NO HOLDS BARRED

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman once again spoke with grappler and martial artist Travis Newaza.

He has been in the New York area this week to conduct seminars and train. We spoke with him Sunday at New York Combat Sambo.

While he has still been competing in various tournaments and events under many different rules of grappling and wrestling, it appears that he may soon be taking a prolonged break.

Asked if he had ever competed under sambo rules, while he said no, he added, "I would love to. And I think I will."

But that may have to wait.

"I am dealing with a lot of injuries," he said. "I think that moving forward and just seeing how dedicated I could be and how precise I could be with fighting these injuries with anti-inflammation diets and constant mobility workouts, if I can stretch out more matches in other grappling arts, but as of right now, I only am going to do five more grappling matches, and then I will be retiring from the sports grappling."

Among those matches he hopes to have soon are a catch wrestling match with Curran Jacobs, who had challenged him to such a match earlier this year.

"He's number one. He's my next date before anyone else," he said.

Also on that list are rematches with Josh Hinger, whom he competed against at the Gracie Worlds, and Adam Wheeler, whom he faced at a Metamoris event.

But his focus after that will be solely on conducting seminars as well as training and learning. "It's a season of leaning I feel like I'm going to be going into," he said.

We also discussed why he is putting great effort in helping to grow submission-only no-gi grappling events, how catch wrestling can grow, the need for the catch community to get together to hold more tournaments and have better organization, the growth of combat wrestling, why hybrid no-gi grappling events have great potential, how his seminars emphasize teaching leg attacks, and much more.

You can play or download No Holds Barred here and here. If one link doesn't work, please try another.

Also, No Holds Barred is available through iTunes.

You can also listen to No Holds Barred via Stitcher through iOS or Android devices or on the web, at http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/no-holds-barred-with-eddie-goldman.

The PodOmatic Podcast Player for iOS is available for free on the App Store.

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 December 12 and 13, 2015, for the sixth annual MMA World Expo, featuring two days of the Renzo Gracie Open 2015 no-gi and gi Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu tournaments, MMA fighters, seminars with world-class trainers, vendors, panel discussions, catch wrestling competition, and much more. The MMA World Expo takes place Saturday, December 12, and Sunday, December 13, 2015, at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City.

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.

Gracie Tournaments, featuring regional, national, and world competitions in submission-only Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. For more information, go to GracieWorlds.com.

Labels: BJJ, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, catch wrestling, Eddie Goldman, grappling, No Holds Barred, Travis Newaza

(Photo of Deontay Wilder and Johann Duhaupas from Lucas Noonan/Premier Boxing Champions.)

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman spoke with Marv Albert, Sugar Ray Leonard, and BJ Flores, who will be the announcers on the Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) on NBC telecast this Saturday, September 26.

In the main event of that show, WBC heavyweight champ Deontay Wilder (34-0, 33 KOs) faces Johann Duhaupas (32-2, 20 KOs) of France. This will be shown live in the U.S. in primetime on the Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) on NBC telecast from the Legacy Arena in Birmingham, Alabama, Wilder's home state.

NBC's promotion of this show has received much criticism, as their press material claims that this is "the first heavyweight title bout in primetime on NBC since May 20, 1985, when another undefeated American heavyweight champion, Larry Holmes, defended his title against Carl Williams in Reno, Nevada. Albert, who will handle blow-by-blow on Saturday, called the fight."

It is well-known that the real top heavyweight in the world today is Wladimir Klitschko, who holds virtually every other belt except the WBC one, which was until recently held by his brother, Vitali, who is now retired as a boxer, and that Wladimir has been undefeated in over 11 years.

Thus, we present an excerpt from a media conference call of Tuesday, September 22, on which we discussed with Marv Albert, Sugar Ray Leonard, and BJ Flores the role of nationalism in promoting fighters, the state of the heavyweight division, and more.

You can play or download No Holds Barred here and here. If one link doesn't work, please try another.

Also, No Holds Barred is available through iTunes.

