NO HOLDS BARRED

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman once again spoke with catch wrestler and wrestling coach Luis Ojeda.

In 2014, he became the American heavyweight catch wrestling champion.

In his next match, he will be wrestling in the main event of the third show hosted by Legit Pro Wrestling (LPW).

His opponent, in a match which will be for the International Heavyweight Championship, will be Chris Crossan, who holds the LPW British heavyweight title.

LPW 3 will take place Sunday, June 12, at new Middlesbrough Sports Village in Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, U.K.

We spoke with Luis Ojeda by phone Thursday.

"It's a really exciting time for me," he said. He had already planned a vacation with his family in the U.K. in June, but decided to include a stop on the mat to compete in Legit Pro Wrestling. He was originally slated to face Chris Crossan two years earlier in Los Angeles, but since that match did not happen then, he now has the opportunity finally to wrestle him.

"I'm going to be in England anyways," he said.

"I contacted Chris Crossan. He's the man over there. I give him a lot of props for being able to put it together, put a match together. He got a venue. I'm honored to be a part of Legit Pro Wrestling."

While this will be a catch wrestling match, the rules, known as the "warrior rules", will be different from those used in other events. This match will have three five-minute rounds. Points will be awarded for pins or submissions, with the wrestler with the most points at the end of the match winning. Pins or submissions will not automatically end the match, but result in it being restarted. Thus, the match will go the full 15 minutes, "no matter what," he said.

We also discussed his coaching wrestling at San Ysidro High School in San Diego, plans to teach a combatives class, and much more.

You can play or download No Holds Barred here and here. If one link doesn't 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 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: catch, Chris Crossan, Eddie Goldman, Legit Pro Wrestling, LPW, Luis Ojeda, No Holds Barred

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman once again spoke with Chris Crossan of Legit Pro Wrestling (LPW).

Our subject in this, the second part of our discussion recorded by Skype this past Thursday, is the upcoming third event for LPW.

LPW 3 will take place Sunday, June 12, at new Middlesbrough Sports Village in Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, U.K.

The main event will feature Chris Crossan himself, who holds the LPW British heavyweight title, against Luis Ojeda, who in 2014 became the American heavyweight catch wrestling champion. This match will be contested for the International Heavyweight Championship. More matches on this card will be announced shortly.

"The show's June the 12th, a Sunday. It's going to run for three hours, 4 till 7. So this is all for families. We want it family-oriented. It's going to be a great day out, and I'm really excited that I've got a great opponent for this event," he said.

"I'll be wrestling Luis Ojeda from the U.S. As you know, Luis has won a lot in catch wrestling. He's King of Catch USA Heavyweight Champion. We were scheduled to have a match. It will be almost two years to the day I flew out to America, and I didn't realize I wasn't wrestling him until I got there," he said.

"The day after I was given a different match. But two years later we've managed to get our heads together, and we've arranged it, so we're going to finally get to have a match. I'm really looking forward to it."

We discussed the rules for this match, which will have three five-minute rounds. Points will be awarded for pins or submissions, with the wrestler with the most points winning. These rules are designed to speed up the action on the mat and make it "more of a sprint," he said. If the points are even at the end of the match, it is a draw, as there will be no judges.

Also, we discussed the need to teach catch wrestling to children. Towards this end, on May 2, an eight-week spring course for the Legit Pro Wrestling School has started. More information is here.

We also discussed how his own wrestling skills have improved over the past few years, the need for a democratically-run international federation for catch wrestling, how catch wrestling is "a working class sport", 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: catch, Chris Crossan, Eddie Goldman, Legit Pro Wrestling, LPW, Luis Ojeda, No Holds Barred

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman once again spoke with Chris Crossan of Legit Pro Wrestling.

Besides his involvement with wrestling and martial arts, Chris is a former boxer and closely follows the world of boxing. This week, he covered the press conference held Wednesday, April 27, in the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England, for the July 9 rematch between world heavyweight boxing champion Tyson Fury and former champion Wladimir Klitschko, which will be held at the Manchester Arena as well. Fury won the heavyweight belts with an upset unanimous and lopsided decision over Klitschko on November 28, 2015, in Düsseldorf, Germany.

We spoke with Chris Crossan by Skype Thursday.

Fury defeated Klitschko and ended his 11-plus year unbeaten streak with an unconventional and sporadic attack. This seemed to confuse and even freeze Klitschko at times. In addition, in the buildup to that fight, Fury spewed a stream of bold, outrageous, and insulting barbs at Klitschko. Fury's buildup to the rematch seems to signal a continuation of that approach.

"The atmosphere was electric, and Tyson was on form. Yeah, he was out getting to Klitschko's head again, and I really think that he did, judging by Klitschko," he said.

"He even got Klitschko to swear, and he just seemed to be way ahead when it came to the psychological games, as always, just like I believe he was last time leading up to the bout."

