NO HOLDS BARRED

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman once again spoke with Maxwell Kalu, founder and CEO of the African Warriors Fighting Championship.

We spoke with him by Skype Friday.

The African Warriors Fighting Championship made its debut in 2019 with three events, all in Nigeria, featuring traditional wrestling and Dambe, a style of boxing popular in West Africa.

"It's been a real ride," he said.

"I have to remind myself every now and again that's it's not even been a year. We launched in April, so still less than a year in, but really happy with the progress we've made so far," he explained.

"We ended the year with a bang. We did our biggest event to date, which was 'Coronation of Kings'. That was a real big moment for us, in that the goal of that event was just taking traditional sport in Nigeria to a different level, delivering a new level of event in a different setting, and for us, capturing content of a better quality and producing more of it. The event went really well. We're really happy with how it went.

"Just looking back at 2019, we're really happy with the year. So, so far, so good."

But as a relatively young organization, for the African Warriors Fighting Championship there is still much basic work to be done.

"A big part of what we had to do and what we continue to do is just tell people what we are and what we're doing," he said. "People in the U.K., people in the U.S., they're a world away from Nigeria, they're a world away from Africa. So the starting point really is just building awareness, having people understand that this rich culture of combat sports exists in Africa, and having people understand that African Warriors as an organization is taking it to new heights."

We discussed how 2019 involved a lot of testing of how to run events, the growing response from the African diaspora in the U.K. and the U.S., and the keen interest in both the general media and the combat sports media in many countries.

For 2020, the focus "for now" will still be on Nigeria. An announcement is expected soon on plans for the first event of the year, which will again be in Lagos, Nigeria.

This new year the African Warriors Fighting Championship will be building "a national network of athletes" across Nigeria. We also discussed that there will be more events in 2020 than in 2019, that the quantity and quality will improve, that more videos will be produced and released, some of the challenges of running events in Nigeria, the rulesets for wrestling and Dambe that are used, 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 at Apple Podcasts.

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:

Skullz Combat Sports Equipment, creator of the patented Skullz Double-End Bag, is the perfect punching bag for your combat sports training. Skullz Double-End Bags provide a realistic striking target, and help improve speed, distance, and timing skills. Hang it and hit it right out of the box! No pump required. Skullz Combat Sports Equipment - Advancing combat sports equipment for the next generation of fighters. For more information, go to https://instagram.com/skullzcombatsports and https://facebook.com/skullzcombatsports.

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Labels: Africa, African Warriors Fighting Championship, boxing, Dambe, Eddie Goldman, Lagos, Maxwell Kalu, Nigeria, No Holds Barred, wrestling

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman once again spoke with Maxwell Kalu, founder and CEO of the African Warriors Fighting Championship.

The African Warriors Fighting Championship is Africa's first multidisciplinary fighting organization and features competition in the indigenous African styles of combat sports Dambe, which is a form of boxing popular in West Africa, and traditional wrestling. They held their second and largest event yet, "The Battle for Lagos", on September 14 at the Jalisco Stadium, Oshodi, Lagos.

To discuss how that event went and their plans for the future, we spoke with Maxwell Kalu by Skype Saturday.

"We really widened the pool in terms of where we sourced our athletes from. So we had athletes come from various states around Nigeria, and really saw a raise in terms of the level of competition," he said.

"We had 20 athletes all in all, competing in wrestling, competing in Dambe. So it was our first opportunity, our first time doing an event in Lagos, Africa's biggest city. So it was a step up for us."

Even in just its second event, some stars are emerging in the African Warriors Fighting Championship. Two who were mentioned by Maxwell Kalu as having the best performances were Dambe fighter Bahagon Ondo and wrestler Abba Ibrahim.

Organized in conjunction with the Nigerian Traditional Sports Federation and the Nigerian government, these events are the first steps in expanding to other countries.

"We consider ourselves from the very start to be a Pan-African indigenous sporting organization," he said. And future plans also include welcoming athletes from any part of the world.

Already outside Nigeria, he noted that the African Warriors Fighting Championship has gotten support and interest from many people in many regions of Africa and the world, but most particularly from the African Diaspora in the U.S. and the U.K.

