judo, to help their antifungal, anti-ringworm, anti-jock itch strategy. Check out their web site, at DefenseSoap.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 TakedownRadio.com.

Labels: Ben Askren, Eddie Goldman, MMA, No Holds Barred, One FC, UFC, wrestling, youth

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman spoke with Mike Martelle, the owner and head instructor of the Grizzly Gym.

Located in Kingston, Ontario, Canada, the gym offers instruction and training in numerous martial arts and combat sports, reflecting Mike Martelle's extensive and varied background and experience.

For the last several years, Mike has also been involved in the revival of catch wrestling. He has been running the biannual Let's Shoot catch wrestling tournaments in Canada since 2008.

This year, Grizzly Gym, along with Fight Club Guatemala and Grizzly Gym Central America, brought this event to Guatemala, the first time it took place outside North America.

On August 17, Let's Shoot 2014 - the Mesoamerican Catch Wrestling Championships was held at the Parque de la Industria in Guatemala City, Guatemala.

We spoke with Mike Martelle by phone Thursday.

"As far as I can tell, and of course I mean this with no disrespect to any of the other events -- the events have been great and I'm glad to see more of them -- but as far as we can tell," he said, "it appears as though Let's Shoot 2014 in Guatemala City was the largest attended, participated catch wrestling tournament possibly not only of this year, but possibly of the entire modern era of catch wrestling."

Mentioning the many other catch wrestling events held recently around the world, he noted that Let's Shoot 2014 had more than 70 competitors.

"With all due modesty, and I'm very proud that it appears as though we've produced the largest one yet."

A short video highlight of this event can be seen here.

We thus discussed the significance of Let's Shoot 2014, how it has moved catch wrestling forward internationally, the rules of the event, and the backgrounds of the wrestlers.

He stated that one wrestler, Luis Ciraiz, should be viewed as a "pioneer" of catch wrestling and other grappling styles in Central America. His father, Luis Ciraiz Sr., had trained at the legendary Lion's Den. Now Luis Ciraiz, with a background in amateur wrestling, is regarded as among the best in Central America in catch wrestling, grappling, and MMA.

We also discussed the need to grow catch wrestling on the grassroots level, plans for a Let's Shoot World Championships in 2015, how all those in catch wrestling need to form a "united front" to pool resources and move the sport to the next level, 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:

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 AmericanTopTeam.com.

Defense Soap, an effective, deep penetrating body soap with natural antifungal, antiviral, and antibacterial soap ingredients. Defense Soap is the best cleansing body soap for men and women athletes who are involved in contact sports such as MMA, wrestling, grappling, jiu-jitsu, and judo, to help their antifungal, anti-ringworm, anti-jock itch strategy. Check out their web site, at DefenseSoap.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 TakedownRadio.com.

Labels: Canada, catch wrestling, Eddie Goldman, Grizzly Gym, Guatemala, Let's Shoot, Mike Martelle, No Holds Barred

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

Now with a record of 5-1 in professional MMA, her latest victory came this past Saturday, September 13, with a ground-and-pound TKO win over Tamikka Brents at 2:17 of the first round on the Capital City Cage Wars show at the Prairie Capital Convention Center in Springfield, Illinois.

We spoke with her by phone Tuesday about this fight, her plans in MMA, and how being the first openly transgender MMA fighter has led to her becoming a spokesperson on LGBT and other issues inside and outside sports.

Asked if she believed that she should be fighting in bigger promotional organizations, she replied with a laugh, "Of course I belong in bigger promotions." She noted how some promotions have fighters with records of "0 and 0 and 0 and 2-1," and "no professional wins whatsoever."

She added, "And I'm 5-1," again chuckling.

We also discussed how the opponents of her fighting in women's MMA have been "proven wrong," why "they can't stop me," how the only people left opposing her right to fight are "the bigots and the ignorant," how she has adjusted since her only loss last year, her writing on many issues for various media outlets, 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:

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 AmericanTopTeam.com.

Defense Soap, an effective, deep penetrating body soap with natural antifungal, antiviral, and antibacterial soap ingredients. Defense Soap is the best cleansing body soap for men and women athletes who are involved in contact sports such as MMA, wrestling, grappling, jiu-jitsu, and judo, to help their antifungal, anti-ringworm, anti-jock itch strategy. Check out their web site, at DefenseSoap.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 TakedownRadio.com.

