NO HOLDS BARRED

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman once again spoke with Bellator MMA bantamweight champion Joe Warren.

His next fight will be a title defense against Marcos Galvao at Bellator 134 on Friday, March 27, at the Winstar World Casino and Resort in Thackerville, Oklahoma, and will be shown live in the U.S. on Spike TV.

Before that, he will be returning to the mat to compete in wrestling, at the third annual Grapple at the Garden.

His team, Team Joe Warren, will face Team Renzo Gracie in an eight-match freestyle wrestling dual meet.

This event takes place Sunday, December 21, at the world's most famous arena, Madison Square Garden, in New York. Joe Warren's opponent will be UFC fighter Scott Jorgensen, who wrestled at Boise State University where he was a three-time Pac-10 Champion. Joe Warren also was a 2006 world champion in Greco-Roman wrestling and a 2000 NCAA Division I All-American wrestler at Michigan.

At Grapple at the Garden, numerous dual meets will take place involving 25 college teams, as well as high school and youth tournaments.

The main event will feature four-time NCAA Div. I champion at Cornell, Kyle Dake of the U.S., competing in Greco-Roman wrestling against Arsen Julfalakyan of Armenia, a 2014 world champion and 2012 Olympic silver medalist in Greco-Roman wrestling. The co-main event will feature two-time world bronze medalist and 2012 Olympian in freestyle wrestling, Tervel Dlagnev of the U.S., against 2004 Olympic gold medalist and five-time world champion in freestyle wrestling, Khadshimourad Gatsalov of Russia, in a freestyle wrestling match.

These two matches and the Team Joe Warren-Team Renzo Gracie dual meet will air live on pay-per-view TV.

We spoke with Joe Warren by phone Sunday.

Commenting on the connections between wrestling and jiu-jitsu, he said, "We're trying to just show that wrestling is the base, is the pedigree of all the rest of these sports and mixed martial arts, jiu-jitsu, whatever you need to go into." He added, "Usually a good wrestler can get the job done."

He continued, "We respect the jiu-jitsu guys and the way they train and their mindset." This event was designed to "mingle" athletes with backgrounds in wrestling, jiu-jitsu, and MMA, as well as two or three of those disciplines.

"This year it kind of blew up even bigger."

His upcoming title defense against Marcos Galvao will be a rematch from Bellator 41 on April 16, 2011. In that fight, a three-round, non-title, catchweight fight. Joe Warren won a unanimous decision, although with some controversy. He explained that in that fight, he had only been fighting professionally for two years, that he has advanced since then, and was then a wrestler doing MMA but now is a mixed martial artist.

We also discussed his plans to be a color commentator, the potential for some type of real professional wrestling to succeed, 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 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", 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.

Payleg.com, which gives you the tools to develop a full-time income by building a home-based business. Teaching success in the home-based business industry since 1988, Payleg.com is available in 190 countries. For more information, go to Payleg.com.

Takedown Wrestling Media, America's wrestling TV and radio shows, which are hosted by founder Scott Casber, and have been airing on radio and Internet for over 17 years. Takedown Media produces a weekly TV program seen in 54 million homes in the U.S. on DirecTV, Dish Network, and cable affiliates around the country, called Takedown TV. Takedown Media also produces the weekly USA Wrestling TV show for the governing body of the sport, USA Wrestling. For more information, go to TakedownRadio.com.

Labels: Bellator, Eddie Goldman, Grapple at Garden, Joe Warren, MMA, No Holds Barred, wrestling

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman once again spoke with Bellator MMA and American Top Team fighter "King" Mo Lawal.

While awaiting word on when his next fight in Bellator will take place, his next competition will not be in a cage but on a mat, in the sport in which he first achieved notoriety: wrestling.

King Mo will be part of Team Joe Warren as they face Team Renzo Gracie in a freestyle wrestling dual meet at the third annual Grapple at the Garden.

This event takes place Sunday, December 21, at the world's most famous arena, Madison Square Garden, in New York. His opponent, as part of this scheduled eight-man dual meet, will be Rolles Gracie of the legendary Gracie family.

At Grapple at the Garden, numerous dual meets will take place involving 25 college teams, as well as high school and youth tournaments.

