NO HOLDS BARRED

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman discusses Saturday's controversial stoppage victories of Andre Ward over Sergey Kovalev and Guillermo Rigondeaux over Moises Flores, and how the blundering of the Nevada State Athletic Commission obscured the great performances of these two top-level fighters.

(Photos of Andre Ward and Guillermo Rigondeaux-Moises Flores by Tom Hogan - Hoganphotos/Roc Nation Sports.)

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: Andre Ward, boxing, Eddie Goldman, Guillermo Rigondeaux, Moises Flores, Nevada State Athletic Commission, No Holds Barred, Sergey Kovalev

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman presents the audio from the section of Monday's Nevada State Athletic Commission public meeting on the issue of out-of-competition drug testing. This issue has came to the fore since they claimed they had no "jurisdiction" to punish UFC fighter Jon Jones for a positive drug test, a month before his UFC 182 fight with Daniel Cormier, for benzoylecgonine, the main metabolite of cocaine. We also read a statement from Dr. Margaret Goodman, the President and Board Chairman of the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA), explaining why "Any fighter who had a drug problem should not be declared fit to compete."

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: cocaine, doping, Eddie Goldman, Jon Jones, MMA, Nevada State Athletic Commission, No Holds Barred, UFC

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman discusses how much the decision by the Nevada State Athletic Commission to eliminate therapeutic use exemptions (TUEs) for testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) is related to the attempt by Zuffa, the parent company of UFC, to get its amateur organization into SportAccord, the international federation of sports federations. SportAccord, along with the International Olympic Committee, requires federations to follow the protocols of the World Anti-Doping Agency, and all of these very, very rarely hand out TUEs for TRT for all sports, far less frequently than Zuffa and the Nevada commission have for just their own MMA events.

Also discussed is even more new information on the dangers of brain injuries and the risks of dementia and CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy) in sports where there is head trauma, and how this remains the Achilles Heel of these sports. What happened to dueling in the 19th century, and smoking in the 20th century, is compared to what might happen to these combat sports with head strikes in the 21st century.

The month of March also marks several milestones, including the eighth anniversary of No Holds Barred as a podcast. Some of the plans for the show are discussed as well.

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: catch, CTE, Eddie Goldman, International Olympic Committee, IOC, MMA, Nevada State Athletic Commission, No Holds Barred, SportAccord, testosterone, therapeutic use exemptions, TRT, TUE, UFC, wrestling, Zuffa

Labels: Chael Sonnen, doping, Eddie Goldman, MMA, Nevada State Athletic Commission, Nick Diaz, No Holds Barred, UFC, Victor Conte, WADA

The Nevada State Athletic Commission, the governmental body which regulates the combat sports of boxing, mixed martial arts, and kickboxing in the state of Nevada, held a hearing Wednesday, June 9, in Las Vegas, discussing many topics. One of those, however, stood out and took up over half the meeting: "Review of Protocol for Steroid/Drug Testing and Disciplinary Matters".

Commission chair Pat Lundvall explained that this meeting was for "information gathering" purposes only and not to decide upon any action. Four main speakers presented their views, and were questioned by commission members.

Three of them basically defended the current commission practices, which only utilize urine testing. They were Dr. Robert Voy, the former Chief Medical Officer and Director of Sports Medicine and Science for the United States Olympic Committee; Dr. David Watson, currently the chief ringside physician for the commission; and boxing attorney Pat English. They argued that blood testing for the banned substance human growth hormone was either ineffective or unable to stand up in court. "We're doing a great job," concluded Dr. Watson.

On the other side was Travis Tygart, the CEO of the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), which is the independent agency which is recognized by the U.S. Congress as the official anti-doping agency for Olympic, Pan American, and Paralympic sport in the United States, and is affiliated with the World Anti-Doping Agency. He characterized the current testing by the Nevada commissions as "inadequate." He said blood testing was needed not only to detect doping through use of human growth hormone, but also synthetic hemoglobin (HBOC), blood transfusions (HBT), and some types of EPO. He also called for "no advance notice" random urine and blood testing, as had been done by USADA for the Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Shane Mosley fight of May 1, 2010, and defended the HGH blood tests as "reliable" which would stand up in court.

This was an open, public meeting, which was also available to those who called in by phone to listen to it. We thus have a recording of the audio of the part of this meeting devoted to drug testing. Because this part lasted about two hours, we have divided it up into two parts, with all the discussion just as it happened.