You can also listen to No Holds Barred via Stitcher through iOS or Android devices or on the web, at http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/no-holds-barred-with-eddie-goldman.

The PodOmatic Podcast Player for iOS is available for free on the App Store.

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 December 12 and 13, 2015, for the sixth annual MMA World Expo, featuring two days of the Renzo Gracie Open 2015 no-gi and gi Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu tournaments, MMA fighters, seminars with world-class trainers, vendors, panel discussions, catch wrestling competition, and much more. The MMA World Expo takes place Saturday, December 12, and Sunday, December 13, 2015, at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City.

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.

Gracie Tournaments, featuring regional, national, and world competitions in submission-only Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. For more information, go to GracieWorlds.com.

Labels: BJ Flores, boxing, Deontay Wilder, Eddie Goldman, heavyweights, Johann Duhaupas, Marv Albert, No Holds Barred, PBC, Sugar Ray Leonard

(Photos of Anthony Joshua and Dillian Whyte by Lawrence Lustig. Photo of Wladimir Klitschko and Eddie Goldman by Keisha Morrisey.)

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with heavyweights Deontay Wilder and Johann Duhaupas, who fight this Saturday, September 26, and reviews the state of boxing's heavyweight division.

Wilder (34-0, 33 KOs), who holds the WBC heavyweight belt, faces Duhaupas (32-2, 20 KOs) of France in the main event of the prime time Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) on NBC telecast from the Legacy Arena in Birmingham, Alabama, Wilder's home state.

We also discuss how the real and only heavyweight champion of the world today is Wladimir Klitschko, who holds just about every belt except the one Wilder has. We also discuss the many heavyweight contenders, including Tyson Fury, WBC mandatory number one challenger Alexander Povetkin, Vyacheslav Glazkov, Bermane Stiverne, Luis Ortiz, Erkan Teper, and others, as well as unbeaten U.K. fighters Anthony Joshua and Dillian Whyte, who face each other December 12 in the O2 Arena in London.

We spoke with both Deontay Wilder and Johann Duhaupas on this past Thursday's media conference call.

You can play or download No Holds Barred here and here. If one link doesn't work, please try another.

Also, No Holds Barred is available through iTunes.

You can also listen to No Holds Barred via Stitcher through iOS or Android devices or on the web, at http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/no-holds-barred-with-eddie-goldman.

The PodOmatic Podcast Player for iOS is available for free on the App Store.

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 December 12 and 13, 2015, for the sixth annual MMA World Expo, featuring two days of the Renzo Gracie Open 2015 no-gi and gi Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu tournaments, MMA fighters, seminars with world-class trainers, vendors, panel discussions, catch wrestling competition, and much more. The MMA World Expo takes place Saturday, December 12, and Sunday, December 13, 2015, at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City.

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.

Gracie Tournaments, featuring regional, national, and world competitions in submission-only Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. For more information, go to GracieWorlds.com.

Labels: Anthony Joshua, boxing, Deontay Wilder, Dillian Whyte, Eddie Goldman, heavweights, Johann Duhaupas, No Holds Barred, PBC, Wladimir Klitschko

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman once again spoke with Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and grappling legend Ricardo Liborio, who is the co-founder and head instructor of American Top Team.

Now at age 48, he competed in the ADCC Stars Superfight on August 29 at the 2015 ADCC Submission Fighting World Championship, which was held August 29-30 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The ADCC Submission Fighting World Championship is the most important and prestigious grappling tournament in the world, and as always featured competition in no-gi grappling.

His opponent was fellow 48-year-old Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and grappling legend Ze Mario Sperry, who had defeated Renzo Gracie at ADCC 2011 and Fabio Gurgel at ADCC 2013 in those Stars Superfights.

This time, however, the result was different, as Ricardo Liborio, an underdog and giving up size, was able to emerge victorious in a grueling match which needed two overtimes to determine a winner by decision.

We spoke with Ricardo Liborio by phone Wednesday.

