NO HOLDS BARRED

Twenty years ago today, on October 11, 1997, the pioneering grappling event known as "The Contenders" was held. John Perretti was the main organizer of it, and we interviewed him on No Holds Barred about it in December 2012. Here is the original information on that show, as well as links to that original podcast:

From 2012 - No Holds Barred: John Perretti on His Pioneering 1997 Grappling Event, The Contenders

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman once again speaks with lifelong martial artist, former UFC and Battlecade Extreme Fighting matchmaker, TV commentator, and our senior correspondent, John Perretti.

On October 11, 1997, before the major no-gi grappling championships of today, John Perretti was the main organizer of a pioneering grappling event known simply as "The Contenders". The format was a seven-match card, held in Sioux City, Iowa, pitting a team of various martial artists against a team of elite U.S. wrestlers. Victory in each match could come by submission or, if there was none, judges' decision. There was no striking permitted, and the matches were held in a cage. The martial artists won, four matches to three, including three wins by submissions, but controversy ensued during and after the event about the rules and decisions.

This ended up being a money-losing, one-shot deal, because attendance was sparse and pay-per-view buys were minuscule. Still, it is considered a pioneering event because its concept helped inspire the numerous no-gi grappling championships which followed it.

Calling the event his "brainchild," John Perretti said in this interview, which was recorded by Skype Sunday, "I am to blame for all the problems with it." But he added, quoting a widely-held view about this event, "It's the greatest show no one ever saw."

We thus discussed what happened at this historic event, many of whose matches can be seen on YouTube, some of the lessons for today, and much more.

You can play or download No Holds Barred at here and here. If one link does not 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.

MMA World Expo. The mixed martial arts community comes to New York City February 16 and 17, 2013, for the fourth annual MMA World Expo, featuring an amateur MMA tournament, grappling, MMA fighters, seminars with world-class trainers, vendors, panel discussions, and much more. The MMA World Expo takes place Saturday, February 16, and Sunday, February 17, 2013, at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City.

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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: Contenders, Eddie Goldman, grappling, John Perretti, mixed martial arts, MMA, No Holds Barred, submission, wrestling

by Eddie Goldman

There has suddenly been renewed interest in an obscure 1947 short film produced for the then-called U.S. Department of War called Don't Be a Sucker! The basic theme of this film is anti-racist and anti-fascist, and exposes those who would like to bring Nazism to America.

While this 70-year-old film is surely quite dated, and its message severely limited by the prevailing prejudices of the time, it nevertheless has been reposted online by many following the recent riot by various fascists, Nazis, and white supremacists in Charlottesville, Virginia.

The film gained even wider attention when Trump declared that the fascist rioters included "very fine people" -- exactly the kind that the U.S. War Department warned against in this film.

While fascism, white supremacy, etc., may be the real big cons, the combat sports world is full of its own, however lesser the consequences may be. The biggest con today, which is apparently getting lots of modern-day suckers to empty their wallets, is the upcoming farcical mismatch between Mayweather and McGregor. And true to many cons, this one has utilized racism, misogyny, anti-LGBT bigotry, and vulgar hysteria to try to peddle its damaged goods.

Some of the best minds in boxing and the combat sports, each with many decades of experience in them, have already commented on and deconstructed this scam. There is thus no need to repeat what has been said and written, nor any desire on our parts to revisit an issue which we would have been quite content to ignore and leave to those either who are part of this con job, or who have no knowledge or understanding of how they are being played for suckers.

So if you haven't already checked these out, here are the links to these articles and podcasts:

Floyd Mayweather, Jr. Vs. Conor McGregor Is The Second-Biggest Possible Fuck-You, by Charles Farrell.

Mayweather-McGregor: "The Sting", by Frank Lotierzo.

No Holds Barred: John Perretti on the Mayweather-McGregor Scam.

No Holds Barred: The Disastrous Mayweather-McGregor Con Continues.

Labels: boxing, Charles Farrell, con, Conor McGregor, Don't Be A Sucker, Eddie Goldman, Floyd Mayweather, Frank Lotierzo, John Perretti, MMA, No Holds Barred

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman once again spoke with lifelong martial artist, former UFC and Battlecade Extreme Fighting matchmaker, TV commentator, and our senior correspondent, John Perretti.

Our topic was the absurd boxing match planned for August 26 between the recent top pound-for-pound boxer, Floyd Mayweather, who is 49-0, and UFC fighter Conor McGregor, who is 0-0 in boxing.

