NO HOLDS BARRED

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman once again speaks with Stephen Koepfer of the Coalition to Legalize Mixed Martial Arts in New York.

On March 6, the Coalition held a rousing demonstration in front of the Manhattan office of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who has not taken a public position on the issue of ending the ban on MMA. This was followed by the first-ever Mixed Martial Arts Documentary Film Festival, which took place at the world-famous Madison Square Garden.

We spoke by phone Friday with Stephen Koepfer about how this rally, the second annual one held by the Coalition, represented a step forward in this battle to legalize MMA in New York. Many more New Yorkers seemed both aware of this issue and supportive of ending the MMA ban than even last year, he said. We discussed the attempt by UFC to counter this rally by holding a news conference in New York at the same time as it for a show two months away in New Jersey. We also discussed many ideas for continuing and broadening this struggle as this onerous ban on MMA is now in its fifteenth year, and much more.

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.

No Holds Barred is also available on mobile phones and iPads through Stitcher.

Also, No Holds Barred is available through iTunes.

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

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

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.

DARE Championship. Based in Thailand, DARE is a mixed martial arts event where fighters from all over the world compete to become the DARE Champion. DARE is one of the first MMA promotions in Thailand, and has been televised in many countries and online. For more information, go to their web site, at DareFightSports.com.

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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 http://americantopteam.com/.

The American Sambo Association, which is committed to becoming the premier association in the U.S. dedicated to the advancement of Sambo. Sambo is a form of sport, self-defense, and combat established in the former Soviet Union during the early twentieth century. For more information, go to ussambo.com.

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with Stephen Koepfer of the Coalition to Legalize Mixed Martial Arts in New York.

It is now 15 years since the state of New York passed a draconian law banning what it calls "combative sports", including mixed martial arts. The 1997 law overturned a law passed just months earlier legalizing and regulating the sport. While MMA has since grown around the world, from Sao Paulo to St. Petersburg, from Beijing to Boston, and from Atlantic City to Abu Dhabi, the sport remains illegal in New York.

The Coalition to Legalize Mixed Martial Arts in New York, an independent, grassroots organization, aims to change all that. After a successful rally last year in front of the office of New York Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, an opponent of MMA, this year the Coalition will be holding a rally in front of the Manhattan office of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who has not taken a public position on this issue.

The rally will be held Tuesday, March 6, from 11:30 AM to 1:30 PM, outside Cuomo's Manhattan office at 633 Third Avenue, New York, NY, 10017, between 40th and 41st Streets.

After the rally, there will be the first-ever Mixed Martial Arts Documentary Film Festival. This will take place from 4 PM to 8 PM at the world-famous Madison Square Garden, in The Theater Lobby at 7th Avenue at 32nd Street. It is free to attend.

Three films will be featured, including the world premiere of "In Her Corner: The Inside Story of Women’s MMA", the Manhattan premiere of "New York Mixed Martial Arts", and the New York premiere of "Fight Life". This will be followed by a question-and-answer session with the filmmakers, as well as a mixed martial arts trivia challenge.

We spoke with Stephen Koepfer by phone Thursday about the rally, the film festival, and the ongoing battle to legalize MMA in New York. We discussed the need to continue to educate the public about the sport, how MMA is actually much larger than just one promotion, and much more.

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.

No Holds Barred is also available on mobile phones and iPads through Stitcher.

Also, No Holds Barred is available through iTunes.

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

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

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.

DARE Championship. Based in Thailand, DARE is a mixed martial arts event where fighters from all over the world compete to become the DARE Champion. DARE is one of the first MMA promotions in Thailand, and has been televised in many countries and online. For more information, go to their web site, at DareFightSports.com.

Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. Your #1 source for exciting auction shopping and outstanding deals on just about anything! Top rated, most trusted auction site online. Where do you shop? Beezid.com - Penny Auctions.

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 http://americantopteam.com/.

The American Sambo Association, which is committed to becoming the premier association in the U.S. dedicated to the advancement of Sambo. Sambo is a form of sport, self-defense, and combat established in the former Soviet Union during the early twentieth century. For more information, go to ussambo.com.

