NO HOLDS BARRED

NO HOLDS BARRED on PodOmatic

On this edition of NO HOLDS BARRED, host Eddie Goldman reviews the HDNet Fights mixed martial arts show, held Dec. 15 in Dallas, Texas, and plays a series of interviews recorded there.

We start with a commentary on the show itself and an evaluation of the prospects for the success of HDNet Fights, which is owned by Mark Cuban, the wealthy owner of the Dallas Mavericks of the NBA. One thing, however, is certain: Mark Cuban has succeeded in buying his way into becoming a major player in mixed martial arts.

First up is "The Natural," Randy Couture, the now-former UFC heavyweight and light heavyweight champion who recently resigned from that promotion. Randy was at this event to corner fighters Frank Trigg and Jay White. We spoke about Randy's plans for future, his desire to fight top heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko, his status with UFC, the problems with the structure of mixed martial arts, his desire to compete in grappling, and his continuing relations with the wrestling community.

Wrestling and grappling legend Rico Chiapparelli was also there with Frank Trigg. Rico discusses his plans for 2008 for running shows of the Professional Submission League, which features submission wrestling. We also discuss the need for developing an amateur level for mixed martial arts, and the role of FILA, the international wrestling federation, which is entering the world of grappling.

We next spoke with the always-colorful middleweight Jason "Mayhem" Miller, who defeated Tim Kennedy by unanimous decision on this card. We spoke about his fight and, as usual, Jason offers some prize comments.

Heavyweight fighter Jay White entered his fight Saturday night with Patrick Castillo with an unimpressive 1-5-1 record. But now he is training with Randy Couture, who cornered him in this fight. One quick result already: Jay won this fight in just 50 seconds of the first round with an arm bar. Jay explained his development from a grappler to a mixed martial arts fighter, his prospects for improving as a fighter, and his plans.

Guy Mezger, the former UFC and Pancrase fighter from the Lion's Den, now runs fight operations and is the matchmaker for the HDNet Fights promotion. After this event, we discussed with him how it went, the fights themselves, and the plans for this promotion.

The morning after the show, we spoke with middleweight Frank Trigg, who won his fight over Edwin Dewees with a kimura arm lock in 1:40 of the first round. We discussed this fight, the possibility of him next fighting Jason Miller in a rematch, his plans for fighting with HDNet Fights, the prospects for this promotion.

You can also listen to a recap of this event I did on the Internet radio show Carson's Corner with its host, Bob Carson, who also covered this event from cageside.

To listen to NO HOLDS BARRED, click here and just press the play button on the player.

You can also download it by scrolling down that page and clicking on the download link (right-click to save it).

You can also listen to it through the player on this blog and the NO HOLDS BARRED MySpace page, also by pressing the play button on the player.

Also, NO HOLDS BARRED is available through iTunes.

The show is in MP3 format, so may take some time to download.

If you want to leave a comment on the show, you can do so at on this blog.

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:

Art of War, the undisputed arena fighting championship, promoted by SUN Sports and Entertainment, producing world class mixed martial arts events. For more information, check out their web site, ArtOfWarLive.com.

IFL, the International Fight League, the world's first professional mixed martial arts 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. You can also catch IFL Battleground on MyNetworkTV. 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: Eddie Goldman, Frank Trigg, Guy Mezger, HDNet Fights, Jason Miller, Jay White, Mark Cuban, mixed martial arts, MMA, No Holds Barred, Randy Couture, Rico Chiapparelli, UFC, ultimate fighting

NO HOLDS BARRED on PodOmatic

On this edition of NO HOLDS BARRED, host Eddie Goldman begins by discussing the venture of a new entrant into the world of mixed martial arts, the HDNet Fights series being initiated by Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks of the NBA. Their first scheduled show is Saturday, October 13, at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas.

We first offer some advice for this new enterprise about how to position it as a sport and not a spectacle. We also spoke with Mark Cuban on a media teleconference call to get his thoughts on his new role as both a promoter and a broadcaster of mixed martial arts.

The main event on that show will feature the return to MMA action by Erik Paulson for the first time in seven years. He will face another veteran, Jeff Ford, who has been a kickboxing champion and a heavyweight pro boxer as well as a mixed martial arts fighter. We also spoke with both fighters on this media teleconference call.

Also, we provide a glimpse at what should be a stellar, action-packed, and important final four months of 2007 for the sport of boxing. This schedule is absolutely loaded with intriguing, major fights, including: Jermain Taylor vs. Kelly Pavlik (Sept. 29), Manny Pacquiao vs. Marco Antonio Barrera 2 (Oct. 6), Oleg Maskaev vs. Samuel Peter (also Oct. 6), Juan Diaz vs. Julio Diaz (Oct. 13), Sultan Ibragimov vs. Evander Holyfield, (also Oct. 13), Chris Byrd vs. Alexander Povetkin (Oct. 27), Joe Calzaghe vs. Mikkel Kessler (Nov. 3), Juan Manuel Marquez vs. Rocky Juarez (also Nov. 3), Miguel Cotto vs. Shane Mosley (Nov. 10), Jean-Marc Mormeck vs. David Haye (also Nov. 10), Joan Guzman vs. Humberto Soto (Nov. 17), Floyd Mayweather vs. Ricky Hatton (Dec. 8), and more.

We discuss what we are calling "Boxing's Fall Feast" in a segment which was originally on SecondsOut Radio.

To listen to NO HOLDS BARRED, click here or here or here and just press the play button on the player.

You can also listen to it through this blog and my MySpace page, also by pressing the play button on the player.

Also, NO HOLDS BARRED is available through iTunes.

The show is in MP3 format, so may take some time to download.

If you want to leave a comment on the show, you can do so on this blog.

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:

Art of War, the undisputed arena fighting championship, promoted by SUN Sports and Entertainment, producing world class mixed martial arts events. For more information, check out their web site, ArtOfWarLive.com.

IFL, the International Fight League, the world's first professional mixed martial arts 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. You can also catch IFL Battleground on MyNetworkTV. 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, combat sports, Eddie Goldman, Erik Paulson, grappling, HDNet, HDNet Fights, IFL, Jeff Ford, Mark Cuban, mixed martial arts, MMA, No Holds Barred, UFC, ultimate fighting, wrestling