We also discussed how these events have already attracted major media attention with "a major documentary" expected out soon, how the next event planned for December in Lagos will be livestreamed, how they plan to grow an umbrella organization for these indigenous sports, 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 at Apple Podcasts.

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 Catch Wrestling Alliance, resurrecting and promoting the sport of authentic catch-as-catch-can wrestling. The Catch Wrestling Alliance provides tournaments, seminars, and training as well as education about catch wrestling. Join the movement and keep real wrestling alive. 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.

Labels: Africa, African Warriors Fighting Championship, boxing, Dambe, Eddie Goldman, Lagos, Maxwell Kalu, Nigeria, No Holds Barred, wrestling

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman spoke with Maxwell Kalu, founder and CEO of the African Warriors Fighting Championship.

The African Warriors Fighting Championship is Africa's first multidisciplinary fighting organization.

Based in Lagos, Nigeria, the African Warriors Fighting Championship showcases warriors competing in indigenous African styles of combat sports such as Dambe, which is a form of boxing popular in West Africa, and traditional wrestling.

After a debut event in April, their next event, called "The Battle for Lagos", is scheduled for September 14 at the Jalisco Stadium, Oshodi, Lagos. A third event is also planned for December.

We spoke with Maxwell Kalu by Skype Thursday.

After speaking with many people already involved in the combat sports in Nigeria, rather than trying to import MMA, Nigeria's indigenous sports like wrestling and Dambe "are here already," he said.

"There's such a rich culture of them, and rather than be the sort of poor African cousin of the UFC, of ONE, or of Cage Warriors, or whatever, I'd thought, I'd love to do something totally, totally different that really speaks to the uniqueness of Africa, starting with Nigeria, and really plays to our strengths," he said.

With hundreds of athletes already competing in Dambe and wrestling, the decision was made to showcase these athletes and styles.

We discussed how his background in the combat sports and Nigerian heritage influenced him getting involved in this, the large amount of talented athletes already competing in these traditional combat sports in Nigeria, and how Nigeria plays a key role in Africa in terms of culture and media.

Also we discussed the rules for Dambe, which allows punching with one hand, the back hand, which is wrapped, and kicks and sweeps. A knockdown ends the round in these three-round fights. For wrestling, a round ends when someone's back touches the ground from a takedown or throw, also in three-round matches. All the competition takes place on sand.

The African Warriors Fighting Championship is working with the Traditional Sports Federations in Nigeria and in Lagos State to regulate their events.

We also discussed the plans for the upcoming events in Lagos, their critical use of social media, the growing interest in this group by international media, how they are working to the point where anyone can watch their events live, 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 Catch Wrestling Alliance, resurrecting and promoting the sport of authentic catch-as-catch-can wrestling. The Catch Wrestling Alliance provides tournaments, seminars, and training as well as education about catch wrestling. Join the movement and keep real wrestling alive. 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.

Labels: Africa, African Warriors Fighting Championship, boxing, Dambe, Eddie Goldman, Maxwell Kalu, Nigeria, No Holds Barred, wrestling

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman discusses the fight between IBF and WBA heavyweight champ Anthony Joshua (19-0, 19 KOs) and IBF mandatory challenger Carlos Takam (35-3-1, 27 KOs).

This fight takes place Saturday, October 28, at Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales, with an expected crowd of between 70,000 and 80,000. It will be shown live in the U.K. on Sky Sports Box Office, in the U.S. on Showtime, in many countries in Africa on Kwesé Free Sports, and in many other countries around the world.

Topics include the global importance of this fight and event; the international popularity of Anthony Joshua; the significance of this fight for Africa, especially since Joshua's family comes from Nigeria and Takam is originally from its neighbor, Cameroon; what to expect in this fight; the state of the heavyweight division; how most of the U.S. boxing media understands none of this; and 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 Catch Wrestling Alliance, resurrecting and promoting the sport of authentic catch-as-catch-can wrestling. The Catch Wrestling Alliance provides tournaments, seminars, and training as well as education about catch wrestling. Join the movement and keep real wrestling alive. 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.

Labels: Africa, Anthony Joshua, boxing, Cameroon, Carlos Takam, Eddie Goldman, heavyweight, Nigeria, No Holds Barred