"What really differentiates Mario is his ability of wrestling," he said, knowing that this match would be very tough.

"And Mario's a very big strategist," he said. "He works a lot on people's mistakes. And especially when the people do the wrong shot, and he is very good at capitalizing on it. He goes for the front headlock, and the front headlock he spins to the back, and usually people don't take the pressure, or feeling pressed on the back, they pull guard for grappling."

Noting that this had been Sperry's strategy against Fabio Gurgel and Renzo Gracie, he said, "I trained a lot of wrestling. I trained a lot of wrestling. This is what's key for me. The reality is I trained even more wrestling than I trained ground, because I knew this was going to be something like this."

He elaborated on his wrestling training, which included working with, among many others, Mo Lawal and Steve Mocco, both of whom had been U.S. national champion wrestlers, and Antoine Jaoude, who had been a Brazilian national champion wrestler.

We also discussed more on this match itself, how this was an incredible "journey to get where I was," how training for competition after not having competed for many years benefited his health, plans to compete next year in a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu masters' match, how more spectators can be brought to grappling, why he thinks that No Holds Barred is "pure art," and much, much more.

You can play or download No Holds Barred here and here. If one link doesn't work, please try another.

Also, No Holds Barred is available through iTunes.

You can also listen to No Holds Barred via Stitcher through iOS or Android devices or on the web, at http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/no-holds-barred-with-eddie-goldman.

The PodOmatic Podcast Player for iOS is available for free on the App Store.

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 December 12 and 13, 2015, for the sixth annual MMA World Expo, featuring two days of the Renzo Gracie Open 2015 no-gi and gi Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu tournaments, MMA fighters, seminars with world-class trainers, vendors, panel discussions, catch wrestling competition, and much more. The MMA World Expo takes place Saturday, December 12, and Sunday, December 13, 2015, at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City.

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.

Gracie Tournaments, featuring regional, national, and world competitions in submission-only Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. For more information, go to GracieWorlds.com.

Labels: ADCC Stars Superfight, Eddie Goldman, grappling, Mario Sperry, No Holds Barred, Ricardo Liborio, wrestling

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman once again spoke with Bellator MMA and American Top Team fighter King Mo Lawal.

He will be returning to action on Bellator MMA's Dynamite 1 card Saturday, September 19, in a four-man, one-night light heavyweight tournament to determine Bellator's number one contender in this division. His first-round opponent will be Linton Vassell. The other first-round fight has former Bellator champion Emanuel Newton taking on 2008 NCAA Div. I wrestling champion Phil Davis, who will be making his Bellator debut. This card, which is headlined by a light heavyweight title fight between unbeaten champion Liam McGeary and MMA legend Tito Ortiz, takes place at the SAP Center in San Jose, California, and will be telecast live in the U.S. on Spike and ESPN Deportes.

There will also be three Glory kickboxing fights on the main card, held in a ring near the Bellator cage. Saulo Cavalari will fight Zack Mwekassa for the vacant Glory light heavyweight belt. Also, Paul Daley will face Fernando Gonzalez, and Keri Anne Taylor-Melendez will fight Hadley Griffith.

We spoke with King Mo Lawal by phone Monday.

"I know it's going to be tough," he said, noting that there will be at least 30 minutes in-between the first-round fights and the tournament finals. The first fight is scheduled for just two rounds, so he said it will be more or less "a sprint." As for the second fight, it could be more like "a quick 200-meter dash" or "a 400-meter run." In either case, he expects to be "taxing."

As for his first-round opponent, he said, "Linton Vassell is a big guy, long. He's a solid grappler. He's pretty well-rounded. His standup is unorthodox," which he said is effective.

Besides Vassell's standup, he said, "He's a submission guy. So my thing is, just go out there and fight him and keep him guessing."

We also discussed this past Saturday's Floyd Mayweather-Andre Berto fight, billed as the final one of Mayweather's career, in which he easily outpointed Berto. We analyzed what Berto did wrong in this fight, and how it once again displayed Mayweather's defensive and offensive talents.

