Monday, June 16, 2008
No Holds Barred: MMA in New York, Grappling in MMA, EliteXC, Dream, Holm-Sanders, Daniel Cormier and Olympic Wrestling Trials
On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman begins with a highly-charged commentary on what has been happening with the attempt to legalize mixed martial arts in New York State, how both the mixed martial arts and mainstream media have once again offered distorted accounts of the history and nature of the sport and what has been occurring in this latest episode, and what must be done in New York both to legalize the sport and protect the rights of the fighters and provide them with the same protections already afforded boxers.
Next, we draw some lessons from the June 13 Holly Holm-Mary Jo Sanders fight billed as determining the top pound-for-pound women's boxer, the June 14 EliteXC mixed martial arts show in Hawaii, and the June 15 Dream 4 mixed martial arts card in Yokohama, Japan. Once again, the issue of the pivotal role of grappling in the mixed martial arts is addressed.
This past weekend, the 2008 U.S. Olympic Wrestling Trials took place in Las Vegas. We address the crazy rules put in place by FILA, the international wrestling federation.
Right after his victory at the Olympic Trials, we spoke by phone with Daniel Cormier, who will represent the U.S. at 96 kg/211.5 lbs. in freestyle wrestling. He is also expected to be part of a group of Olympic wrestlers who will be visiting New York this coming Thursday and Friday to make fan and media appearances.
Mixed martial arts, wrestling, and boxing, all with a no-holds- barred flavor -- now where else can you get all that?
To listen to No Holds Barred, click here or here and just press the play button on the player.
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:
IFL, the International Fight 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: boxing, Daniel Cormier, Dream, Eddie Goldman, EliteXC, grappling, Holly Holm, IFL, Jay Larkin, KJ Noons, Mary Jo Sanders, mixed martial arts, MMA, New York, No Holds Barred, Olympic Wrestling Trials
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
No Holds Barred: KJ Noons, Yves Edwards, Muhsin Corbbrey, Mary Jo Sanders, Holly Holm, Jay Larkin
On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman begins by commenting again on the growth of the sport of roller derby in the U.S.
This Saturday, June 14, EliteXC has another major televised mixed martial arts show. This one will be shown on Showtime in the U.S. and be held in the Blaisdell Arena in Honolulu, Hawaii.
In the main event, EliteXC lightweight champion KJ Noons will defend his title against the veteran Yves Edwards. In the co-feature, the versatile and controversial lightweight Nick Diaz will take on Muhsin Corbbrey, who has also been a pro boxer.
On a media teleconference call this week, we spoke with KJ Noons, Yves Edwards, and Muhsin Corbbrey about their fights.
This Friday, June 13, in a bout being billed as for pound-for-pound supremacy in women's boxing, welterweight champion Holly Holm (21-1-2, 6 KOs) will fight unbeaten middleweight champion Mary Jo Sanders (25-0, 8 KOs) in the ten-round main event for the vacant IFBA world junior middleweight belt. This fight headlines a women's boxing card which will be shown on pay-per-view television in North America and on SecondsOut.TV elsewhere.
We spoke with both champions, Mary Jo Sanders and Holly Holm, on a media teleconference call this week, about what to expect in this fight.
In disappointing but not entirely unexpected news, the International Fight League (IFL) announced this week that they are cancelling their planned August 15 show at the Meadowlands. In both a news release and on a media teleconference call, IFL CEO Jay Larkin explained this decision and outlined their business plans.
On that call, we discussed the problem of the absence of a major television deal for IFL with Jay Larkin, and we also play his opening comments from that call.
To listen to No Holds Barred, click here or here and just press the play button on the player.
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:
IFL, the International Fight 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: boxing, Eddie Goldman, EliteXC, Holly Holm, IFL, International Fight League, Jay Larkin, KJ Noons, Mary Jo Sanders, mixed martial arts, MMA, Muhsin Corbbrey, No Holds Barred, Showtime, Yves Edwards
Monday, February 11, 2008
SecondsOut Radio: Kelly Pavlik, Jermain Taylor, Ozell Nelson, More on Women's Boxing
On this week's edition of SecondsOut Radio, host Eddie Goldman begins by reviewing some important fights of the past week. Discussed are the successful defense by Holly Holm of her IFBA welterweight title over Belinda Laracuente, the entertaining draw between Chevelle Hallback and Melissa Hernandez for the still-vacant IFBA lightweight title, and the surprising upset by Carlos Quintana over the previously-unbeaten Paul Williams by unanimous decision to capture his WBO welterweight title.
We next focus on a highly-anticipated rematch coming up this Saturday, February 16, in Las Vegas. When Jermain Taylor, then undefeated and the middleweight champion of the world, first fought Kelly Pavlik last Sept. 29 in Atlantic City, he was a clear favorite going into that bout. Taylor hurt and dropped Pavlik in the second round of that fight, but could not finish him. Pavlik regrouped and went on to drop, and stop, Taylor in the seventh round, winning the fight and the title with a thunderous TKO.
Now the rematch is at hand, although it will be at a catch weight of 166 pounds and not for the middleweight title. Still, the legacy of both men is on the line, and the future of their careers will be in large part determined by the outcome of this fight, as they each vow to be the decisive winner this time out.
At a prefight news conference in New York, we spoke with the middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik (32-0, 29 KOs) about this rematch. We spoke with Jermain Taylor (27-1-1, 17 KOs) on a media teleconference call about his approach to this fight. And we spoke with Taylor's trainer, Ozell Nelson, about what changes their team plans to make in this rematch with Pavlik, and about Taylor's engaging manner. This fight will be telecast in the U.S. on HBO Pay-Per-View.
It is free to listen to SecondsOut Radio, but you must register to gain access to it. Just click here, and listen, learn, and enjoy.
Labels: Belinda Laracuente, boxing, Carlos Quintana, Chevelle Hallback, Eddie Goldman, HBO, Holly Holm, Jermain Taylor, Kelly Pavlik, Melissa Hernandez, Ozell Nelson, Paul Williams, SecondsOut Radio
