NO HOLDS BARRED

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman presents the audio of the December 9 media conference call hosted by the Agon Wrestling Championships.

Participating on this call were Agon matchmaker, undefeated MMA fighter, U.S. Olympian, and two-time NCAA Div. I national champion Ben Askren; NCAA Div. I national champion and current head wrestling coach at South Dakota State University Chris Bono; two-time NCAA Div. I national champion and current U.S. national team member in freestyle wrestling Brent Metcalf; NCAA Div. I national champion Max Askren; Agon co-founder Mike DiSabato; and Agon Commissioner Dave Dean. Asking questions were numerous members of the wrestling media.

Agon 2 will be held Sunday, December 22, at the Perani Arena & Event Center in Flint, Michigan. The main event will feature a match between Chris Bono and Brent Metcalf. The Agon Wrestling Championships is one of several organizations bringing back real professional wrestling, and uses a mix of American folkstyle and freestyle wrestling rules.

It was on this call that Ben Askren first officially announced that he had signed to fight with ONE FC, the largest MMA organization in Asia, beginning in 2014, as well as wrestling at an Agon event in January.

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The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", which is also available on iTunes by composer Ian Snow.

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LenneHardt.com, the web site of the world's greatest ring announcer, Lenne Hardt. Need a unique and cool combat sports-related gift? At LenneHardt.com, you can order personalized messages, wedding calls, ringtones, phone answering messages, and more, all recorded by Lenne herself, in the style of your choice. For more information, go to LenneHardt.com.

ONE Fighting Championship. ONE FC is Asia's largest and most prestigious mixed martial arts event. ONE FC features the best Asian fighters and has initiated the ONE Asia Partnership Network, which includes most of the major MMA promotions and MMA gyms in Asia. For more information, go to their web site, at ONEFC.com.

GrappleGnostic, sponsored by Defense Soap. Where the will to win meets the power of knowledge. Features, interviews, analysis, health tips, and information on wrestling, grappling, jiu-jitsu, and all the grappling arts, written by some of the best writers and experts in the world. Check out their web site, a http://defensesoap.com/grapplegnostic.

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.

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Labels: Agon Wrestling Championships, Ben Askren, Brent Metcalf, Chris Bono, Dave Dean, Eddie Goldman, Max Askren, Mike DiSabato, MMA, No Holds Barred, real professional wrestling

NO HOLDS BARRED on PodOmatic

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman discusses two events which were held this past weekend which showcased some of the best aspects of the combat sports.

We begin by discussing the Sengoku 7 mixed martial arts card, which was held in Tokyo, Japan, Friday, March 20. Among the featured fights was the fourth straight win in the young professional career of three-time U.S. national freestyle wrestling champion King Mo Lawal. Despite several injuries, he dominated his fight and won a three-round unanimous decision over Ryo Kawamura, who is also the light heavyweight King of Pancrase. The first round of the Sengoku featherweight tournament was highlighted by the submission clinic put on another rising star, Hatsu Hioki, who defeated Chris Manuel by an arm bar submission in the first round of their fight. There were several other good fights on this card as well, which overall displayed a very high level of technique for mixed martial arts.

The 2009 NCAA Div. I Wrestling Championships are now in the books, and this event, held March 19-21 in St. Louis, proved to be one of the most exciting, evenly-matched, and important of its kind. While Iowa won their second straight national team title, they had no individual champions. Instead, wrestlers from ten different schools won these honors in the ten weight classes contested in college wrestling. One of the most historic upsets took place in 149-pound finals, as Darrion Caldwell of North Carolina State dominated the top-seeded and unbeaten Brent Metcalf of Iowa, 11-6. We also discuss the incredible story of Anthony Robles, the Arizona State wrestler who was born with only one leg, and placed fourth in the nation at 125 pounds in this tournament to win All-American status.

We discuss this amazing tournament, and what it all means for wrestling, with our correspondent Bob Mayeri, who was matside in St. Louis for this event.

You can play or download No Holds Barred here. You can also download No Holds Barred here. If one link does not work, please try another. The show is in MP3 format, so may take some time to download.

The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by musician Ian Carpenter.

No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by:

Gladiator Magazine, for in-depth coverage of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, submission grappling, and MMA, as well as lifestyle articles on surfing, cars, movies, and more. Gladiator Magazine is available at any major bookstore and online at BJJMart.com or Jiu Jitsu Pro Gear.

BJJMart.com, your premier source for all Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu gear, videos, books, and much more.

Wrestling 411, providing coverage of the sport of wrestling on TV, the Internet, and radio. Wrestling 411 is produced by Media Sports Productions, whose sole mission is the marketing and promotion of the sport of wrestling.

Labels: Anthony Robles, Bob Mayeri, Brent Metcalf, college wrestling, Darrion Caldwell, Eddie Goldman, ESPN, King Mo Lawal, mixed martial arts, MMA, NCAA wrestling, No Holds Barred, Sengoku, UFC, wrestling

NO HOLDS BARRED on PodOmatic

On this edition of NO HOLDS BARRED, host Eddie Goldman reviews the 2008 NCAA Div. I Wrestling Championship, which were held March 20-22 in St. Louis, Missouri.

We have comments from all ten of the individual champions: Angel Escobedo of Indiana (125), Coleman Scott of Oklahoma State (133), J. Jaggers of Ohio State (141), Brent Metcalf of Iowa (149), Jordan Leen of Cornell (157), Mark Perry of Iowa (165), Keith Gavin of Pittsburgh (174), Mike Pucillo of Ohio State (184), Phil Davis of Penn State (197), and Dustin Fox of Northwestern (285).

We spoke with Tom Brands, head coach of the 2008 national champion Iowa Hawkeyes, and John Smith, head coach of the Oklahoma State Cowboys.

We also plan to have more interviews from this event later this week.

To listen to NO HOLDS BARRED, click here and just press the play button on the player.

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Also, NO HOLDS BARRED is available through iTunes.

The show is in MP3 format, so may take some time to download.

The NO HOLDS BARRED theme song is called "The Heist", by musician Ian Carpenter.

NO HOLDS BARRED is free to listen to and is sponsored by:

YAMMA Pit Fighting. The producers of the original UFC and Live Nation, worldwide leaders in live entertainment, present YAMMA Pit Fighting mixed martial arts. On the streets, it's against the law. In the pit, it IS the law.

IFL, the International Fight League, the world's first professional mixed martial arts league. Make sure to check out their regular TV shows on FSN (Fox Sports Net) in the U.S. and to check your local listings for dates and times. Check out the IFL web site, ifl.tv, for a listing of IFL live events and their TV schedule.

Gladiator Challenge, shaking up the mixed martial arts world since 1999, and now with 30 shows per year. For more news and info, check out their web site, GladiatorChallenge.com.

BJJMart.com, your premier source for all Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu gear, videos, books, and much more.

Gladiator Magazine, for in-depth coverage of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, submission grappling, and MMA, as well as lifestyle articles on surfing, cars, movies, and more. Gladiator Magazine is available at any major bookstore and online at BJJMart.com or Jiu Jitsu Pro Gear.

FightBeat.com, for news, results, interviews, and free exclusive videos from the worlds of boxing and mixed martial arts.

Labels: Angel Escobedo, Brent Metcalf, Coleman Scott, Dustin Fox, Eddie Goldman, J. Jaggers, John Smith, Jordan Leen, Keith Gavin, Mark Perry, Mike Pucillo, No Holds Barred, Phil Davis, Tom Brands, wrestling