NO HOLDS BARRED

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman spoke with former MMA fighter and pro wrestler Angel Amoroso.

We spoke with her Sunday in New York. This is the first of a two-part interview.

Angel Amoroso is one of first people I interviewed in person, sometime in the early 1990s at a time neither of us can recall. She was then performing in ECW pro wrestling, but it was not long after that both of us exited that scene. She would then continue as a mixed martial arts fighter, as well as running her own business in what is sometimes known as apartment wrestling.

In part one of this interview, we discussed moving over from pro wrestling to MMA, changes in MMA over the years, the important roles played by John Perretti and Phyllis Lee in MMA, Angel's crazy experience in her 1998 MMA fight with Yumiko Hotta in L-1 in Japan, the issue of trans fighters in MMA, the devolution of today's MMA into "junior boxing", the use of MMA and martial arts techniques as self-defense, and much more, with much more to come in part two.

You can play or download No Holds Barred here and here. If one link does not work, please try another.

No Holds Barred is available at Google Play Music.

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 sponsored by:

The Catch Wrestling Alliance, resurrecting and promoting the sport of authentic catch-as-catch-can wrestling. The Catch Wrestling Alliance provides tournaments, seminars, and training as well as education about catch wrestling. Join the movement and keep real wrestling alive. For more information, go to CatchWrestlingAlliance.com.

Skullz Double-End Bags, the perfect bag for your combat sports training. Skullz Double-End Bags provide a realistic striking target, and help improve timing, distance, and hand and eye coordination. Hang it and hit it right out of the box! No pump required. For more information, go to SkullzDeBags.com.

Labels: Angel Amoroso, Eddie Goldman, MMA, No Holds Barred, pro wrestling

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman discussed the upcoming fights with WBA welterweight champion Keith Thurman, and Bellator Heavyweight Grand Prix finalists Ryan Bader and Fedor Emelianenko. Also discussed is the latest development in the Russian state-sponsored doping scandal and how the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) is handling it.

For an analysis of Saturday's Manny Pacquiao-Adrien Broner fight, make sure to read my debut article on Hannibal Boxing, called The Long Con: Manny Pacquiao and Adrien Broner.

Keith Thurman (28-0, 22 KOs) returns to action Saturday, January 26, after a 22-month layoff due to injuries, against journeyman Josesito Lopez (36-7, 19 KOs), on a PBC card at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. It will be televised live in the U.S. on Fox and in Spanish on Fox Deportes, and in the U.K. on ITV4.

We spoke with Keith Thurman on Tuesday's media conference call.

Also on Saturday, January 26, Bellator MMA has a card at The Forum in Inglewood, California, which will be shown in the U.S. live on TV on the Paramount Network and streamed on DAZN.

We spoke with both heavyweight tournament finalists, the legendary Fedor Emelianenko, and current Bellator light heavyweight champion Ryan Bader, on last week's media conference call.

Last not far from least, we got a question in on the WADA media conference call announcing the next steps in dealing with the Russian state-sponsored doping program.

You can play or download No Holds Barred here and here. If one link does not work, please try another.

No Holds Barred is available at Google Play Music.

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 sponsored by:

The Catch Wrestling Alliance, resurrecting and promoting the sport of authentic catch-as-catch-can wrestling. The Catch Wrestling Alliance provides tournaments, seminars, and training as well as education about catch wrestling. Join the movement and keep real wrestling alive. For more information, go to CatchWrestlingAlliance.com.

Skullz Double-End Bags, the perfect bag for your combat sports training. Skullz Double-End Bags provide a realistic striking target, and help improve timing, distance, and hand and eye coordination. Hang it and hit it right out of the box! No pump required. For more information, go to SkullzDeBags.com.

My first piece for Hannibal Boxing is up:
The Long Con: Manny Pacquiao and Adrien Broner.

Labels: Adrien Broner, Eddie Goldman, Hannibal Boxing, Long Con, Manny Pacquiao, No Holds Barred, pay-per-view

Davit Modzmanashvili of Georgia, who won a silver medal in freestyle wrestling at 120 kg at the 2012 London Olympics, will be stripped of his medal. New analysis shows he tested positive for the banned substance oral turinabol.

Interestingly, in London, he lost his gold medal match to Artur Taymazov of Uzbekistan, who himself was later stripped of his 2008 Olympic gold medal for doping after re-testing. Taymazov is now a member of Russia's Duma representing Putin's United Russia party. Taymazov the doper is also still in the "United World Wrestling (sic)" Hall of Fame.

The full decision on Modzmanashvili's re-testing can be read here.

Labels: Artur Taymazov, Davit Modzmanashvili, doping, Eddie Goldman, No Holds Barred, Olympics, wrestling

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

It was just announced that they are starting a new interactive, online venture, the Catch Wrestling Alliance Academy.

We spoke with him by phone Friday.

"For the longest time now, people comment on our videos. They send emails. They're asking for DVDs or places that they can learn. I'm sure that's the most common thing, where someone in some remote part of the planet, they're saying, of course there's hardly any kind of martial arts instruction nearby, and they definitely love catch wrestling. So they just need the training to be more accessible," he said.

"So I thought that maybe to serve the majority of people, regardless of your location, we should probably go online, but also not just put out DVDs.

"We have to make this a little bit more interactive, where the students that can be learning online from videos and from PDFs that we make, but we have to put it in a format where they can also ask questions, if they have any misunderstandings, so that they can actually just get the best level of instruction without having to be present in a class. That is probably the best we really can do."

So while, obviously, training in person in catch wrestling is invaluable, where that is not possible, this is "the next best thing."

The first of these online interactive course is called "Catch Wrestling Fundamentals: Stand Up." Upcoming courses will include mat wrestling, controlling and restraining opponents both in sport and self-defense situations, integrating striking into wrestling and grappling, and psychological and mental aspects of sports performance.

We discussed more of the details on how to access this training, who some of the instructors will be, plans for catch wrestling competition in the Los Angeles area, the growth of interest in catch wrestling in China, and much more.

You can play or download No Holds Barred here and here. If one link does not work, please try another.

No Holds Barred is available at Google Play Music.

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 sponsored by:

The Catch Wrestling Alliance, resurrecting and promoting the sport of authentic catch-as-catch-can wrestling. The Catch Wrestling Alliance provides tournaments, seminars, and training as well as education about catch wrestling. Join the movement and keep real wrestling alive. For more information, go to CatchWrestlingAlliance.com.

Skullz Double-End Bags, the perfect bag for your combat sports training. Skullz Double-End Bags provide a realistic striking target, and help improve timing, distance, and hand and eye coordination. Hang it and hit it right out of the box! No pump required. For more information, go to SkullzDeBags.com.

Labels: Catch Wrestling Alliance Academy, China, Eddie Goldman, No Holds Barred, Raul Ramirez