NO HOLDS BARRED

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman once again spoke with lifelong martial artist, former UFC and Battlecade Extreme Fighting matchmaker, TV commentator, and our senior correspondent, John Perretti.

This is another in a series of discussions celebrating the tenth anniversary of this No Holds Barred podcast, which began in March 2006. These interviews will focus both on the legacy and issues raised over the years on this show, as well as contemporary issues and the future of the combat sports and martial arts.

We spoke with John Perretti by phone Tuesday.

Besides having been both a kickboxer as well as a grappler with a black belt from Gene LeBell, John Perretti was a pioneer in mixed martial arts. He devised the modern format of MMA, including the use of weight classes, rounds, and fingerless gloves, as matchmaker with Battlecade Extreme Fighting and later UFC. He even first used the term "mixed martial arts" in the 1980s, before the revival of professional MMA in the 1990s. But when UFC changed hands in 2001, he quit that organization and moved on. And he is not at all happy with what MMA has become.

"I did not see this being the way it is today, before Barnum and Bailey bought it," he said, mockingly referring to Zuffa, UFC's parent company.

"I did not see this fan contingent base being such an odd one, a narrow one." And he decried what he called the "new culture" in MMA today.

We discussed the devolution of MMA in the U.S., why it was accurate to argue in the 1990s that MMA was indeed safer than sports like boxing and college football, and why that is no longer the case.

Grappling has also always been extremely important to him, especially with his own experience of having suffered numerous concussions and some memory loss from his fighting days. In 1997, he attempted to develop a professional grappling pay-per-view event known as "The Contenders". That show, however, was a financial failure, and folded after one event. The question arises, with so many more people training and competing in many styles of grappling and wrestling these two decades later, could some type of professional grappling or real wrestling event succeed now?

"I caution everyone," he said. "I caution everyone that anything is within the clutches of corruption."

After referencing the many corruption scandals in sumo wrestling in Japan, he emphasized, "Anything, no matter how much you want it to be, a solid future for a concussion-less sport of pugilism, is susceptible to a circus coming into town."

We discussed more on concussions and head trauma in combat sports, the techniques of grappling and striking in MMA, some of the history behind the New York State government banning MMA in 1997 and now being set to re-legalize it this year, his being written out of history, his forthcoming memoirs, 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 here.

The PodOmatic Podcast Player app is available for free, both for Android at Google Play, and for iOS 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:

The Frank Gotch World Catch Wrestling Tournament. On Sunday, July 3, 2016, catch wrestlers from all around the world will compete in Humboldt, Iowa, the hometown of the legendary world champion wrestler Frank Gotch. Organized by the Catch Wrestling Alliance and co-sponsored by IAWrestle, the Frank Gotch Statue Committee, and the Frank Gotch Kids Wrestling Club, the event will take place at Humboldt High School. For more information, go to CatchWrestlingAlliance.com.

The North American Catch Wrestling Association, a grassroots organization designed to help rebuild the sport of catch-as-catch-can-wrestling. For more information, go to their Facebook page at facebook.com/NorthAmericanCatchWrestlingAssociation.

BJJ Eastern Europe, for the latest Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu news, articles, interviews, competition calendar, European belt rankings, academy directory, and more. For more information, go to BJJEE.com.

The National Registry for Wrestling, whose mission is to increase wrestling's fanbase, to build a registry of all wrestling fans, to serve as a connecting point for all wrestling fans, and to provide TV and Internet listings for wrestling. For more information, go to NR4W.com.

Labels: concussions, corruption, Eddie Goldman, grappling, John Perretti, MMA, No Holds Barred, tenth anniversary, wrestling

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman offers a number of key proposals to unstrangle the stagnant sport of college wrestling and make it culturally relevant in America.