Labels: athletes, Eddie Goldman, Fallon Fox, homophobia, LGBT, MMA, No Holds Barred, sports, trans, transgender, transphobia

(Photo of Mayweather and Maidana: Esther Lin/Showtime)

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman discusses the many scandals and crises facing NFL football, boxing, MMA, and other sports, including the negativity around the Mayweather-Maidana rematch, the coverups of concussions, head trauma, and domestic violence in so many sports, and asks, in their wake, can catch wrestling become the coolest combat sport?

A good article to read as background is a recent piece by Rowland Jack of I Trust Sport called 'Is sports governance at the tipping point?'

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:

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 AmericanTopTeam.com.

Defense Soap, an effective, deep penetrating body soap with natural antifungal, antiviral, and antibacterial soap ingredients. Defense Soap is the best cleansing body soap for men and women athletes who are involved in contact sports such as MMA, wrestling, grappling, jiu-jitsu, and judo, to help their antifungal, anti-ringworm, anti-jock itch strategy. Check out their web site, at DefenseSoap.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 TakedownRadio.com.

Labels: boxing, catch wrestling, concussions, coolest combat sport, domestic violence, Eddie Goldman, football, grappling, head trauma, jiu-jitsu, Maidana, Mayweather, MMA, NFL, No Holds Barred, sports, submission

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman once again spoke with Rose Gracie.

We started by discussing the Gracie Worlds 2014.

This jiu-jitsu event takes place Saturday, September 20, and Sunday, September 21, at the Cox Pavilion, 4505 S. Maryland Parkway, Las Vegas, Nevada 89154. On Saturday, there will be the kids' gi and no-gi divisions, with special rules for the kids, and the teens' and adults' gi-only divisions. On Sunday, there will be the no-gi tournaments for teens and adults. For teens and adults, you can only win by submission, with no points or judges.

We spoke with Rose Gracie by phone Thursday.

"It's kind of crazy, because there's a lot of people running events that are submission-only right now, which I'm really, really, really happy about," she said.

"The goal was ultimately was to be able to give an option to the competitors to a different type of jiu-jitsu and a different type of view of the art. And I think I'm pretty much accomplishing that. So we're right on track where I would like to be right now, and I'm really happy to be able to travel a little bit, too, and take the tournament to other areas."

We also discussed why these submission-only events change the way people train, the special rules for kids, why submission-only rules are based on "common sense", the problems with adding judges, why these will become popular spectator events, the appeal of style vs. style matches, how real jiu-jitsu includes both striking and grappling, why sport jiu-jitsu is not sufficient for self-defense training, why she is "very disgusted" with much of jiu-jitsu today, how promoting these submission-only events is a "family honor mission" as a member of the legendary Gracie family, the possibility of jiu-jitsu eventually getting into the Olympics, injuries in jiu-jitsu and other combat sports, memory loss and head trauma, plans for combat jiu-jitsu events which include open-hand striking, plans for future Gracie Worlds events, 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:

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 AmericanTopTeam.com.

Defense Soap, an effective, deep penetrating body soap with natural antifungal, antiviral, and antibacterial soap ingredients. Defense Soap is the best cleansing body soap for men and women athletes who are involved in contact sports such as MMA, wrestling, grappling, jiu-jitsu, and judo, to help their antifungal, anti-ringworm, anti-jock itch strategy. Check out their web site, at DefenseSoap.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 TakedownRadio.com.

Labels: Eddie Goldman, grappling, jiu-jitsu, No Holds Barred, Rose Gracie, submission, Worlds

(Photo: Stephanie Trapp/Showtime)

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman spoke with Floyd Mayweather, Marcos Maidana, and Jeff Mayweather.

The subject was the rematch between the 37-year-old Floyd Mayweather (46-0, 26 KOs) and the 31-year-old Marcos Maidana (35-4, 31 KOs), which takes place Saturday, September 13, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. This fight is scheduled for 12 rounds in the welterweight division, and will be for Mayweather's WBA welterweight belt and WBC welterweight and super welterweight belts.

It will be shown live on Showtime Pay-Per-View in the U.S., BoxNation in the U.K., Main Event Pay-Per-View in Australia, and many other networks around the world, as well in many movie theaters.

This will be only the second time in his career that Mayweather will be having a rematch, and an immediate rematch at that. In his first fight with Maidana, on May 3 of this year, Mayweather won a majority decision, although most observers had him winning the fight comfortably. Still, Maidana did unexpectedly well in the early rounds, and it took Mayweather some time to adjust to the pressure and power of Maidana. This reminded many of the only other time Mayweather had a rematch, in 2002 with Jose Luis Castillo.