We spoke with John Perretti by Skype Thursday.

While most people in boxing circles see this fight as a disgraceful spectacle and money grab with zero chance for McGregor to win, there are many people in MMA circles, who have little or no familiarity with boxing, who actually are true believers that it could be a competitive fight. It was mainly to dispel such notions that we focused our discussion.

"The beauty of boxing is in the rules," he said, "because you cannot hit from the waist down. With not hitting from the waist down, that creates the ability of somebody like Sugar Ray Robinson to be able to do the things that he could do in the ring because he had the mobility of his legs and he had no worries about anybody attacking his legs.

"Now that's where mixed martial arts and kickboxing change the world. And when you land elbows on a guy in boxing, it's illegal. But when you land elbows on a guy in muay Thai, it's perfectly legal.

"So I don't know what this is about," he continued, "but I will tell you that if this goes more than six rounds, there's a reason for it, and it's not because of the prowess of Conor McGregor."

We discussed the possibility that "something odd" may occur in this spectacle, why most boxing people see this fight as a joke but many MMA people don't, the ignorance of boxing and misinformation spread about it by many MMA commentators, why the Nevada commission approved a fight between 49-0 and 0-0 boxers, and much, much more.

You can play or download No Holds Barred here and here. If one link does not 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 sponsored by:

The 2017 Frank Gotch World Catch Wrestling Tournament. On Saturday, July 15, 2017, 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 (CWA) and co-sponsored by City of Humboldt Chamber of Commerce, Sprout Living (official protein powder of the CWA), and Ultima Replenisher (official electrolyte drink of the CWA), the event will take place at Humboldt High School. For more information, go to CatchWrestlingAlliance.com.

Skullz Double-End Bags, the perfect bag for your combat sports training. Skullz Double-End Bags provide a realistic striking target, and help improve timing, distance, and hand and eye coordination. Hang it and hit it right out of the box! No pump required. For more information, go to SkullzDeBags.com.

USA Combat Wrestling, the official U.S. governing body for combat wrestling and U.S. delegate of the International Combat Wrestling Federation (FICW), which was founded by the legendary wrestler Noriaki Kiguchi of Japan. For more information, go to CombatWrestling.us.

Labels: boxing, Conor McGregor, Eddie Goldman, Floyd Mayweather, John Perretti, mixed martial arts, MMA, No Holds Barred, scam, spectacle

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman once again spoke with lifelong martial artist, former UFC and Battlecade Extreme Fighting matchmaker, TV commentator, and our senior correspondent, John Perretti.

Mixed martial arts was drawn into a recent controversy involving Meryl Streep, who John Perretti regards as "the best living actress we have." On January 8, 2017, Streep was presented the Cecil B. DeMille Award for Lifetime Achievement during the Golden Globes awards TV show. During her acceptance speech, she strongly denounced the racist, xenophobic, anti-Muslim, and anti-immigrant program of Donald Trump and defended the arts. She said, "Hollywood is crawling with outsiders and foreigners, and if you kick us all out, you'll have nothing to watch except for football and mixed martial arts, which are not arts."

It was her statement that sports like American football and MMA "are not arts" that elicited many negative responses from people in the MMA community, and not only from Trump backers.

There is perhaps no one better suited than John Perretti to discuss this controversy because of his background. Besides being a pioneer in MMA who developed the name "mixed martial arts" and the basic structure of weight classes and rounds which is still used today, he was a football coach, is a painter and sculptor, and was for a decade a professor at the School of Visual Arts in New York. In addition, he has extensive film and TV experience, both as an actor, stuntman, and stunt coordinator. He is presently finishing work on his memoirs.

To discuss this, we spoke with John Perretti, who is now in Japan, by phone Wednesday Japan time/Tuesday New York time.

While at one time he believed that the martial arts were an "art form", he said, "I had no intention of mixed martial arts, including Extreme Fighting ... to ever be more than a great sport. I never thought of it as art at all because I come from a different world. I'm a Martist, in a sense, because I come from a very different place."

He continued, "Not all those things that congeal into a sport like it is today, which is different than when I was involved in it, could be said to be artsy."

A key difference is the centrality of violence, both for sport and film.

"It's hard to separate out mixed martial arts as an art form if it's all about violence," he said.

We discussed the devolution of MMA in recent years, especially in the U.S., and the growth of the emphasis on a brawling style of fighting which some have called "professional toughman".

Yet even a violent sport can have many artistic elements. For boxing, he said, "The rules make it artistic."