Among the topics discussed are: the drop in TV ratings for the NCAA Div. I Wrestling Championships from 2015 to 2016; how there are few fans of college wrestling as a sport apart from the fans of each individual school; why college wrestling must be positioned as the anti-football sport, which is much less likely than football to lead to dementia, brain injuries, concussions, and CTE; why college wrestling should be the anti-MMA sport, which emphasizes honor, respect, and inclusion, as opposed to MMA's ubiquitous trash talk, vulgarity, disrespect, brain injuries, and doping; how college wrestling must reposition itself to be seen as part of the martial arts, and especially a form of grappling, and link up with these martial arts communities both on and off the campuses; the need for a major push for diversity in college wrestling, including establishing ties with predominantly Black and Latino public schools, communities, and organizations, as well as the LGBT communities both on and off their campuses; how college wrestling must develop a major presence in the urban centers and especially on both coasts of the U.S.; the need to popularize the incredible history of wrestling, the world's oldest sport, and which originated in Africa; why all this will not be carried out by the various bureaucracies overseeing college wrestling but can only be realized by the teams, coaches, wrestlers, and their communities themselves; 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 here.

The PodOmatic Podcast Player app is available for free, both for Android at Google Play, and for iOS 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:

The Frank Gotch World Catch Wrestling Tournament. On Sunday, July 3, 2016, catch wrestlers from all around the world will compete in Humboldt, Iowa, the hometown of the legendary world champion wrestler Frank Gotch. Organized by the Catch Wrestling Alliance and co-sponsored by IAWrestle, the Frank Gotch Statue Committee, and the Frank Gotch Kids Wrestling Club, the event will take place at Humboldt High School. For more information, go to CatchWrestlingAlliance.com.

The North American Catch Wrestling Association, a grassroots organization designed to help rebuild the sport of catch-as-catch-can-wrestling. For more information, go to their Facebook page at facebook.com/NorthAmericanCatchWrestlingAssociation.

BJJ Eastern Europe, for the latest Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu news, articles, interviews, competition calendar, European belt rankings, academy directory, and more. For more information, go to BJJEE.com.

The National Registry for Wrestling, whose mission is to increase wrestling's fanbase, to build a registry of all wrestling fans, to serve as a connecting point for all wrestling fans, and to provide TV and Internet listings for wrestling. For more information, go to NR4W.com.

Labels: college, culturally relevant, Eddie Goldman, NCAA, No Holds Barred, unstrangle, wrestling

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman spoke with Iowa State Wrestling's trio of 2016 NCAA All-Americans: Earl Hall, Lelund Weatherspoon, and Pat Downey. We also spoke with former Iowa State wrestler, 2015 NCAA champion, and Olympic hopeful Kyven Gadson. We spoke with them at the Cyclone Wrestling Club social, held right after the conclusion of the 2016 NCAA Div. I Wrestling Championships in Madison Square Garden in New York.

Earl Hall finished his Iowa State college wrestling career by finishing seventh at 133 pounds to win his second All-American honors. Lelund Weatherspoon, a redshirt junior who was unseeded in this tournament, finished sixth at 174 pounds to win his first All-American honors. Pat Downey, a sophomore in his first season with Iowa State and who was also unseeded, finished fifth at 197 pounds.

As a team, Iowa State finished in 12th place, after being ranked 17th before the tournament.

We discussed with these All-American wrestlers how their tournament went, their backgrounds, and their future plans.

Kyven Gadson discussed how Iowa State performed at the NCAAs, his upcoming competition at the 2016 Olympic Trials, and what he wants to see changed in wrestling.

In addition, we open with a commentary on the rarely-discussed issue of diversity in college wrestling.

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 here.

The PodOmatic Podcast Player app is available for free, both for Android at Google Play, and for iOS 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:

The Frank Gotch World Catch Wrestling Tournament. On Sunday, July 3, 2016, catch wrestlers from all around the world will compete in Humboldt, Iowa, the hometown of the legendary world champion wrestler Frank Gotch. Organized by the Catch Wrestling Alliance and co-sponsored by IAWrestle, the Frank Gotch Statue Committee, and the Frank Gotch Kids Wrestling Club, the event will take place at Humboldt High School. For more information, go to CatchWrestlingAlliance.com.

The North American Catch Wrestling Association, a grassroots organization designed to help rebuild the sport of catch-as-catch-can-wrestling. For more information, go to their Facebook page at facebook.com/NorthAmericanCatchWrestlingAssociation.

BJJ Eastern Europe, for the latest Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu news, articles, interviews, competition calendar, European belt rankings, academy directory, and more. For more information, go to BJJEE.com.