You can listen to or download part one here. You can listen to or download part two here.

Part one includes the testimony of Dr. Robert Voy and Dr. David Watson. Part two includes the testimony of Travis Tygart and Pat English.

No doubt what was said at this hearing will be debated for some time to come, and we hope this assists the public in deciding for themselves what is the best course of action to take.

Labels: boxing, doping, drug testing, MMA, Nevada State Athletic Commission, Tygart

NO HOLDS BARRED on PodOmatic

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with Dr. Margaret Goodman, a neurologist and former chairman of the Medical Advisory Board of the Nevada State Athletic Commission. Dr. Goodman is now also the medical correspondent for No Holds Barred, and we are very proud to be associated with her.

This lengthy interview, conducted March 12, first was posted on SecondsOut Radio in two parts. Here we have it in its entirety.

The topics include why certain substances such as steroids and marijuana are dangerous to the health of fighters and are thus banned in the combat sports. We also discuss many other issues related to the health and safety of fighters, especially what can be done to improve the health and safety measures in the combat sports, and what role a national boxing commission in the U.S. should play.

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 musician Ian Carpenter.

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

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.

BJJMart.com, your premier source for all Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu gear, videos, books, and much more.

Wrestling 411, providing coverage of the sport of wrestling on TV, the Internet, and radio. Wrestling 411 is produced by Media Sports Productions, whose sole mission is the marketing and promotion of the sport of wrestling.

Fair Deal for Atlantic City Dealers, a campaign organized by an alliance of casino workers and unions in Atlantic City, New Jersey, to fight for justice in the gaming industry and achieve a fair deal for all casino workers.

Labels: BJJ, boxing, Eddie Goldman, grappling, Margaret Goodman, marijuana, mixed martial arts, MMA, Nevada State Athletic Commission, No Holds Barred, SecondsOut Radio, steroids, Strikeforce, UFC

SecondsOut Radio with Eddie Goldman

On this week's edition of SecondsOut Radio, host Eddie Goldman begins with a few comments on why fights like the Vitali Klitschko-Juan Carlos Gomez WBC title bout, held Saturday, March 21, and won by Klitschko by a ninth-round TKO, are not good for the beleaguered heavyweight division. We also comment on the issue of Internet "piracy" and who the real pirates are. This is where millionaires put on lousy matchups which have so little appeal that the free networks do not want to buy them, then try to sell them to the average fans as pay-per-views, and then hire fancy lawyers who threaten to sue individuals who watch them on unauthorized web sites.

Next, we return to the second and final part of our lengthy interview with Dr. Margaret Goodman, a neurologist and former chairman of the Medical Advisory Board of the Nevada State Athletic Commission. After laying out in the first part some of the health and safety problems such as the use of steroids and other harmful, banned substances, we now discuss what can be done to improve the health and safety measures in boxing, and what role a national boxing commission in the U.S. should play.

It is free to listen to or download SecondsOut Radio, but you must register to gain access to it. Just click here, and listen, learn, and enjoy.

Labels: boxing, Eddie Goldman, heavyweights, Internet, Juan Carlos Gomez, Margaret Goodman, marijuana, Nevada State Athletic Commission, pay-per-view, piracy, SecondsOut Radio, steroids, Vitali Klitschko

SecondsOut Radio with Eddie Goldman

On this week's edition of SecondsOut Radio, host Eddie Goldman begins by commenting on the fifth-round technical decision victory by Amir Khan over Marco Antonio Barrera Saturday, March 14, in Manchester, England. We reflect on what this fight did and did not prove regarding Khan's technique and chin in the wake of his first-round defeat last year by then-little-known Breidis Prescott. We discuss what questions were and were not answered regarding the legendary but aging Barrera, whose performances of late cannot be analyzed without bringing up the question of whether he should retire or not. We focus on the controversial ending to this fight, which was only stopped in the fifth round due to a cut from an accidental head clash in the first round which left an open gash on Barrera's forehead. And we ask whether or not this fight, had it been held outside England, would likely have been stopped prior to the fifth round, which thus would have resulted in a no decision under the unified rules of boxing.

Next, we begin a lengthy interview with Dr. Margaret Goodman, a neurologist and former chairman of the Medical Advisory Board of the Nevada State Athletic Commission. In the first part of this interview, the topics include why certain substances such as steroids and marijuana are dangerous to the health of fighters and are thus banned. We also discuss many other issues related to the health and safety of fighters.