We discussed a lot more on these topics, including how to interpet what Meryl Streep might have and might not have meant, kickboxing and leg kicks, art and sports in general including baseball and cricket, and much more.

We also open with a commentary on the issue of art and sport, in light of the contributions made by C. L. R. James in what many regard as one of the best if not the best sports book ever written, Beyond A Boundary.

You can play or download No Holds Barred here and here. If one link does not 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 sponsored by:

The Boxing Tribune, boxing's independent media. Unlike every other major boxing website, The Boxing Tribune is not funded or owned by promoters, managers, or networks, and is fully independent and free to write the truth. For independent boxing news and views, go to TheBoxingTribune.com.

Skullz Double-End Bags, the perfect bag for your combat sports training. Skullz Double-End Bags provide a realistic striking target, and help improve timing, distance, and hand and eye coordination. Hang it and hit it right out of the box! No pump required. For more information, go to SkullzDeBags.com.

USA Combat Wrestling, the official U.S. governing body for combat wrestling and U.S. delegate of the International Combat Wrestling Federation (FICW), which was founded by the legendary wrestler Noriaki Kiguchi of Japan. For more information, go to CombatWrestling.us.

Labels: art, Eddie Goldman, John Perretti, Meryl Streep, mixed martial arts, MMA, No Holds Barred

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman once again spoke with lifelong martial artist, former UFC and Battlecade Extreme Fighting matchmaker, TV commentator, and our senior correspondent, John Perretti.

This is another in a series of discussions celebrating the tenth anniversary of this No Holds Barred podcast, which began in March 2006. These interviews will focus both on the legacy and issues raised over the years on this show, as well as contemporary issues and the future of the combat sports and martial arts.

We spoke with John Perretti by phone Tuesday.

Besides having been both a kickboxer as well as a grappler with a black belt from Gene LeBell, John Perretti was a pioneer in mixed martial arts. He devised the modern format of MMA, including the use of weight classes, rounds, and fingerless gloves, as matchmaker with Battlecade Extreme Fighting and later UFC. He even first used the term "mixed martial arts" in the 1980s, before the revival of professional MMA in the 1990s. But when UFC changed hands in 2001, he quit that organization and moved on. And he is not at all happy with what MMA has become.

"I did not see this being the way it is today, before Barnum and Bailey bought it," he said, mockingly referring to Zuffa, UFC's parent company.

"I did not see this fan contingent base being such an odd one, a narrow one." And he decried what he called the "new culture" in MMA today.

We discussed the devolution of MMA in the U.S., why it was accurate to argue in the 1990s that MMA was indeed safer than sports like boxing and college football, and why that is no longer the case.

Grappling has also always been extremely important to him, especially with his own experience of having suffered numerous concussions and some memory loss from his fighting days. In 1997, he attempted to develop a professional grappling pay-per-view event known as "The Contenders". That show, however, was a financial failure, and folded after one event. The question arises, with so many more people training and competing in many styles of grappling and wrestling these two decades later, could some type of professional grappling or real wrestling event succeed now?

"I caution everyone," he said. "I caution everyone that anything is within the clutches of corruption."

After referencing the many corruption scandals in sumo wrestling in Japan, he emphasized, "Anything, no matter how much you want it to be, a solid future for a concussion-less sport of pugilism, is susceptible to a circus coming into town."

We discussed more on concussions and head trauma in combat sports, the techniques of grappling and striking in MMA, some of the history behind the New York State government banning MMA in 1997 and now being set to re-legalize it this year, his being written out of history, his forthcoming memoirs, 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: concussions, corruption, Eddie Goldman, grappling, John Perretti, MMA, No Holds Barred, tenth anniversary, wrestling

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman once again spoke with lifelong martial artist, former UFC and Battlecade Extreme Fighting matchmaker, TV commentator, and our senior correspondent, John Perretti.

Our focus was the untimely passing of the two-time NCAA wrestling champion and former UFC heavyweight champion Kevin Randleman, who passed away February 11 at the age of 44. John Perretti was the UFC matchmaker for most of his fights there and during his title reign.

We spoke with John Perretti Tuesday Japan time (Monday New York time).

It is important to examine what we know and what lessons can be drawn from this sad event so we can try to avoid future such tragedies. While we mourn Kevin Randleman's death and celebrate his life, we also must try to get to the truth. But the details of his passing, and exactly how and why it happened now, are still not completely known. News reports about it have been vague, without clear sources, and even contradictory. But we do know how he lived, and the dangers that posed for him.