Mayweather, the highest paid athlete in any sport in the world, remains a heavy favorite to win this rematch, and up his record to 47-0.

We spoke with both Floyd Mayweather and Marcos Maidana on their recent media conference calls about what to expect in this rematch. We also heard comments from Leonard Ellerbe, the CEO of Mayweather Promotions, which is co-promoting this fight with Golden Boy Promotions.

In addition, we got comments on this fight from Jeff Mayweather, a former boxer and current trainer who is Floyd Mayweather's uncle, after the Bellator MMA show this past Friday at the Mohegan Sun Arena.

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:

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 AmericanTopTeam.com.

Defense Soap, an effective, deep penetrating body soap with natural antifungal, antiviral, and antibacterial soap ingredients. Defense Soap is the best cleansing body soap for men and women athletes who are involved in contact sports such as MMA, wrestling, grappling, jiu-jitsu, and judo, to help their antifungal, anti-ringworm, anti-jock itch strategy. Check out their web site, at DefenseSoap.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 TakedownRadio.com.

Labels: boxing, Eddie Goldman, Floyd Mayweather, Jeff Mayweather, Marcos Maidana, No Holds Barred, rematch

Patricio Pitbull vs. Pat Curran.


King Mo Lawal vs. Dustin Jacoby




On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman spoke with new Bellator featherweight champion Patrício "Pitbull" Freire, "King" Mo Lawal, Jeff Mayweather, and Antonio McKee.

All these interviews were conducted immediately following the Bellator 123 card, which took place Friday, September 5, at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut, on the territory of the sovereign nation of the Mohegan Tribe, and backstage at the event.

In a rematch with Pat Curran, Patrício "Pitbull" Freire was able to capture Curran's featherweight belt with a clear-cut, unanimous five-round decision, with scores of 49-46 twice and 48-47. Curran had won their first fight by split decision, at Bellator 85 on January 13, 2013, in Irvine, California.

We spoke with Patrício "Pitbull", through translator, former top freestyle wrestler, and current trainer Eric Albarracin, about what was different about the rematch. As you will hear, this interview had to be cut a little short because Patrício "Pitbull" was still bleeding on his face from this five-round, mostly standing battle.

In his fight, "King" Mo returned to the win column with a TKO ground-and-pound stoppage at 1:13 of the second round over Dustin Jacoby, who also is a professional kickboxer with Glory.

Discussing his effective jabbing in the first round, "King" Mo noted that shortly before his fight, in the dressing room while watching the telecast of this show, "I saw the great Larry Holmes" in the crowd. The former longtime world heavyweight boxing champion is known for having "the best jab ever," and this reminded Mo, even as he had trained to land the jab in this fight, "I gotta get my jab going."

We also discussed his training at American Top Team in Coconut Creek, Florida, with legends like Ricardo Liborio and Marcus "Conan" Silveira, why he believes that Ricardo Liborio will defeat Mario Sperry in next year's ADCC masters' superfight, the attempted double wristlock by fellow American Top Team fighter Bobby Lashley in his fight with Josh Burns earlier on this card, and much more.

Another person "King" Mo has trained with is Jeff Mayweather, best known as a boxing trainer but who trains athletes in many combat sports.

We discussed with Jeff Mayweather Mo's latest victory, how he combined wrestling and striking, his two losses to Bellator light heavyweight champion Emanuel Newton, the "hometown decision" loss to Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, and the September 13 rematch between his nephew Floyd Mayweather and Marcos Maidana.

Antonio McKee not only trains Emanuel Newton but also Bellator heavyweight Cheick Kongo, who defeated Lavar Johnson on this card with a rear naked choke submission at 3:27 of the first round.

The way he trains his fighters, said Antonio McKee, "We don't get hit. We hit."

We discussed with him why he wants to be "the best MMA trainer," injuries in MMA, the need for fighters to have pension and retirement benefits, how MMA is currently the professional level for wrestlers, and 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:

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 AmericanTopTeam.com.

Defense Soap, an effective, deep penetrating body soap with natural antifungal, antiviral, and antibacterial soap ingredients. Defense Soap is the best cleansing body soap for men and women athletes who are involved in contact sports such as MMA, wrestling, grappling, jiu-jitsu, and judo, to help their antifungal, anti-ringworm, anti-jock itch strategy. Check out their web site, at DefenseSoap.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 TakedownRadio.com.