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman presents the entire audio from the historic roundtable meeting called by the Coalition to Legalize Mixed Martial Arts in New York (http://nymmanow.blogspot.com) to discuss strategy and tactics in the grassroots fight to re-legalize the sport of MMA in New York. The roundtable meeting was held Thursday, February 3, at New York Combat Sambo.

The participants were:

1) Assemblyman Dean Murray (R,C-East Patchogue): Ranking Minority member of the New York State Assembly Committee on Tourism, Parks, Arts and Sports Development.
2) Kevin Malloy: Assemblyman Murray's Chief of Staff.
3) Kevin Morello: Office of Senator Lee Zeldin (R, C, I - Long Island). Co sponsor of the Senate MMA bill.
4) Justin Klein: Member of the NY Bar Sports Law Committee and writer for MMA Payout.
5) Peter Lampasona: MMA journalist, US Combat Sport and host of Cage Radio.
6) Jim Genia: MMA journalist, Editor at Full Contact Fighter.
7) Eddie Goldman: MMA journalist, No Holds Barred.
8) Bruce Kivo: MMA journalist, MMA Confidential.
9) Steve Katz: Queens gym owner/amateur MMA promoter.
10) Steve Kardian: Westchester gym owner, security expert, and national media consultant.
11) Stephen Koepfer: Manhattan gym owner, President of the American Sambo Association.
12) Paula Romero: MMA insider.
13) Kahleem Poole: MMA documentarian.

This meeting revealed some very good news for mixed martial arts. Just days ago, there was what appeared to be disastrous news for the sport. Not only did the newly-elected Governor Andrew Cuomo not include re-legalizing MMA in his 2011-12 budget proposal, but he also called for eliminating the salary of the chair of the New York State Athletic Commission. That would effectively gut the ability of the commission to protect properly the health and safety of all combat sports athletes, and prevent it from having enough staff to regulate the rapidly-growing sport of MMA.

The good news came from Assemblyman Murray. In past years, re-legalizing MMA has been approved in the State Senate but not the Assembly. Now, as the ranking minority member of the New York State Assembly Committee on Tourism, Parks, Arts and Sports Development, he is working with his Democratic colleague and committee chair, Steve Englebright, to mobilize bi-partisan support for passage of such pro-MMA legislation.

"I'm very confident," said Assemblyman Murray at the roundtable. "I'm more confident than I've been in years." Both Assemblymen Englebright and Murray believe that if the bill to re-legalize MMA were put to a vote in the Assembly, with support from many members of both political parties, it would achieve a majority and pass in the Assembly. Passage in the Senate and then signature by Governor Cuomo would also be required for the bill to become a law, but again, it has been in the Assembly where it has been held up in the past.

Still, grassroots action is needed to get MMA re-legalized in New York. That is why the Coalition to Legalize Mixed Martial Arts in New York will have a rally on Tuesday, February 8, at 250 Broadway in lower Manhattan, across the street from City Hall and outside the district office of Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, beginning at 12 noon.

You can play or download No Holds Barred at http://nhbnews.podomatic.com/entry/2011-02-04T16_35_08-08_00.

You can also download No Holds Barred at http://www.mediafire.com/?3epq2ll3r6g2vv6.

If one link does not work, please try another. The show is in MP3 format, so may take some time to download.

Also, No Holds Barred is available through iTunes at http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=150801513&s=143441.

The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by Ian Carpenter (http://iancarpenter.com).

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

Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. Your #1 source for exciting auction shopping and outstanding deals on just about anything! Top rated, most trusted auction site online. Where do you shop? Beezid.com - Penny Auctions.

American Top Team (http://americantopteam.com). 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 http://americantopteam.com.

The American Sambo Association (http://www.ussambo.com), which is committed to becoming the premier association in the U.S. dedicated to the advancement of Sambo. Sambo is a form of sport, self-defense, and combat established in the former Soviet Union during the early twentieth century. For more information, go to ussambo.com (http://www.ussambo.com).

BJJMart.com (http://bjjmart.com), your premier source for all Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu gear, videos, books, and much more.