"He was a specimen, but he would have been on my top ten list of guys to go early," John Perretti said.

"He burned twice as bright, so to speak.

"Also, I don't know what he was doing as of late, but guys of that kind of physicality have a short half-life. And I'm not sure where he was mentally, and I can't speculate on that. I know how difficult it can be to age, although he was only 44."

But, he added, when he heard the news of his sudden passing, "I wasn't at all shocked."

We discussed the many health problems Kevin Randleman faced, including battles against staph infections, as well as being suspended by the Nevada State Athletic Commission in 2007 for providing a fake urine sample for a drug test.

For many years in MMA, John Perretti said, use of performance-enhancing and other drugs was rampant.

"Conservatively, 85 percent of all fighters during my time period and prior were on drugs," he said.

"Not just fooling around drugs, but performance-enhancement drugs. And I know a lot of the dealers who dealt, who were also fighters, personally. So I know the list, and I know from personal exposure, that, I would say that 50 percent of the guys that I dealt with, I've seen them using performance-enhancement drugs. This was a situation that was normal, and this was a situation that was prevalent."

While we still need more information as to why Kevin Randleman passed, we were able to discuss more generally the issue of safety in MMA. From the birth of modern MMA in North America in the 1990s, many people argued for the sport's legalization and recognition as being legitimate by saying that it was safer than established sports including boxing and even American football, and thus should also be legalized.

That was true in those days, said John Perretti, but today it is "not so," and we discussed why.

Still, what role these factors played in the death of Kevin Randleman, if any, is not yet known.

We also discussed some highlights of Kevin Randleman's career including his excellence in college wrestling and controversial loss to Bas Rutten in UFC, the growing awareness of the perils of head trauma and concussions in sports, 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 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: Eddie Goldman, John Perretti, Kevin Randleman, MMA, No Holds Barred, wrestling

(Photo of Adrien Broner and Khabib Allakhverdiev by Stephanie Trapp/Showtime. Photo of Lucas Matthysse and Viktor Postol by Tom Hogan/Golden Boy Promotions.)

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman once again spoke with lifelong martial artist, former UFC and Battlecade Extreme Fighting matchmaker, TV commentator, and our senior correspondent, John Perretti.

We spoke with him by Skype Tuesday Japan time (Monday New York time).

John Perretti's fighting career mainly focused on kickboxing, where he took "a lot of damage," and also included competition in karate and taekwondo, as well as rigorous training in grappling, judo, and wrestling, he said. This resulted in "16 verifiable concussions" and a few more "accidental" ones along the way.

After he had retired as an active fighter but still was training and coaching, at about the age of 40 he started having cognitive problems.

He illustrated what this meant for him: "For myself, that was the real beginning of not knowing where I was, even though I was probably 50-60 feet down a driveway in the Hampton Bays, and getting lost, I mean physically lost, and having to pull the car over and not know where I was for an hour or two."

As time went on, he said, having scar tissue on the brain and other brain injuries made him susceptible to other diseases. And he knows many fighters and ex-fighters with similar problems.

What upsets him to no end today is seeing parents encourage and even steer their children into training and competing in sports where inflicting head trauma resulting in brain injuries is common and often legal within the sport's rules.

"Parents have to take responsibility," he argued, when it comes to having their children participate in sports like rugby, American football, boxing, and MMA.

We discussed how many parents are attached to a "macho" culture which ignores health and safety, why he recommends only sports which are "low impact" and have a relatively low chance of head trauma, how even non-contact sports today are becoming "really physical," 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:

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: boxing, concussions, Eddie Goldman, grappling, John Perretti, kickboxing, MMA, No Holds Barred, wrestling

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman once again spoke with lifelong martial artist, former UFC and Battlecade Extreme Fighting matchmaker, TV commentator, and our senior correspondent, John Perretti.

Our main subject was a sad one, the passing of one of the true pioneers in the sport once known as no-holds-barred fighting (NHB) and now known as mixed martial arts, Phyllis Lee. But we also used this occasion to celebrate her remarkable life.

Coming from a background as a pro wrestler, Phyllis Lee was one of the first fight managers in the earliest days of MMA. All over the world, she was known as the First Lady of NHB. Besides getting fighters in North American organizations such as UFC and Battlecade Extreme Fighting, she had a particularly close relationship for many years with the Pancrase organization of Japan.

After a bout with pneumonia, Phyllis Lee passed away January 18, 2015, at age 76, while in her sleep and hospitalized. A memorial service was held January 31, at her church in West Unity, Ohio.