Plus, we discussed how unlike most pay-per-views the Mayweather-Berto undercard had three memorable fights, the future of boxing's welterweight division with Mayweather's sooner or later retirement, the PBC boxing series on "free TV," and much more.

You can play or download No Holds Barred here and here. If one link doesn't work, please try another.

Also, No Holds Barred is available through iTunes.

You can also listen to No Holds Barred via Stitcher through iOS or Android devices or on the web, at http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/no-holds-barred-with-eddie-goldman.

The PodOmatic Podcast Player for iOS is available for free on the App Store.

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 December 12 and 13, 2015, for the sixth annual MMA World Expo, featuring two days of the Renzo Gracie Open 2015 no-gi and gi Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu tournaments, MMA fighters, seminars with world-class trainers, vendors, panel discussions, catch wrestling competition, and much more. The MMA World Expo takes place Saturday, December 12, and Sunday, December 13, 2015, at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City.

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.

Gracie Tournaments, featuring regional, national, and world competitions in submission-only Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. For more information, go to GracieWorlds.com.

Labels: Andre Berto, Bellator MMA Dynamite, boxing, Eddie Goldman, Floyd Mayweather, King Mo Lawal, No Holds Barred, PBC

(Photo of Mayweather and Berto, Esther Lin/Showtime. Photo of Zerafa on stretcher, Suzanne Teresa/Premier Boxing Champions.)

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman discusses Floyd Mayweather's unanimous decision victory over Andre Berto on September 12, which upped his record to 49-0 with 26 knockouts, and which Mayweather said is the final fight of his career. Among the topics are the brilliance of Mayweather's defense while still landing a significant amount of punches, the controversy over his stylish technique which some fans brand as "boring", how different cultures view aesthetics and technique in boxing, American culture and vulgarity, what constitutes an exciting fight, how Mayweather has been an artist in the ring, why many people dislike him, why he wants to retire for good from boxing without suffering permanent brain damage, and much more.

You can play or download No Holds Barred here and here. If one link doesn't work, please try another.

Also, No Holds Barred is available through iTunes.

You can also listen to No Holds Barred via Stitcher through iOS or Android devices or on the web, at http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/no-holds-barred-with-eddie-goldman.

The PodOmatic Podcast Player for iOS is available for free on the App Store.

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 December 12 and 13, 2015, for the sixth annual MMA World Expo, featuring two days of the Renzo Gracie Open 2015 no-gi and gi Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu tournaments, MMA fighters, seminars with world-class trainers, vendors, panel discussions, catch wrestling competition, and much more. The MMA World Expo takes place Saturday, December 12, and Sunday, December 13, 2015, at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City.

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.

Gracie Tournaments, featuring regional, national, and world competitions in submission-only Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. For more information, go to GracieWorlds.com.

Labels: 49-0, Andre Berto, boxing, Eddie Goldman, Floyd Mayweather, No Holds Barred

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman spoke with grappler Matt Kaiser.

Based in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, he is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu instructor at Fierce Studio.

Representing Canada, he competed at the inaugural combat wrestling world championship held by the International Federation of Combat Wrestling (FICW) August 22 at the Spartak Stadium in Varna, Bulgaria.

At that event, he won a gold medal in the 74 kg division.

We spoke with Matt Kaiser by phone Wednesday.

His desire to compete in combat wrestling, like many people, was sparked by watching videos of classic combat wrestling matches from Japan in the 1990s, and searching the Internet.

"I had heard about combat wrestling, kind of informed and whatever, deep buried in the Internet," he said. "And I'd seen a lot of video from back in the day of some combat wrestlers, the most famous being Sato and Takanori Gomi and Imanari and all those kind of guys. It always looked like a fascinating, kind of quick style of grappling that I really excelled at."