The National Registry for Wrestling, whose mission is to increase wrestling's fanbase, to build a registry of all wrestling fans, to serve as a connecting point for all wrestling fans, and to provide TV and Internet listings for wrestling. For more information, go to NR4W.com.

Labels: college, Cyclones, diversity, Earl Hall, Eddie Goldman, Iowa State, Kyven Gadson, Lelund Weatherspoon, NCAA, No Holds Barred, Pat Downey, wrestling

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman previews the March 26 fight between Andre Ward and Sullivan Barrera.

Still one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in the world, the 32-year-old Ward (28-0, 15 KOs) will face a fellow undefeated fighter, the 34-year-old Sullivan Barrera (17-0, 12 KOs), who is originally from Cuba. This light heavyweight fight takes place Saturday, March 26, at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, California, which is Ward's hometown. It will be televised live in the U.S. on HBO and live in the U.K. on BoxNation.

The winner is in line to get a title shot later this year against the consensus best light heavyweight in boxing today, the WBA/IBF/WBO champion Sergey Kovalev (29-0-1, 26 KOs).

We spoke with Andre Ward and Sullivan Barrera, as well as Abel Sanchez, who trains Barrera, on recent media conference calls.

Ward promised that he is "prepared for war." Barrera, unbeaten like Ward but not as well known or having faced a fighter of Ward's caliber, said that up until now "I haven't had the opportunity" to demonstrate that he is a great boxer.

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 here.

The PodOmatic Podcast Player app is available for free, both for Android at Google Play, and for iOS 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:

The Frank Gotch World Catch Wrestling Tournament. On Sunday, July 3, 2016, catch wrestlers from all around the world will compete in Humboldt, Iowa, the hometown of the legendary world champion wrestler Frank Gotch. Organized by the Catch Wrestling Alliance and co-sponsored by IAWrestle, the Frank Gotch Statue Committee, and the Frank Gotch Kids Wrestling Club, the event will take place at Humboldt High School. For more information, go to CatchWrestlingAlliance.com.

The North American Catch Wrestling Association, a grassroots organization designed to help rebuild the sport of catch-as-catch-can-wrestling. For more information, go to their Facebook page at facebook.com/NorthAmericanCatchWrestlingAssociation.

BJJ Eastern Europe, for the latest Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu news, articles, interviews, competition calendar, European belt rankings, academy directory, and more. For more information, go to BJJEE.com.

The National Registry for Wrestling, whose mission is to increase wrestling's fanbase, to build a registry of all wrestling fans, to serve as a connecting point for all wrestling fans, and to provide TV and Internet listings for wrestling. For more information, go to NR4W.com.

Labels: Abel Sanchez, Andre Ward, boxing, Eddie Goldman, No Holds Barred, Sullivan Barrera

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman spoke with our long-time colleague and wrestling correspondent, Bob Mayeri.

In our discussion, we previewed the 2016 NCAA Div. I Wrestling Championships.

The 2016 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships take place March 17-19 at Madison Square Garden in New York. Once again the ESPN networks in the U.S. will provide live video of every match, with the finals and semifinals televised live on ESPN, the other four sessions televised live on ESPNU, and ESPN3.com and the WatchESPN app providing live multi-mat viewing throughout.

We spoke with Bob Mayeri by phone Sunday about both how the expected top teams shape up, and the favorites and possible upsets in each of the ten weight classes.

Speaking about the undefeated Big 10 champion Penn State team, which is favored by many to win the team championship, he said, "Penn State has some pretty high expectations. I think they probably are looking to have maybe as many as five in the finals."

Those five are: 125-pound number three seed Nico Megaludis, 149-pound top seed Zain Retherford, 157-pound number three seed Jason Nolf, 174-pound top seed Bo Nickal, and 197-pound top seed Morgan McIntosh.

"I don't think the wrestling community would be that surprised if those five did make it to the finals. So I think on paper they've got a serious edge on the team that's competing for second place."

As far as the competition to win this year's Hodge Trophy for college wrestling's most dominant wrestler, the favorite is the top seed at 165 pounds, Alex Dieringer of Oklahoma State, who is going for his third straight NCAA title.