We spoke with John Perretti, who is now in Japan, by phone Monday (Sunday New York time).

He decried what he called attempts for the history of MMA to be "backfilled" by people who were "not there" in the 1990s and early 2000s when Phyllis Lee was particularly prominent in the sport. Calling Phyllis Lee "a great human being", he said she "has to be remembered for her devotion to, whatever, one almost-sport and two, three real sports. She did incredible things as a woman, and she did incredible things as an individual, and she was usually a joy to be with. And I'll miss her tremendously."

We discussed some of the highlights of her life, but also how some fighters whom she represented were accused of breaking their contracts with her. He said, "I don't understand why people did what they did to her."

We also discussed what he called a "unique time" in the formative days of modern MMA, why "the time was about camaraderie", some of our experiences involving the April 1996 arrests of eight participants at Battlecade Extreme Fighting 2 (including John Perretti) in Montreal, 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: Battlecade Extreme Fighting, Eddie Goldman, First Lady of NHB, John Perretti, MMA, No Holds Barred, Pancrase, Phyllis Lee, UFC, wrestling

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman once again spoke with lifelong martial artist, former UFC and Battlecade Extreme Fighting matchmaker, TV commentator, and our senior correspondent, John Perretti.

Our subject was not the usual critique of what is going on in the combat sports, but the death of 43-year-old Eric Garner on July 17, 2014, in Staten Island, New York. Mr. Garner was allegedly selling loose cigarettes, and was approached by police officers. After being put by police officer Daniel Pantaleo in what many have described as a chokehold, Mr. Garner was pushed to the sidewalk and jumped on by other officers. Even after Mr. Garner repeatedly yelled "I can't breathe!" the group of police officers continued to push his head and body on the concrete. He then lost consciousness, and died soon after. A bystander shot a cell phone video of this incident, and it was widely posted online and shown on TV.

The official report of the New York medical examiner stated that compression of the neck and chest, along with his positioning on the ground while being restrained by police, caused his death, and that it was a "homicide." Also listed as contributing factors towards the death of Mr. Garner, who weighed in excess of 300 pounds, were bronchial asthma, heart disease, obesity, and hypertensive cardiovascular disease.

But on December 3, a Staten Island grand jury decided not to indict Pantaleo, who is white, or anyone else, in the death of Eric Garner, who was Black. This resulted in mass demonstrations around the U.S. and many other places protesting the killing of yet another unarmed Black man by white police officers. Many called this killing a "murder" and demanded justice, which they felt was not coming from the legal system.

In discussing this case, besides his expertise in martial arts and combat sports holds such as the many types of chokes, John Perretti offers something else as well. While many know about his credentials as a pioneer in MMA, grappling, and the martial arts and combat sports, it is not as well-known that, among the many facets of his life, he was an auxiliary police officer for ten years in New York's 13th Precinct. He thus brings a unique perspective to analyzing this situation.

We spoke with John Perretti by Skype Friday while he was in Japan (Thursday New York time).

"I feel that it was unjust, and not necessary," he said of the police tactics used against Mr Garner.

We discussed why the hold used against Mr. Garner was not the same as a martial arts chokehold, but more of a "clutch" which crushed the larynx. While different from the rear naked choke or choke sleeper seen in combat sports and martial arts, the move used by the police officer here did seem to fit the definition of the type of chokehold which is supposedly banned by the NYPD (New York Police Department).

We discussed the training of police officers, why he did not see the "physicality" which exists today among NYPD officers in the 1980s, why the hold used in this case was not a headlock, the growing problems and confrontations in the U.S. between police and the people, 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: Black Lives Matter, choke, chokehold, death, Eddie Goldman, Eric Garner, John Perretti, No Holds Barred, NYPD, police

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman once again spoke with lifelong martial artist, former UFC and Battlecade Extreme Fighting matchmaker, TV commentator, and our senior correspondent, John Perretti.

This is the 1000th show for No Holds Barred as a podcast, and we used this occasion to discuss the past, present, and future of the combat sports.

We spoke with John Perretti, who is in Kyoto, Japan, by Skype Wednesday (Tuesday, New York time).

"You've done a magnificent job, and there's nobody more informed than you. And we disagree not very frequently. Congratulations," he said.

We mainly focused on not only what has gone wrong over the past two decades and more in the combat sports, but what must be done right in the present and future. That, of course, led us directly into a discussion of the prospects for various styles of grappling and wrestling to succeed as popular spectator sports.