He soon saw videos and photos posted by Sambo Steve Koepfer of the 2015 U.S. Combat Wrestling Team Trials, and contacted him to find out if there would be a Canadian Team Trials. When he was informed that there indeed would be and that they would take place in Montreal, he prepared to travel from his location in the western part of Canada all the way east to Montreal in Quebec.

"I couldn't miss it, so I scrounged some stuff together, and I made it out there," he said.

"And it was a great experience, absolutely wonderful."

At the world championship, in the finals, he won his gold medal by defeating American BJJ black belt Roli Delgado by submission with a guillotine choke. We discussed how his strategy for this match worked, and his defeating a BJJ black belt while he is still a BJJ purple belt.

We discussed how all the competitors at the combat wrestling world championship had earned their places through winning national qualifiers, and how he adapted to the rules, which reward takedowns as well as allow pins and submissions. These rules, he said, "stimulate the most realistic style of combat in a grappling tournament right now, which is why I enjoy combat wrestling."

The next event he will be attending will see him coaching his own wrestling coach, the 73-year-old Peter Richards, who will be wrestling and grappling at the 29th Don Jung Memorial Tournament and Folsom Weekend Event. This wrestling and grappling event is hosted by the Golden Gate Wrestling Club and takes place the weekend of September 25-27, with the wrestling and grappling at the Eureka Valley Rec Center, 100 Collingwood Streeet, San Francisco, California 94114.

We also discussed how combat wrestling has the potential to become a popular spectator sport, how today "there is no money in being a competitive grappler", his desire to compete at the ADCC world championships, and much, much more.

You can play or download No Holds Barred here and here. If one link doesn't work, please try another.

Also, No Holds Barred is available through iTunes.

You can also listen to No Holds Barred via Stitcher through iOS or Android devices or on the web, at http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/no-holds-barred-with-eddie-goldman.

The PodOmatic Podcast Player for iOS is available for free on the App Store.

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 December 12 and 13, 2015, for the sixth annual MMA World Expo, featuring two days of the Renzo Gracie Open 2015 no-gi and gi Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu tournaments, MMA fighters, seminars with world-class trainers, vendors, panel discussions, catch wrestling competition, and much more. The MMA World Expo takes place Saturday, December 12, and Sunday, December 13, 2015, at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City.

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.

Gracie Tournaments, featuring regional, national, and world competitions in submission-only Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. For more information, go to GracieWorlds.com.

Labels: BJJ, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, British Columbia, Bulgaria, Canada, combat wrestling, Eddie Goldman, FICW, Fierce Studio, Matt Kaiser, No Holds Barred, Varna, Victoria, World Championship

(McDonnell-Kameda photo from Lucas Noonan/Premier Boxing Champions, Mayweather-Berto photo from Esther Lin/Showtime)

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman spoke with boxers Badou Jack, George Groves, Peter Quillin, and Michael Zerafa, discusses this past Sunday's PBC on CBS show, and explains why the haters of the upcoming September 12 Mayweather-Berto card are wrong, wrong, wrong.

On that September 12 card, a co-feature will have WBC super middleweight champ Badou Jack (19-1-1, 12 KOs), originally from Sweden, in the first defense of his belt against British challenger George Groves (21-2, 16 KOs). This will be shown in the U.S. on Showtime pay-per-view and in the U.K. on BoxNation, as well in many other countries and in some movie theaters, and take place at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.

On a PBC on NBC free-to-air show on the afternoon of September 12, Peter "Kid Chocolate" Quillin (31-0-1, 22 KOs), now based in Brooklyn, takes on Michael Zerafa (17-1, 9 KOs) of Australia in a ten-round middleweight fight. This fight is basically a stay-busy bout for Quillin, as a fight with WBA middleweight champ Danny Jacobs, also of Brooklyn, is tentatively planned for later this year. Also on that card, IBF super welterweight champion Cornelius "K-9" Bundrage (34-5, 19 KOs) of Detroit will defend his title against the undefeated Jermall Charlo (21-0, 16 KOs) of Houston. This card takes place at the Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket, Connecticut, in the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation.