"Right now it's Dierenger's to lose," he said.

In addition, we open the show with a commentary on the culture of college wrestling in America, its lack of diversity, and how this may play out as Wrestling Nation descends upon New York City.

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 here.

The PodOmatic Podcast Player app is available for free, both for Android at Google Play, and for iOS 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:

The Frank Gotch World Catch Wrestling Tournament. On Sunday, July 3, 2016, catch wrestlers from all around the world will compete in Humboldt, Iowa, the hometown of the legendary world champion wrestler Frank Gotch. Organized by the Catch Wrestling Alliance and co-sponsored by IAWrestle, the Frank Gotch Statue Committee, and the Frank Gotch Kids Wrestling Club, the event will take place at Humboldt High School. For more information, go to CatchWrestlingAlliance.com.

The North American Catch Wrestling Association, a grassroots organization designed to help rebuild the sport of catch-as-catch-can-wrestling. For more information, go to their Facebook page at facebook.com/NorthAmericanCatchWrestlingAssociation.

BJJ Eastern Europe, for the latest Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu news, articles, interviews, competition calendar, European belt rankings, academy directory, and more. For more information, go to BJJEE.com.

The National Registry for Wrestling, whose mission is to increase wrestling's fanbase, to build a registry of all wrestling fans, to serve as a connecting point for all wrestling fans, and to provide TV and Internet listings for wrestling. For more information, go to NR4W.com.

Labels: 2016 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, Bob Mayeri, college, Eddie Goldman, ESPN, Madison Square Garden, New York, No Holds Barred, Penn State

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

This is another in a series of discussions celebrating the tenth anniversary of this No Holds Barred podcast, which began in March 2006. These interviews will focus both on the legacy and issues raised over the years on this show, as well as contemporary issues and the future of the combat sports and martial arts.

We spoke with Kevin Jackson by phone Wednesday.

"Thanks for having me, Eddie," he said. "It's a pleasure to be on your show. Congratulations on the ten year anniversary. It's amazing how fast time goes by. We've been friends and we've talked about a lot of different subjects over the years. It's just a pleasure to be a part of your ten year anniversary and No Holds Barred and talk to you today."

Iowa State, which just finished third at the Big 12 Championships, will be bringing six wrestlers to compete at the 2016 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, which take place March 17-19 at Madison Square Garden in New York. Once again the ESPN networks will provide live video of every match, with the finals and semifinals televised live on ESPN, the other four sessions televised live on ESPNU, and ESPN3.com providing live multi-mat viewing throughout.

The six Iowa State wrestlers who will be competing at the 2016 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships are: Kyle Larson at 125, 2014 All-American Earl Hall at 133, Tanner Weatherman at 165, two-time Big 12 champion Lelund Weatherspoon at 174, Dane Pestano at 184, and Patrick Downey at 197.

We discussed the prospects for each of these wrestlers.

We also discussed several broader issues, including the failure of the many recent attempts to create a real professional wrestling organization; how wrestling is still not locked into the Olympic Games; why wrestling is a "sport as blue collar as it gets"; how wrestling "is a sport for all"; the issue of diversity in college wrestling; MMA and wrestling; 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 here.

The PodOmatic Podcast Player app is available for free, both for Android at Google Play, and for iOS 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:

The Frank Gotch World Catch Wrestling Tournament. On Sunday, July 3, 2016, catch wrestlers from all around the world will compete in Humboldt, Iowa, the hometown of the legendary world champion wrestler Frank Gotch. Organized by the Catch Wrestling Alliance and co-sponsored by IAWrestle, the Frank Gotch Statue Committee, and the Frank Gotch Kids Wrestling Club, the event will take place at Humboldt High School. For more information, go to CatchWrestlingAlliance.com.

The North American Catch Wrestling Association, a grassroots organization designed to help rebuild the sport of catch-as-catch-can-wrestling. For more information, go to their Facebook page at facebook.com/NorthAmericanCatchWrestlingAssociation.

BJJ Eastern Europe, for the latest Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu news, articles, interviews, competition calendar, European belt rankings, academy directory, and more. For more information, go to BJJEE.com.