Referring to his landmark, if financially unsuccessful, grappling show in October 1997 called "The Contenders", he still noted the potential for grappling and wrestling, including catch wrestling, events.

"Being someone who promoted a catch wrestling-style with 'The Contenders', and the precursor of Abu Dhabi [Combat Club World Submission Fighting Championships], I've always thought that it was a viable alternative," he said.

And despite the fact that "it wasn't promoted properly and all the mistakes that I made that we've spoken about a thousand times, it did appear, even though no one watched it. It was real."

We discussed some of the historical lessons of our experiences in the combat sports, how catch wrestling has to grow while not being "absorbed" into the sleazy world that has ruined and corrupted so many of the combat sports, what type of organization catch wrestling will need, the need for rules which provide compelling action while avoiding the "snooze factor", 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.

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: 1000th show, catch, Contenders, Eddie Goldman, grappling, John Perretti, MMA, No Holds Barred, wrestling

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman spoke with lifelong martial artist, former UFC and Battlecade Extreme Fighting matchmaker, TV commentator, and our senior correspondent, John Perretti, and Raul Ramirez of the Catch Wrestling Alliance.

They met in the Los Angeles area Wednesday, March 19, to discuss the Catch Wrestling Alliance International Invitational: The Rebirth. This event will be held Saturday, June 7, in Collins Court in the John Wooden Center on the campus of UCLA, at 221 Westwood Plaza, Los Angeles, California 90095-1612.

We spoke with both John Perretti and Raul Ramirez by phone right after their meeting.

"As I perceive it now, I think he's got some great ideas," said John Perretti, "actually some continuations of some things that I thought about with 'The Contenders'."

"The Contenders" was John Perretti's pioneering submission wrestling event held October 11, 1997, pitting a team of various martial artists, mainly from Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, against a team of elite U.S. wrestlers. In that event, victory in each match could come by submission or, if there was none, judges' decision. There was no striking permitted, and the matches were held in a cage. In the June 7 catch wrestling event, however, the rules are different.

"I love his idea of a one twenty-minute round and that there's no need for judges," John Perretti said. "I think that you have to win by submission or a pin." He also said he likes the mat surface which will be used, and the ability of the wrestlers to wear shoes.

Speaking about how the preparations are going for the June 7 event, Raul Ramirez said, "Basically, we just have to create value. We got to put on a great show and we got to have the great wrestlers."

He noted, "We already have that. We're already working with the best schools in the world who are dedicated catch wrestling schools." He added, "We have a good value product that people are going to want to see."

In the works will be a presentation of an award in John Perretti's name at the Catch Wrestling Alliance International Invitational, with details still being finalized.

We also discussed how wrestlers from other styles and practitioners of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and no-gi grappling can adapt to these rules, why pins will eliminate boring guard pulls, the evolution of catch wrestling, safety issues, how the absence of striking increases the appeal of this combat sport, 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:

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.

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: BJJ, catch wrestling, Contenders, Eddie Goldman, grappling, John Perretti, No Holds Barred, pin, Raul Ramirez, submission

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman reposts a fascinating interview from June 2010, as usual ahead of its time, aimed at thinking people, which focuses on the culture and philosophy of mixed martial arts.

Here is the original description of this interview:

Our senior correspondent and colleague, the legendary former matchmaker and world champion kickboxer John Perretti, spoke on Monday, June 28, with Scott Ross, a pioneer in the field of digital media, the founder and former chairman and CEO of Digital Domain, and a fan of mixed martial arts.

Having worked for three decades at the center of the mainstream entertainment industry, Scott Ross has become disturbed at the current direction of the culture of mixed martial arts. "It's lost its direction in terms of its intellectual and philosophical approach," he said. He cited the devolution of the sport and the absence of any philosophy in it today, and decried that it has become just about "beating people up." It is marketed to people "who accept whatever Madison Avenue serves up," some of whom behaved with "a sense of redneck-Nazism," and is no longer about sport, but "about specter." With the culture of this sport "way out of hand," something, he argued, must be done to change it.

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.

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: devolution, Eddie Goldman, John Perretti, mixed martial arts, MMA, No Holds Barred, Scott Ross

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman reposts a show from December 2012 with lifelong martial artist, former UFC and Battlecade Extreme Fighting matchmaker, TV commentator, and our senior correspondent, John Perretti.

