Sunday, January 01, 2012
No Holds Barred: Lessons from New Year's Weekend Fights, 2011 No Holds Barred Awards
On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman reviews the fights and some of the issues arising from the New Year's weekend cards, and presents the 2011 No Holds Barred Awards.
The boxing card on Showtime Friday night, December 30, only re-raised questions about the neurological health of returning fighters Jermain Taylor and Andre Dirrell. The UFC card, also on Friday night, again exposed Brock Lesnar, who was blown out by Alistair Overeem in the first round and subsequently announced his retirement from MMA, as the worst UFC heavyweight titleholder in history.
But the spiraling contractual and legal issues facing Overeem, which led to him being sued by his former management and his purse being held up for this victory, also highlighted the need for MMA fighters to have their own association like athletes in other sports do, and to get the same protections as boxers do under the Muhammad Ali Act in the U.S.
Also addressed is the decline of submissions and of grappling in MMA, particularly in the U.S., and what this says about the relative safety and level of technique of MMA compared to boxing and other combat sports.
Dream held its annual New Year's Eve card at the Saitama Super Arena in Japan, featuring a mix of MMA and kickboxing fights with several fake pro "wrestling" acts. This says a lot about the weakness of the governance of this event. On the other hand, the real matches on the Dream card, held in a ring, featured numerous fights displaying a wide variety of grappling and striking techniques. The main event saw a first-round knockout by Fedor Emelianenko over Satoshi Ishii. The co-feature saw a great fight loaded with superior grappling where Shinya Aoki won a unanimous decision over Satoru Kitaoka to win the Dream featherweight title.
Next is the announcement of the very selective and purposely non-comprehensive 2011 No Holds Barred Awards, to highlight some of the good and the bad in the combat sports in 2011. Among the awards are the combat sports athlete of the year, combat sport of the year, boxer of the year, grappler of the year, sports organization of the year, comeback sport of the year, worst state regulation of combat sports in the U.S., best combat sports vlog, best wrestler and boxer in MMA, best MMA ring announcer, best MMA TV announcer, best new MMA journalist, MMA journalist of the year, and a few more awards of varying degrees of historical importance.
You can play or download No Holds Barred here. You can also download No Holds Barred here. If one link does not work, please try another. The show is in MP3 format, so may take some time to download.
No Holds Barred is also available on mobile phones and iPads through Stitcher.
Also, No Holds Barred is available through iTunes.
The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by Ian Carpenter.
No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by:
Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. Your #1 source for exciting auction shopping and outstanding deals on just about anything! Top rated, most trusted auction site online. Where do you shop? Beezid.com - Penny Auctions.
American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/.
The American Sambo Association, which is committed to becoming the premier association in the U.S. dedicated to the advancement of Sambo. Sambo is a form of sport, self-defense, and combat established in the former Soviet Union during the early twentieth century. For more information, go to ussambo.com.
Labels: Andre Ward, Aoki, boxing, Eddie Goldman, Fedor, grappling, Ishii, Lesnar, MMA, No Holds Barred, Overeem, wrestling
Sunday, October 24, 2010
No Holds Barred: Chris Thomas on Velasquez-Lesnar, Alvarez-Huerta, and Askren-Good
On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman discusses the major fights in mixed martial arts and boxing this past weekend with our colleague Chris Thomas.
We analyzed the Bellator 33 fights of Thursday, October 21, where Bellator lightweight champ Eddie Alvarez stopped Roger Huerta after the second round in a non-title bout, and Ben Askren won a unanimous decision over Lyman Good to capture the Bellator welterweight title. We also had a lengthy discussion about the first-round demolition by Cain Velasquez over Brock Lesnar to win the UFC heavyweight belt, the state of the heavyweight division in mixed martial arts, and why the best heavyweight fighters in that sport are to be found in Strikeforce. In addition, we commented on the boxing on Sunday, October 24, in Tokyo, including the 12-round decision win by Toshiaki Nishioka over Rendall Munroe to retain the WBC super bantamweight belt, and the second-round TKO by Roman Gonzalez over Francisco Rojas to win the WBA interim light flyweight pound belt.
You can play or download No Holds Barred here. You can also download No Holds Barred here. If one link does not work, please try another. The show is in MP3 format, so may take some time to download.
The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by Ian Carpenter.
Make sure to visit the official boxing forum for No Holds Barred, the MySpace Boxing Forum.
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, featuring the Renzo Gracie Open No-Gi 2010 tournament, a Muay Thai tournament, MMA fighters from the Bellator Fighting Championships, training seminars, vendors, panel discussions, and more to come. The second annual MMA WORLD EXPO, in association with Madison Square Garden Sports, takes place Friday, November 12, and Saturday, November 13, at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City.
BJJMart.com, your premier source for all Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu gear, videos, books, and much more.
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/.
FightBeat.com, for news, results, interviews, and free exclusive videos from the worlds of boxing and mixed martial arts.
Labels: Chris Thomas, Eddie Goldman, Lesnar, MMA, No Holds Barred, Velasquez
Monday, July 05, 2010
No Holds Barred: The Werdum Effect
(Photo: Esther Lin/Strikeforce)
On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman explains why the Fabricio Werdum-Fedor Emelianenko fight of June 26, 2010, where Werdum submitted Fedor in just 69 seconds with a triangle choke, is shaping up to be the most significant fight this year in mixed martial arts. We also explain why it could end up being the most important for the role of grappling and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in mixed martial arts since Royce Gracie tapped out Dan Severn, also with a triangle choke, back at UFC 4 on December 16, 1994.
We analyze what we call "The Werdum Effect" in relation to the slew of submissions at UFC 116 on July 3, including the victory by Brock Lesnar over Shane Carwin by an arm triangle choke. But we also break down the poor level of grappling and striking technique shown in that fight, compare noted fighters in the mixed martial arts heavyweight division today, discuss theoretical matchups involving them, and discuss the analysis of the Lesnar-Carwin fight by various writers, including Josh Gross and Jonathan Snowden.
You can play or download No Holds Barred here. You can also download No Holds Barred here. If one link does not work, please try another. The show is in MP3 format, so may take some time to download.
The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by Ian Carpenter.
Make sure to visit the official boxing forum for No Holds Barred, the MySpace Boxing Forum.
No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by:
BJJMart.com, your premier source for all Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu gear, videos, books, and much more.
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/.
Bragging Rights Corner, for news and always independent opinion about the sport and business of boxing. Check out their web site at http://www.braggingrightscorner.com.
FightBeat.com, for news, results, interviews, and free exclusive videos from the worlds of boxing and mixed martial arts.
Labels: BJJ, Eddie Goldman, Fabricio Werdum, Lesnar, MMA, No Holds Barred
