NO HOLDS BARRED

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.

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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 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