The focus of that discussion was on his 1997 grappling event known as "The Contenders". With the more recent revival and growth of real professional wrestling and catch wrestling, as well as many grappling events, the lessons of what happened with "The Contenders" are particularly poignant today.

Here is the original description of this show:

On October 11, 1997, before the major no-gi grappling championships of today, John Perretti was the main organizer of a pioneering grappling event known simply as "The Contenders". The format was a seven-match card, held in Sioux City, Iowa, pitting a team of various martial artists against a team of elite U.S. wrestlers. Victory in each match could come by submission or, if there was none, judges' decision. There was no striking permitted, and the matches were held in a cage. The martial artists won, four matches to three, including three wins by submissions, but controversy ensued during and after the event about the rules and decisions.

This ended up being a money-losing, one-shot deal, because attendance was sparse and pay-per-view buys were minuscule. Still, it is considered a pioneering event because its concept helped inspire the numerous no-gi grappling championships which followed it.

Calling the event his "brainchild," John Perretti said in this interview, which was recorded by Skype Sunday, "I am to blame for all the problems with it." But he added, quoting a widely-held view about this event, "It's the greatest show no one ever saw."

We thus discussed what happened at this historic event, many of whose matches can be seen on YouTube, some of the lessons for today, 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:

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.

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: Contenders, Eddie Goldman, grappling, John Perretti, mixed martial arts, MMA, No Holds Barred, submission, wrestling

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman once again spoke with the ex-pugilist, lifelong martial artist, former UFC and Battlecade Extreme Fighting matchmaker, TV commentator, and our senior correspondent, John Perretti.

We spoke with him by phone Monday.

With the growing awareness of the health and safety dangers in MMA, a sport in which he played a key role in establishing, he has now revised his original view that MMA is safer than boxing.

"Quite frankly, we were wrong," he said. "I sense that the tide is turning." With more and more MMA fights, he argued that there is now more of a basis for making a judgment on this issue.

"If we really start looking at it outside of the mixed martial arts media universe, and we start to have autopsies, we're going to find out some really nasty things about repetitive trauma and vertebral concussion and compression and how that affects someone in later stages of life," he said.

As for what can be changed in MMA to make it safer and more acceptable, he spoke of eliminating what he calls "the anvil effect," where fighters get struck in the head while on the ground.

"For MMA, I think one of the greatest catalysts for improving the health and welfare of the animal involved is to not allow any blows of any kind to the head on the ground."

We discussed these issues in depth, as well as the lawsuit by over 4,500 players against the National Football League over covering up the real health dangers of playing American football, how the health of some aging former MMA fighters is deteriorating, what the future might hold for sports with repetitive head trauma, why he is happy that his sons are not involved with any martial arts but are competing in weightlifting, injuries and bad training techniques in sports like grappling and wrestling, 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:

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: anvil effect, ban head blows, Battlecade Extreme Fighting, concussions, CTE, Eddie Goldman, football, grappling, John Perretti, mixed martial arts, MMA, NFL, No Holds Barred, UFC, wrestling

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman once again spoke with the ex-pugilist, lifelong martial artist, former UFC and Battlecade Extreme Fighting matchmaker, TV commentator, and our senior correspondent, John Perretti.

With the 20th anniversary of the formation of the UFC, a lot of rubbish is being put out. We spoke with John Perretti by phone Tuesday to counter that.

"20 years ago something occurred," he said. "A little kid in his pajamas got to wrestle a bunch of boneheads and beat them and create a sport. At the same time, Extreme Fighting was creating a different kind of sport. And then the metamorphosis of Extreme Fighting and the UFC occurred. How that happened, I guess, I was there. I remember what happened. Others do not."

He continued, "I really don't have anything to celebrate about what has occurred after my departure - my intentional departure, let me state, again, for the record."

We discussed how most of the people writing about and commenting on MMA history "have no credibility," how many of them are promoting "Hitlerian deceit," why Senator John McCain is a "hypocrite," the mistakes which were made in the early days of UFC and Extreme Fighting, the growing problems of concussions and head injuries in MMA, the many problems facing those who are trying to create real professional grappling and wrestling organizations, 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:

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: Battlecade Extreme Fighting, concussions, Contenders, CTE, Eddie Goldman, grappling, history, John Perretti, mixed martial arts, MMA, No Holds Barred, UFC, wrestling

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman once again spoke with the ex-pugilist, lifelong martial artist, former UFC and Battlecade Extreme Fighting matchmaker, TV commentator, and our senior correspondent, John Perretti.

