NO HOLDS BARRED

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman presents the international media conference call featuring MMA fighter Demetrious "Mighty Mouse" Johnson, who just signed with ONE Championship following an unofficial "trade" from his previous organization. He was the first UFC flyweight champion, holds the record for the most number of UFC title defenses, and was undefeated for seven years before dropping a close split decision in August. He is regarded as one of the top pound-for-pound MMA fighters of all time, and arguably the best at any weight of the past decade.

On this call, which took place Sunday U.S. time and Monday Singapore time, he was joined by Chatri Sityodtong, the chairman and CEO of ONE Championship. They both answered questions from the international media.

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: Asia, Chatri Sityodtong, Demetrious Johnson, Eddie Goldman, martial arts, Mighty Mouse, MMA, No Holds Barred, ONE Championship, Singapore

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman presents the international media conference call for the ONE: Heart Of The Lion card. This call took place Thursday (Wednesday in the U.S.) to preview this show, which takes place Friday, November 9, at the Singapore Indoor Stadium in Singapore.

In the main event of this card, ONE women's strawweight champion Xiong Jing Nan of China will defend her title against ONE women's atomweight champion Angela Lee of Singapore, who is moving up in weight and trying simultaneously to hold two belts. In the co-main event, ONE bantamweight champion Bibiano Fernandes of Brazil will defend his title against ONE interim bantamweight champion Kevin Belingon of the Philippines in a unification bout.

On the call were ONE Championship chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong, Xiong Jing Nan, Angela Lee, Bibiano Fernandes, Kevin Belingon, and multiple-time MMA champion Eddie Alvarez of the U.S., who just signed with ONE Championship.

After the opening remarks, there were questions from the international media.

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: Angela Lee, Bibiano Fernandes, Chatri Sityodtong, Eddie Alvarez, Eddie Goldman, Kevin Belingon, martial arts, MMA, No Holds Barred, ONE Championship, Singapore, Xiong Jing Nan

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman once again spoke with Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and MMA legend Renzo Gracie.

Although he is now 51 years old, Renzo Gracie is still fighting. His next competition will be an MMA fight against another veteran, Yuki Kondo of Japan. This will take place on the ONE: REIGN OF KINGS card put on by ONE Championship, on Friday, July 27, at the Mall of Asia Arena in Metro Manila, Philippines.

ONE: REIGN OF KINGS will be shown on many TV networks around the world, so check your local listings. It will also be shown for free on the ONE Super App.

We spoke with Renzo Gracie by phone this past Thursday.

Asked why he would still compete in a professional MMA fight at 51, he even questioned if this will be his final fight.

"I don't even know if it's the last fight. I'm going in there to have fun. I'm doing it because I love it. You know how much I love it.

"I was busy the past eight, nine years like crazy, blowing up my schools, working my business, which I became very successful. It was worth it every step," he said.

"But I have to do what I love. And I was waiting, and I kept training. I didn't stop. I'm feeling great. I can't wait to be back in the cage and test myself.

"And not only that, I'm waiting to acquire the knowledge of stepping in the ring at 51. I know it's going to be something different and very unique."

We also discussed: how this fight was made; how he matches up with Yuki Kondo; how different types of grappling such as catch wrestling and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu merged in MMA; how ONE Championship has grown and is featuring fights from several martial arts on their shows; how he has had to change his approach to this fight at age 51; what techniques to expect in this fight; plans to compete in a grappling superfight at ADCC 2019; why grappling is still necessary and mandatory for MMA and fighters cannot be one-dimensional; the success of the Muay Thai team at his academy; the opening of a new academy on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in the fall; 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: ADCC, BJJ, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Eddie Goldman, grappling, MMA, No Holds Barred, ONE Championship, Reign of Kings, Renzo Gracie, Yuki Kondo

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman presents the September 14 international media conference call hosted by ONE Championship.

This call was to publicize their return to their home base of Singapore with a major show called ONE: Immortal Pursuit.

On the call were:

Angela Lee - ONE Women's Atomweight World Champion

Mei Yamaguchi - ONE world title challenger

Ben Askren - ONE Welterweight World Champion

Shinya Aoki - Former ONE Lightweight World Champion

Chatri Sityodtong​ - ​Chairman and CEO of ONE Championship

ONE: Immortal Pursuit will feature these four fighters in title bouts.

Last year the undefeated Angela Lee won a close but unanimous decision over Mei Yamaguchi to capture the first-ever ONE women's atomweight title. This was the only fight in which Angela Lee had not stopped her opponent. Now the rematch is set for this card, and is the third defense of her belt.

In what he has said will be his retirement fight, the undefeated Ben Askren will take on submission specialist and former ONE lightweight champion Shinya Aoki in a welterweight title fight.

All the fighters discussed their careers and their approach to their fights. In addition, Chatri Sityodtong discussed the continued growth of ONE Championship and their plans for the future.

ONE: Immortal Pursuit takes place Friday, November 24, at the Singapore Indoor Stadium in Singapore. More details about this show are expected to be announced shortly.

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.

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: Angela Lee, Asia, Ben Askren, Chatri Sityodtong, Eddie Goldman, Mei Yamaguchi, MMA, No Holds Barred, ONE Championship, Shinya Aoki, Singapore

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman once again spoke with Victor Cui, the CEO of ONE Championship.

Only a bit under four years old but already established as both the largest MMA promotion in Asia by far and one of the largest in the world, ONE Championship has another ambitious schedule set for the remainder of 2015 and more plans for expansion in 2016.

To find out the details, we spoke with Victor Cui by Skype Saturday.

"We've been able to grow exponentially every year and to really tap the new markets," he said, noting the support ONE Championship has gotten from sponsors, governments, and media.

"This last half of the year is definitely packed. We announced our next six events," he said.

So far, this is the schedule for ONE Championship for the remainder of 2015:

ONE: DYNASTY OF CHAMPIONS (SHANGHAI), 1 September in Shanghai, China

ONE: ODYSSEY OF CHAMPIONS, 27 September in Jakarta, Indonesia

ONE: TIGERS OF ASIA, 9 October in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

ONE: BATTLE AT THE GATES, 7 November in Macau, China

ONE: PRIDE OF LIONS, 13 November in Singapore

ONE: SPIRIT OF CHAMPIONS, 11 December in Manila, Philippines

But wait, there's more!

"We've got several others that I'm going to announce in the upcoming weeks that we're going to add to that schedule," he revealed.

"So it's a busy, busy year for us."

Their most recent event, on July 18, marked the promotion's debut in the country of Myanmar. On that card's main event, ONE Championship's bantamweight champion, Bibiano Fernandes, who is known as a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu specialist, successfully defended his belt with a third-round TKO victory against Finnish fighter Toni Tauru, ending the fight with a three-punch combination.

Their next card, on September 1 in the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Shanghai, China, will see the promotion's debut in that city, which is both the largest in China and in the world. On that card's main event, ONE middleweight champion Igor Svirid of Kazakhstan will defend his belt against the unbeaten challenger Vitaly Bigdash of Russia.

We also discussed the organization's growth, their building of "Asian heroes" and regional and national champions, how they navigated between the government and anti-government rebels in Myanmar, plans to expand to even more countries in Asia in 2016, and 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:

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.

Labels: Asia, Eddie Goldman, MMA, No Holds Barred, ONE Championship, Victor Cui