We discussed some of the reasons why Klitschko seemed unable or unwilling to throw many right hands in his first fight with Fury; Fury's continuing antics, theatrics, and controversial comments; accusations by reporters at this press conference that the officials in Fury-Klitschko 1 in Germany tried to "cheat" in Klitschko's favor by padding the ring and other measures; the potential for unbeaten IBF champion and 2012 Olympic gold medalist Anthony Joshua to dominate the heavyweight division; and much more.

We also will be posting a follow-up interview with Chris Crossan previewing the upcoming Legit Pro Wrestling 3 card on June 12 in Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, in the U.K.

Plus, we open with commentary on Saturday's fights between Andre Berto and Victor Ortiz, James DeGale and Rogelio Medina, and Badou Jack and Lucian Bute.

(Photo of Fury-Klitschko 2 press conference by Chris Crossan.)

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: Andre Berto, Badou Jack, boxing, Chris Crossan, Eddie Goldman, James DeGale, Lucian Bute, No Holds Barred, Rogelio Medina, Tyson Fury, Victor Ortiz, Wladimir Klitschko

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman spoke with catch wrestlers Chris Crossan, Amin Nazer, and Flash Carter.

They will all be competing this Saturday, October 3, in the second event held by Legit Pro Wrestling (LPW).

Legit Pro Wrestling 2, also known as the Legit Pro Wrestling World Open, will be held at the Billingham Synthonia Theatre Suite, Billingham, TS23 1LH Stockton-on-Tees, United Kingdom. Video of the matches from this event will be recorded and later posted online.

We spoke with Chris Crossan, Amin Nazer, and Flash Carter by Skype Thursday.

Discussing the format of this event, Chris Crossan, who also is an organizer of it, said, "We've got a four-man tournament, a world open, with current world champion Nicholas Caggia from New Jersey." Nick Caggia won that belt at the catch wrestling open tournament organized by the Snake Pit U.S.A. held at the 2014 MMA World Expo in New York.

Also in this open tournament will be LPW U.K. open weight catch wrestling champion Amin Nazer, Lee Chadwick, and European grappling champion Phil Clegg. There will also be a U.K. light heavyweight title match between catch wrestler and former MMA fighter Ian Jones and British sambo champion Chris Hoban, and a U.K. heavyweight title match between U.K. combat wrestling champion Martin Jenkinson and Chris Crossan, as well as several other matches.

The format of these matches, said Chris Crossan, will be "no holds barred." All submissions, including chokes, are legal. The matches are two out of three falls and can only be won by pin or submission, with three seconds required for a pin. Each fall has a 12-minute time limit, and there are no judges, meaning that there can be draws if no one wins any of the three falls, although many matches have been completed in much shorter times.

He explained that Legit Pro Wrestling is open to anybody from any group or style, how LPW plans to run consistent events, the need for better organization in catch wrestling, how the worked "wrestling" of groups such as WWE gives real wrestling a bad name, and much more.

Amin Nazer was born in Dagestan, Russia, and his family moved to Iran when he was very young. At about the age or 9 or 10 they moved to the U.K., and it was there he started training at around 12 or 13 with Chris Crossan in many styles of grappling and wrestling. Now 20 and in college, he is improving as a wrestler, and we discussed this tournament as well as his future.

Flash Carter, also based in the U.K., is only 17 but has already built up a record of 3-0 in catch wrestling. At LPW 2, he will be facing Martin Wilby, the head coach at The Lab in Darlington, who is a pro MMA fighter and the current NAGA U.K. Champion and also U.K. BJJ champion at brown belt. Flash Carter plans to move to the U.S. next year, and to the wrestling hotbed of Oklahoma. Asked what attracted him to catch wrestling, he said, "It's no holds barred." We discussed his match, his future plans, 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: Amin Nazer, catch wrestling, Chris Crossan, Eddie Goldman, Flash Carter, Legit Pro Wrestling, No Holds Barred, World Open

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman spoke with catch wrestler and martial artist Chris Crossan of Legit Pro Wrestling.

On Saturday, June 27, they will be holding their first event, the Legit Pro Wrestling UK Open Catch Wrestling Championship.

This event, under catch wrestling rules where you win by pin or submission, will be held at the Billingham Synthonia, Billingham, TS23 1 Stockton-on-Tees, United Kingdom, and run from about 1 PM to 5 PM.

We spoke with Chris Crossan by Skype Thursday.

"We're just getting together a group of people for an eight-man open tournament, catch-as-catch-can rules. Let's have a knockout quarter-final, semi-final, final, to see who the winner is on the night," he said.

"We plan to do more of these events in separate weight divisions, but for now we thought we'll start with an open weight. I think it's really important to have open tournaments where anybody is allowed to come and enter, regardless of team, affiliation, or anything. We're open to anybody."

We discussed the lineup so far for the eight-man open weight tournament, why he believes that catch wrestling is "a great spectator sport" and in that regard "better than BJJ", the plans of Legit Pro Wrestling to run more events, the need for the catch wrestling community and organizations to work together, 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.

Labels: Chris Crossan, Eddie Goldman, Legit Pro Wrestling UK Open Catch Wrestling Championship, No Holds Barred