We spoke with Badou Jack, George Groves, Peter Quillin, and Michael Zerafa on recent media conference calls.

This past Sunday, September 6, the PBC on CBS show featured a main event where Anthony Dirrell (28-1-1, 22 KOs) of Flint, Michigan, shut out veteran Marco Antonio Rubio (59-8-1, 51 KOs) of Mexico over ten rounds. The co-feature, which was actually a better and more important fight, had WBA bantamweight champ Jamie McDonnell (27-2, 12 KOs) of the U.K. win a clear but somewhat controversial unanimous decision over Tomoki Kameda (31-2, 19 KOs), originally from Japan and now based in Mexico. This card took place at the American Bank Center in Corpus Christi, Texas.

We discuss this PBC on CBS card, analyze the rankings of the fighters on the September 12 Mayweather-Berto pay-per-view undercard, reiterate why the Mayweather-Berto fight and the accompanying fights should be interesting and worthwhile to watch, analyze the culture of negativity in boxing, and much more.

You can play or download No Holds Barred here and here. If one link doesn't work, please try another.

Also, No Holds Barred is available through iTunes.

You can also listen to No Holds Barred via Stitcher through iOS or Android devices or on the web, at http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/no-holds-barred-with-eddie-goldman.

The PodOmatic Podcast Player for iOS is available for free on the App Store.

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.

Gracie Tournaments, featuring regional, national, and world competitions in submission-only Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. For more information, go to GracieWorlds.com.

Labels: Andre Berto, Badou Jack, boxing, Eddie Goldman, Floyd Mayweather, George Groves, Michael Zerafa, No Holds Barred, Peter Quillin

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman spoke with grappler Denny Lenormand.

Based in the New Orleans, Louisiana, area, he represented the U.S. at the inaugural combat wrestling world championship held by the International Federation of Combat Wrestling (FICW) August 22 at the Spartak Stadium in Varna, Bulgaria. At that event, he won a gold medal in the 68 kg division, winning both of his matches by ankle lock submission.

We spoke with Denny Lenormand by phone Thursday.

His first match was against Matthew Camilleri of Malta.

"Recently I've sustained a knee injury, so I wanted to get in there and just get in and get out before I was able to, so I wasn't able to be submitted by just standing there. My knee was hurting really bad," he said.

"So I went in. I did something called a victor roll. It's something I learned from my coach, Reilly Bodycomb. It's a roll where you flip underneath the guy. And then I latched onto his ankle, and I ankle locked him."

In the finals, he faced Ryota Kodama of Japan.

In that match, he said, "He ended up sitting down on me, and then I ended up grabbing another ankle lock and finishing that as well."

We also discussed the rules of combat wrestling which allow high velocity throws and limit ground time according to the discretion of the referees, why combat wrestling can become a popular spectator sport, his background in break dancing and how this helped him become a grappler, his recovery from his knee injury, the grappling and wrestling scene in the New Orleans area, his training and work at NOLA BJJ, and much more.

You can play or download No Holds Barred here and here. If one link doesn't work, please try another.

Also, No Holds Barred is available through iTunes.

You can also listen to No Holds Barred via Stitcher through iOS or Android devices or on the web, at http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/no-holds-barred-with-eddie-goldman.

The PodOmatic Podcast Player for iOS is available for free on the App Store.

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.

Gracie Tournaments, featuring regional, national, and world competitions in submission-only Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. For more information, go to GracieWorlds.com.

Labels: Bulgaria, combat wrestling, Denny Lenormand, Eddie Goldman, FICW, International Federation, No Holds Barred, NOLA BJJ, Varna, World Championship

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

Andre Berto (30-3, 23 KOs), who turns 32 on September 7, is a former WBC and IBF welterweight champ, and now holds what is called the WBA interim welterweight title. He will next be fighting the unbeaten Floyd Mayweather (48-0 and 26 KOs), as Mayweather will be trying to tie the historic 49-0 record of heavyweight icon Rocky Marciano. The 38-year-old Mayweather has also stated that this will be the final fight of his career.