It is free to listen to or download SecondsOut Radio, but you must register to gain access to it. Just click here, and listen, learn, and enjoy.

Labels: Amir Khan, boxing, Eddie Goldman, Marco Antonio Barrera, Margaret Goodman, marijuana, Nevada State Athletic Commission, SecondsOut Radio, steroids

NO HOLDS BARRED on PodOmatic

On this special edition of NO HOLDS BARRED, host Eddie Goldman speaks with Dr. Margaret Goodman, a neurologist and former chairman of the Medical Advisory Board of the Nevada State Athletic Commission, about the scandal which may become boxing's equivalent of Watergate. (This was the first part of a two-part interview, which first appeared this past week on SecondsOut Radio. The second part, about steroids and other issues in mixed martial arts, appeared last week on NO HOLDS BARRED.)

On July 30, The New York Times ran an investigative report entitled "In Boxing's Underbelly, a Blind Eye to Fighters' Health" by John Eligon and Duff Wilson. The piece documented numerous cases where boxers had been given questionable medical clearance to fight, and even had fraudulent medical forms submitted on their behalf to various state athletic commissions for supposed medical examinations of them. Several of these fighters later died as a result of injuries suffered in those fights.

We discuss with Dr. Goodman this scandal in depth and the failure of so many state athletic commissions in the US to take proper and reasonable measures to look after the safety and well-being of the fighters, as well as what must be done both in the short-term and the long-term to protect fighters.

To listen to NO HOLDS BARRED, click 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 the IFL's newest show, "IFL Battleground", every Monday night on MyNetworkTV. An encore presentation will run each Saturday night. 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, Duff Wilson, Eddie Goldman, John Eligon, Margaret Goodman, Nevada State Athletic Commission, No Holds Barred, SecondsOut Radio

SecondsOut Radio with Eddie Goldman

On this week's special edition of SecondsOut Radio, host Eddie Goldman speaks with Dr. Margaret Goodman, a neurologist and former chairman of the Medical Advisory Board of the Nevada State Athletic Commission, about the scandal which may become boxing's equivalent of Watergate.

On July 30, The New York Times ran an investigative report entitled "In Boxing's Underbelly, a Blind Eye to Fighters' Health" by John Eligon and Duff Wilson. The piece documented numerous cases where boxers had been given questionable medical clearance to fight, and even had fraudulent medical forms submitted on their behalf to various state athletic commissions for supposed medical examinations of them. Several of these fighters later died as a result of injuries suffered in those fights.

We discuss with Dr. Goodman this scandal in depth and the failure of so many state athletic commissions in the US to take proper and reasonable measures to look after the safety and well-being of the fighters, as well as what must be done both in the short-term and the long-term to protect fighters.

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: boxing, Duff Wilson, Eddie Goldman, John Eligon, Margaret Goodman, Nevada State Athletic Commission, SecondsOut Radio

NO HOLDS BARRED on PodOmatic

On this week's special edition of NO HOLDS BARRED, host Eddie Goldman speaks with Dr. Margaret Goodman, a neurologist and former chairman of the Medical Advisory Board of the Nevada State Athletic Commission.

In the wake of the latest round of dope cheats being caught in the mixed martial arts, we discuss what fighters, promoters, and athletic commissions must do to combat this scourge. We discuss what a national athletic commission in the US could do for mixed martial arts. Dr. Goodman also outlines the medical reasons why toxic drugs such as steroids are so dangerous to the health of fighters. We discuss what the role of the combat sports media should be.

This discussion was the latter part of an interview with Dr. Goodman, the first part of which was on SecondsOut Radio where we discussed a brewing scandal in boxing, which she characterized as boxing's Watergate. That scandal involves a recent report in The New York Times, which documented numerous cases where boxers had been given questionable medical clearance to fight, and even had fraudulent medical forms submitted on their behalf to various state athletic commissions for supposed medical examinations of them. Several of these fighters later died because of injuries suffered in those fights.

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 the IFL's newest show, "IFL Battleground", every Monday night on MyNetworkTV. An encore presentation will run each Saturday night. 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, Margaret Goodman, mixed martial arts, MMA, Nevada State Athletic Commission, No Holds Barred, steroids