The National Registry for Wrestling, whose mission is to increase wrestling's fanbase, to build a registry of all wrestling fans, to serve as a connecting point for all wrestling fans, and to provide TV and Internet listings for wrestling. For more information, go to NR4W.com.

Labels: college, Cyclones, Earl Hall, Eddie Goldman, Iowa State Wrestling, Kevin Jackson, Lelund Weatherspoon, NCAA, No Holds Barred, Tanner Weatherman

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman once again spoke with wrestling historian and author Mike Chapman.

This is the first in a series of discussions celebrating the tenth anniversary of this No Holds Barred podcast, which began in March 2006. These interviews will focus both on the legacy and issues raised over the years on this show, as well as contemporary issues and the future of the combat sports and martial arts.

We spoke with Mike Chapman by phone Tuesday.

The sport of wrestling, the world's oldest, has had many difficulties in recent decades, and Mike Chapman has been one of the leaders in trying to get the sport properly organized, marketed, and promoted.

"Here's the thing about wrestlers as a group, and the coaches and the people who run it," he said. "They are tough, tough, tough people, but they are very programmed people. They've fallen into the trap of whatever worked before will work again if we just do more of it and do it harder. And of course you and I know that's not the case. Sometimes you just have to think outside the box. You have to be more flexible. You have to be innovative.

"And bless 'em, the people that run wrestling -- I know almost all of them personally. They're really good people. I like them. I respect them. I'm going back 30 to 40 years, I've known almost all of them.

"But they're just not very creative and flexible when it comes to looking at ways to improve the marketability of the sport."

He continued, "I've said for 20 years the number one thing wrestling needs is some kind of an organization that operates as an advocate for the sport, to work with media, to build relationships, to branch out, to try to come up with a comprehensive short-term and long-term plan to increase the visibility, the acceptance, and the cultural magnitude of the sport.

"And it just falls on deaf ears."

While wrestling in the U.S. is nowhere near reaching its full potential, internationally the Olympic movement is rocking and reeling from one major scandal to another. We discussed how international wrestling as part of that Olympic movement has been accused time and again of corruption.

Mike Chapman has probably written more about the world heavyweight wrestling champion Frank Gotch of the early 1900s than anyone else, and we discussed the style of wrestling from his era when wrestling was a major popular spectator sport: catch, or catch-as-catch-can wrestling. He is working to revive this style of wrestling, and we discussed the July 3 Frank Gotch World Catch Wrestling Tournament, which will take place in Humboldt, Iowa, Gotch's hometown.

We also discussed the Big 10 wrestling championships, which he attended; the 2016 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, which take place March 17-19 in Madison Square Garden in New York; the need for people who want to help wrestling to get professional educational training in media, marketing, and management; the importance of No Holds Barred in being a voice for catch wrestling; 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 here.

The PodOmatic Podcast Player app is available for free, both for Android at Google Play, and for iOS 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:

The Frank Gotch World Catch Wrestling Tournament. On Sunday, July 3, 2016, catch wrestlers from all around the world will compete in Humboldt, Iowa, the hometown of the legendary world champion wrestler Frank Gotch. Organized by the Catch Wrestling Alliance and co-sponsored by IAWrestle, the Frank Gotch Statue Committee, and the Frank Gotch Kids Wrestling Club, the event will take place at Humboldt High School. For more information, go to CatchWrestlingAlliance.com.

The North American Catch Wrestling Association, a grassroots organization designed to help rebuild the sport of catch-as-catch-can-wrestling. For more information, go to their Facebook page at facebook.com/NorthAmericanCatchWrestlingAssociation.

BJJ Eastern Europe, for the latest Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu news, articles, interviews, competition calendar, European belt rankings, academy directory, and more. For more information, go to BJJEE.com.

The National Registry for Wrestling, whose mission is to increase wrestling's fanbase, to build a registry of all wrestling fans, to serve as a connecting point for all wrestling fans, and to provide TV and Internet listings for wrestling. For more information, go to NR4W.com.