This fight will take place Saturday, September 12, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, and will be shown live in the U.S. on Showtime pay-per-view, and also around the world on various networks including BoxNation in the U.K.

We spoke with Andre Berto on a media conference call Tuesday, September 1, and present both the questions we had for him as well as the entire conference call.

In it, Berto explains why he is so confident that he can become the first and only fighter to defeat Floyd Mayweather, the obstacles he has overcome in his career, why he should not be judged by the losses he has had in recent fights, and much more.

You can play or download No Holds Barred here and here. If one link doesn't work, please try another.

Also, No Holds Barred is available through iTunes.

You can also listen to No Holds Barred via Stitcher through iOS or Android devices or on the web, at http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/no-holds-barred-with-eddie-goldman.

The PodOmatic Podcast Player for iOS is available for free on the App Store.

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.

Gracie Tournaments, featuring regional, national, and world competitions in submission-only Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. For more information, go to GracieWorlds.com.

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman once again spoke with Steve Koepfer, the owner and head coach of New York Combat Sambo.

On August 22, in Varna, Bulgaria, the inaugural world championship was held by the recently formed International Federation of Combat Wrestling (FICW).

Wrestlers from 12 countries competed in this historic event. Steve Koepfer served as the head coach of the 2015 Men's U.S. Combat Wrestling Team, which did quite well at it. Each of the U.S. team's five wrestlers won medals, including one gold, two silver, and two bronze medals.

We spoke with Steve Koepfer by phone Monday.

"It was a great tournament," he said. "I think for a first worlds, it was actually really, really pretty incredible. It reminded me a lot of the early days of grappling, back in the mid-'90s. There was a lot of excitement. Everybody there was really excited to be part of something big and new."

He continued, "It was a nice venue, but the guys could have been wrestling on dirt and been equally excited, because everybody knew that this was a historic moment."

The videos from this event will be posted on YouTube shortly and will be available to watch for free.

All of the wrestlers who competed at the combat wrestling worlds had made their country's team by winning a qualifying tournament. The competitors included many champions from freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling, sambo, and other disciplines.

We discussed some of the future plans for combat wrestling, including next year's world championship, which will probably be held in Europe. This event, he said, was "a great springboard" for future world, regional, national, and local tournaments.

FICW also held a congress there, making some important decisions about the direction combat wrestling will take. The congress decided to develop FICW as an "independent organization," he said, and will not seek sanctioning by any other federation. However, in some countries recognition by an existing federation (such as UWW, the international wrestling federation formerly known as FILA) is required by the government, so some arrangement of getting recognized but not sanctioned may be necessary. In any case, FICW plans to remain fully independent and hopes to "stay away from the politics of international sport." He also said that unlike many other federations, FICW plans to allow its national bodies some "freedom" to run their affairs.

We also discussed plans to have more athletes train under combat wrestling rules, a proposed Pan American championship for next year, plans to hold at least four tournaments in the U.S. in 2016 including a World Team Trials, how combat wrestling has a "hybrid look" when compared to other types of wrestling and grappling, how combat wrestling is developing internationally compared to how catch wrestling is, plans for developing certification for coaches and officials, and much, much more.

You can play or download No Holds Barred here and here. If one link doesn't work, please try another.

Also, No Holds Barred is available through iTunes.

You can also listen to No Holds Barred via Stitcher through iOS or Android devices or on the web, at http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/no-holds-barred-with-eddie-goldman.

The PodOmatic Podcast Player for iOS is available for free on the App Store.

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.

Gracie Tournaments, featuring regional, national, and world competitions in submission-only Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. For more information, go to GracieWorlds.com.

Labels: Bulgaria, combat wrestling, Eddie Goldman, FICW, International Federation, Ivaylo Ivanov, No Holds Barred, Steve Koepfer, Varna, World Championship