Following up on our previous episode of No Holds Barred with Stephan Kesting of Grapplearts, on MMA, brain damage, concussions, and CTE, we continued to explore these issues. We began with the ethical considerations about participating in and supporting combat sports with striking, where head injuries and brain trauma are necessary results of way those sports are conducted.

We spoke with John Perretti by phone Monday.

"I can keep it short and simple: If you get hit, you get hurt," he said. "And that's not a belief. That's not something that is just beloved of me. That's a fact."

He stated, as he has said before, that he is no longer interested in watching fighters "getting battered," even though he was one of the founders of modern MMA, came up with the basic framework of rounds, gloves, and weight classes used today, and even was using the term "mixed martial arts" as far back as the 1970s.

While he does watch some boxing and other dangerous sports like American football at times, he has lost interest in MMA.

"I just do not care to watch that anymore," he said. MMA, he added, with the growing emphasis on striking both standing and on the ground, has become "a lot more dangerous than it was" when many of us had argued that MMA was safer than boxing. And the main appeal of MMA these days, especially in the U.S., he said, is to those who are "attracted to the violence." It is turning more into a cult or even a "religion," he added.

In fact, partially due to his influence, his two teenage sons, Lucca and Enzo Perretti, no longer train in martial arts or play football, but instead focus on Olympic weightlifting. Both are among the top-ranked weightlifters in the U.S. in their age groups and weight classes.

Although weightlifting is widely practiced and respected, the Olympic weightlifting program is far from reaching its potential as a popular sport.

"Olympic weightlifting is really something that has been neglected," he said. While other sports are plagued with injuries about which we are understanding more and more each day, he said that according to medical studies, Olympic weightlifting has "the lowest injury rate of any sport in the United States of America."

Besides discussing the future of Olympic weightlifting in the U.S. and what it needs to do to popularize itself (hint: look at wrestling's continued failures), we discussed the potential for various styles of grappling and wrestling to grow, what the future holds for combat sports where there is head trauma, why he does not like to watch martial arts films, the great dangers to kids training in MMA, 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: Battlecade Extreme Fighting, boxing, concussions, CTE, Eddie Goldman, ethics, grappling, injuries, John Perretti, kickboxing, MMA, No Holds Barred, UFC, weightlifting, wrestling

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman once again spoke with the ex-pugilist, lifelong martial artist, former UFC and Battlecade Extreme Fighting matchmaker, TV commentator, and our senior correspondent, John Perretti.

Despite having come up with the term "mixed martial arts" and being a pioneer and one of the founders of modern MMA, John Perretti is no longer involved in the sport. Nor does he even watch it, either on TV or live, although he does sometimes keep up with other combat sports like boxing, kickboxing, sumo, and wrestling.

"It just didn't interest me," he said in our interview, recorded by Skype this past week on Tuesday. "The whole thing just had devolved into something I had no interest in."

We discussed his disillusionment with a sport in which he had such a key role in creating. He explained how he finds most MMA in the USA "abysmal" and "unwatchable"; how his relationship with the sport has ended similarly to how personal or romantic relationships end; how he "quit" and was never fired from his position as UFC matchmaker; why he considers MMA "not creative anymore"; and the dangers of head trauma and CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy) in MMA and other sports.

When we discussed grappling, he said he wished he had started his groundbreaking professional grappling show, The Contenders, before he had started Extreme Fighting. The Contenders had just one event, in October 1997, after Extreme Fighting, which ran from 1995 to 1997, had gone out of business. What would combat sports history have been like if he had done that?

Besides training his sons in weightlifting - they are both at the top of their weight classes in their age groups in the USA - he plans to open a gym next year in Japan when he relocates there full-time.

And we also asked a broader question from all this: If MMA founders like John, Rorion Gracie, Bob Meyrowitz, Donald Zuckerman, and others are all no longer involved in the sport and have moved on, what does this say about the long-term viability of MMA?

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.

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 First Annual Liberty Bell Classic East Coast King of Catch Tournament, organized by the North American Catch Wrestling Association in conjunction with Scientific Wrestling. This catch wrestling tournament will take place Saturday, August 31, 2013, at the Klein JCC, 10100 Jamison Ave., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19116. No points! No politics! Only submissions and pins win! For more information, go to http://nacwa.weebly.com.

Labels: Battlecade Extreme Fighting, boxing, concussions, Contenders, CTE, Eddie Goldman, grappling, history, John Perretti, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, MMA, No Holds Barred, sumo, UFC, wrestling