The main event will feature four-time NCAA Div. I champion at Cornell, Kyle Dake of the U.S., competing in Greco-Roman wrestling against Arsen Julfalakyan of Armenia, a 2014 world champion and 2012 Olympic silver medalist in Greco-Roman wrestling. The co-main event will feature two-time world bronze medalist and 2012 Olympian in freestyle wrestling, Tervel Dlagnev of the U.S., against 2004 Olympic gold medalist and five-time world champion in freestyle wrestling, Khadshimourad Gatsalov of Russia, in a freestyle wrestling match.

We spoke with King Mo by phone Wednesday.

King Mo enters this match with numerous credentials in wrestling. He was a three-time U.S. national champion in freestyle wrestling, a 2003 All-American on the NCAA Div. I national champion Oklahoma State Cowboys, a Real Pro Wrestling champion, and a 2002 Division II national champion. But he also has not wrestled competitively since 2008, when he began fighting in professional MMA.

Asked why he agreed to take this match, he replied, "Why not?" He explained, "I was supposed to do it last year, but I had something pop up, a minor thing pop up, so I couldn't do it. So I'm going to do it this year."

Although his opponent, Rolles Gracie, has some freestyle wrestling experience, is of course known for his Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and is heavier and taller than King Mo, he still expects to win handily. He said he expects to take this match by "tech fall."

We also discussed some of the differences in training for wrestling and MMA, what he hopes to accomplish in 2015 in Bellator, his views on pro wrestler CM Punk becoming a pro MMA fighter, his views on Saturday's Amir Khan-Devon Alexander boxing card in Las Vegas, 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 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", 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.

Payleg.com, which gives you the tools to develop a full-time income by building a home-based business. Teaching success in the home-based business industry since 1988, Payleg.com is available in 190 countries. For more information, go to Payleg.com.

Takedown Wrestling Media, America's wrestling TV and radio shows, which are hosted by founder Scott Casber, and have been airing on radio and Internet for over 17 years. Takedown Media produces a weekly TV program seen in 54 million homes in the U.S. on DirecTV, Dish Network, and cable affiliates around the country, called Takedown TV. Takedown Media also produces the weekly USA Wrestling TV show for the governing body of the sport, USA Wrestling. For more information, go to TakedownRadio.com.

Labels: Bellator, boxing, Eddie Goldman, Grapple at Garden, King Mo, MMA, No Holds Barred, wrestling

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman was interviewed, along with veteran wrestling journalist and author Dan McCool, by Scott Casber, the host of Takedown Wrestling Radio.

This discussion took place on Takedown Wrestling Radio and was recorded right after Monday's media conference call of the Agon Wrestling Championships. That conference call previewed the Agon 2 show, scheduled for Sunday, December 22, in Flint, Michigan.

Our discussion focused not only on the development of the many real professional wrestling events like Agon, but also what changes are needed in general in wrestling to market, promote, and popularize the sport properly, and how many of the efforts in this regard so far have been inadequate at best.

Scott Casber wrote that this was "a fun, informative, and lively roundtable discussion." As is usual when the three of us talk, we told the brutal and beautiful truth.

You can play or download No Holds Barred here and here. If one link doesn't work, please try another.

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", which is also available on iTunes by composer Ian Snow.

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

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.

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/.

Labels: Agon, Dan McCool, Eddie Goldman, FILA, Grapple at Garden, IOC, NCAA, No Holds Barred, Olympics, real professional, Scott Casber, Takedown Radio, Tour ACW, USA Wrestling

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman spoke with Nick Garone, the president of X-Cel Worldwide.

The main topic of our discussion was the second annual Grapple at the Garden.

This event will be held Sunday, December 1, at the world's most famous arena, Madison Square Garden in New York.

For the first time in almost 94 years, when Joe Stecher defeated Earl Caddock on January 30, 1920, to win the world heavyweight wrestling championship, there will be real professional wrestling at Madison Square Garden.

In the main event of Grapple at the Garden 2, four-time NCAA Division I national champion Kyle Dake, the only wrestler to win these championships in four different weight classes, will take on another former NCAA Division I national champion, Bubba Jenkins, who was also a freestyle wrestling junior world champion and is currently a professional MMA fighter. This match will be held under freestyle wrestling rules and is being promoted in association with X-Cel Worldwide.

The co-main event, just announced, is a match between Frankie Edgar, a former UFC lightweight champion and Division I All-American wrestler at Clarion, and Phillipe Nover, who is the current Ring of Combat MMA lightweight champion and will represent the Renzo Gracie Academy.