Labels: Antonio McKee, Bellator, boxing, Eddie Goldman, Jeff Mayweather, King Mo Lawal, MMA, No Holds Barred, Patrício Pitbull Freire, wrestling

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

We spoke with Coach Jackson by phone Wednesday.

Iowa State Wrestling is in a good position coming into the new season, which starts in November. All of the team's NCAA qualifiers from last season are returning, including their three All-Americans: Kyven Gadson, Michael Moreno, and Earl Hall.

In particular, a lot of attention is focused on redshirt senior 197-pound wrestler Kyven Gadson.

"Ever since Kyven Gadson has stepped foot on campus, he's had the potential, and we've had the expectations, for him to be a national champion. And that hasn't changed," said Coach Jackson.

"This year he has to put a couple of things together, stay locked in, wrestle with intensity and aggression. And I think if he does that for seven minutes, I think he's going to give himself a great chance to win. He's been a leader of our team. He's a two-time All-American. And this could be his last shot at it."

We also discussed the potential of Iowa State's returning All-Americans Michael Moreno and Earl Hall, how Earl Hall is the "best athlete" on the team, the importance of college wrestlers training and competing in freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling, the "challenging" situation involving the many upcoming changes in college sports including the likelihood that some college athletes will be directly financially compensated, the resulting increased necessity to market the sport of wrestling, Iowa State's new assistant coaches Trent Paulson and Angel Escobedo, 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:

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 AmericanTopTeam.com.

Defense Soap, an effective, deep penetrating body soap with natural antifungal, antiviral, and antibacterial soap ingredients. Defense Soap is the best cleansing body soap for men and women athletes who are involved in contact sports such as MMA, wrestling, grappling, jiu-jitsu, and judo, to help their antifungal, anti-ringworm, anti-jock itch strategy. Check out their web site, at DefenseSoap.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 TakedownRadio.com.

Labels: Angel Escobedo, college, Cyclones, Earl Hall, Eddie Goldman, Iowa State Wrestling, Kevin Jackson, Kyven Gadson, Michael Moreno, NCAA, No Holds Barred, Trent Paulson

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman spoke with catch wrestlers Luis Ojeda, Anthony Sansonetti, and Thomas Velasquez, coach Ray Karakas, and Bob Carson of Carson's Corner, at the Liberty Bell Classic/King of Catch Wrestling Tournament.

This event took place Saturday, August 30, at Primal Gym in Lawrenceville, New Jersey.

In the main event, Luis Ojeda and Anthony Sansonetti had an epic catch wrestling match, with Luis Ojeda finally winning by pin in 55 minutes and 10 seconds. The match had to go into a fourth, overtime period, with no pins or submissions having been scored until then. By winning, Luis Ojeda was crowned American heavyweight catch wrestling champion, the first such holder of this title in real catch wrestling since the early 1900s.

The big winner of the tournaments was Thomas Velasquez, who captured championships in both the heavyweight and absolute divisions. By winning the absolute, he also won this event's Frank Gotch Award.

"My coach over here was telling me that it wasn't going to be easy," said the new champ, Luis Ojeda. "I didn't know what was going to happen. You never know in these things."

He added, "It was a great match. It could have went either way, and I hope we can do it again."

We also discussed the strategy for both wrestlers in this match, how they implemented it, what their plans are, and more.

With Thomas Velasquez and his coach Ray Karakas, we discussed his background, how he got involved with catch wrestling, his plans, and more.

With Bob Carson, we discussed this current new era in catch wrestling, how this style is fan-friendly and has great potential, and more.

A photo gallery from this event can also be seen here.

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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:

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 AmericanTopTeam.com.

Defense Soap, an effective, deep penetrating body soap with natural antifungal, antiviral, and antibacterial soap ingredients. Defense Soap is the best cleansing body soap for men and women athletes who are involved in contact sports such as MMA, wrestling, grappling, jiu-jitsu, and judo, to help their antifungal, anti-ringworm, anti-jock itch strategy. Check out their web site, at http://defensesoap.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 TakedownRadio.com.

Labels: Anthony Sansonetti, Bob Carson, Eddie Goldman, King Catch Wrestling Tournament, Liberty Bell Classic, Luis Ojeda, No Holds Barred, Primal Gym, Ray Karakas, Thomas Velasquez