Labels: Eddie Goldman, Frank Gotch World Catch Championships, Mike Chapman, No Holds Barred, tenth anniversary, wrestling

March 7, 2016, NEW YORK -- This week marks the tenth anniversary of the start of the ground-breaking combat sports and martial arts podcast, No Holds Barred, hosted and produced by the "conscience of combat sports", Eddie Goldman. To celebrate the continuous running of this show for all these years, this month and beyond we will be having a series of interviews with some of the most important people around the world in these sports.

So far interviews are lined up with:

*** Mike Chapman, wrestling author and historian, about the past, present, and future of wrestling, and the potential of catch wrestling.

*** Kid Peligro, the veteran "Pied Piper" 0f Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu about the growth and future of BJJ and grappling.

*** Kevin Jackson, Olympic gold medalist wrestler and present head coach of the Iowa State Cyclones.

*** John Perretti, the lifelong martial artist, former UFC and Battlecade Extreme Fighting matchmaker, TV commentator, author, and No Holds Barred senior correspondent.

*** Bob Carson, veteran MMA journalist, one of the few who remains independent and outspoken on the key issues facing MMA.

*** Charles Farrell, the award-winning boxing writer whose behind-the-scenes perspectives have pulled the covers off the often deceptive and illusory world of pro boxing.

*** Dr. Margaret Goodman, president and board chairman of the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association, and a long-time fighter for health and safety for combat sports athletes including on the issues of concussions, head trauma, CTE, and doping.

*** Jens Sejer Andersen, international director of Play the Game, which has been exposing corruption and fighting for democracy in world sport.

The dates for the posting of these interviews will be determined as they take place, with more interviews planned.

For more information, go to EddieGoldman.com.

Labels: Eddie Goldman, No Holds Barred, podcast, tenth anniversary

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman spoke with Raul Ramirez of the Catch Wrestling Alliance.

Their next event will mark the first time that catch wrestling will take place in Singapore. On Sunday, March 20, there will be a catch wrestling event locally hosted by the Kapap Academy (Singapore), a member of Catch Wrestling Alliance. The location is the City Square Mall, Fountain Square, 180 Kitchener Road, Singapore.

We spoke with Raul Ramirez by phone Monday.

"One of the reasons we wanted to have it in Singapore is that," he said, "Singapore is a real hotbed for martial arts in Asia right now. So we wanted to be present kind of at the epicenter of martial arts."

This event will be free to watch, and video will be recorded and later posted online. There will be individual matches involving wrestlers from many countries. The rules are that you can only win by pin or submission, with all submissions allowed except strangleholds. There are no points in these matches, which each have a 20-minute time limit. If there is no pin or submission in that time, the referee and outside judge will determine the winner.

The Catch Wrestling Alliance also has created a youth wrestling program in the Emerson Sports Academy at Ralph Waldo Emerson Charter Middle School in West Los Angeles, California. We also discussed the importance of bringing catch wrestling to the youth, both for them and for the sport of wrestling.

In addition, we discussed the July 3 Frank Gotch World Catch Wrestling Tournament in Humboldt, Iowa; the process of introducing more of the martial arts community to catch wrestling; the need to develop real professional catch wrestling; 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 here.

The PodOmatic Podcast Player app is available for free, both for Android at Google Play, and for iOS 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:

The Frank Gotch World Catch Wrestling Tournament. On Sunday, July 3, 2016, catch wrestlers from all around the world will compete in Humboldt, Iowa, the hometown of the legendary world champion wrestler Frank Gotch. Organized by the Catch Wrestling Alliance and co-sponsored by IAWrestle, the Frank Gotch Statue Committee, and the Frank Gotch Kids Wrestling Club, the event will take place at Humboldt High School. For more information, go to CatchWrestlingAlliance.com.

The North American Catch Wrestling Association, a grassroots organization designed to help rebuild the sport of catch-as-catch-can-wrestling. For more information, go to their Facebook page at facebook.com/NorthAmericanCatchWrestlingAssociation.

BJJ Eastern Europe, for the latest Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu news, articles, interviews, competition calendar, European belt rankings, academy directory, and more. For more information, go to BJJEE.com.

The National Registry for Wrestling, whose mission is to increase wrestling's fanbase, to build a registry of all wrestling fans, to serve as a connecting point for all wrestling fans, and to provide TV and Internet listings for wrestling. For more information, go to NR4W.com.