The card also has numerous college wrestling dual meets, involving Army, Bloomsburg, Boston University, Cornell, Drexel, George Mason, Hofstra, Illinois, Maryland, Penn, Princeton, and Rutgers, as well as four local wrestling programs including Stevens Institute of Technology and NYU in an NCAA Division III matchup, and a match between NCWA men's club teams from Stony Brook University and Westchester Community College.

The card also includes the Renzo Gracie Academy vs. Team Joe Warren, with numerous MMA fighters such as "King" Mo Lawal and Joe Warren himself wrestling; top USA Wrestling senior clubs from the New York Athletic Club and the Titan Mercury Wrestling Club; a team USA vs. team Canada in two women's freestyle wrestling matches with 2012 world champion and three-time world medalist Adeline Gray of the U.S. vs. Canadian World Team member Erica Wiebe, and 2012 world silver medalist Helen Maroulis of the U.S. vs. Canadian World Team member Jillian Gallays; the finals of the Beat The Streets PSAL Thanksgiving Dual Meet Invitational in high school wrestling; and the finals of the inaugural Grapple at the Garden middle school championship, produced in association with the Metropolitan Wrestling Association.

The full card, which of course is subject to change, can be seen here.

We spoke with Nick Garone by phone Sunday.

"One of the things that is so exciting about this opportunity is the venue," he said. "The venue is just second to none. It's the Mecca. It's the most famous arena on earth, in the world. People know it from all around the world, from China, to London, from California to Maine, everybody knows Madison Square Garden."

The event is also aimed at a broad audience.

"We really don't want to attract just wrestling people," he said. "Wrestling fans are going to be into it. Wrestling fans are going to come out and they're going to support. We really want people to appreciate the great athletes that this sport produces."

As for the athletes, he added, "This is giving them an opportunity to make a little money in their own sport, give the sport publicity, and as well be a good will ambassador for their style of wrestling."

We also discussed that while many Division I college wrestling programs have been dropped in recent years, there has been an actual growth of the number of college wrestling programs overall, that the sport of wrestling is growing in the U.S. on the grassroots level, 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 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", which is also available on iTunes by composer Ian Snow.

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

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.

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/.

Labels: Bubba Jenkins, college, Eddie Goldman, Frankie Edgar, freestyle, Grapple at Garden, Kyle Dake, Madison Square Garden, Nick Garone, No Holds Barred, real professional wrestling, X-Cel Worldwide

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman spoke with the only college wrestler ever to win four NCAA Division I national championships in four different weight classes, Kyle Dake.

Now that his college wrestling career is over, besides aiming to wrestle in the Olympics, he is very much involved in many aspects of the sport of wrestling. He is currently serving as a volunteer assistant coach at his alma mater, Cornell, as well as appearing at various wrestling events and wrestling camps, and preparing to compete in international wrestling competitions.

He will be returning to action in a freestyle wrestling match in the main event of the second annual Grapple at the Garden on Sunday, December 1, at the world's most famous arena, Madison Square Garden in New York. His opponent will be another former NCAA Division I national champion, Bubba Jenkins, who was also a freestyle wrestling junior world champion and is currently a professional MMA fighter.

We spoke with Kyle Dake by phone Tuesday.

"It's a great time to try to be a professional wrestler, because there's so many opportunities," he said. "It's unfortunate that when I say professional wrestler, 99 percent of the population thinks of WWE, WWF, things like that."

He continued, "I think of myself as a professional, I really do. It's my job to be the best that I can be. I don't think of myself any different than, say, a UFC fighter, or a basketball player, or a baseball player. I'm trying to reach the peak of wrestling."

We also discussed his full-time training at Cornell, the need for wrestling to adapt to what fans want to see, his preference for remaining in wrestling rather than transitioning to MMA or grappling, and much, 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 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", which is also available on iTunes by composer Ian Snow.

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.

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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/.

Labels: college, Cornell, Eddie Goldman, freestyle, Grapple at Garden, Kyle Dake, Madison Square Garden, No Holds Barred, real professional wrestling

Labels: college, Eddie Goldman, Grapple at Garden, Kerry McCoy, Madison Square Garden, Maryland, MSG, NCAA, No Holds Barred, PSAL, wrestling