NO HOLDS BARRED

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with Jeff Monson, Penny Thomas, and Matt Betzold. All three won world titles at the 2012 FILA senior World Grappling, Pankration, and Amateur MMA Championship, held November 15-18 at the Hala Widowiskowo Sportowa in Skala, Poland, near Krakow.

Just two days after submitting Alexander Emelianenko in MMA on an M-1 card in St. Petersburg, Russia, Jeff Monson represented the USA in the no-gi grappling competition at +100kg at the FILA worlds. He won all three of his matches by decision, taking his third FILA world title in grappling. This title, however, he said in this interview, recorded right after his match on November 17, was his "most difficult."

Penny Thomas of South Africa, who has won world titles in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, the ADCC Submission Fighting World Championship, and the FILA world championship in grappling, won double gold at this event, winning world titles in both gi and no-gi grappling in the women's 64kg division.

American Matt Betzold, who has an amputated left leg, won his first world title, winning at 62kg in amateur MMA. He also took second at this event in no-gi grappling, also at 62kg.

We spoke with each of them right after they won their historic world titles.

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.

MMA World Expo. The mixed martial arts community comes to New York City February 16 and 17, 2013, for the fourth annual MMA World Expo, featuring an amateur MMA tournament, grappling, MMA fighters, seminars with world-class trainers, vendors, panel discussions, and much more. The MMA World Expo takes place Saturday, February 16, and Sunday, February 17, 2013, at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City.

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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/.

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman comments on some of the continuing battles for the combat sports to be organized as legitimate sports.

We note the re-election of California Assembly Member Luis Alejo, who had introduced AB 2100, also known as the Professional Bill of Rights for MMA Athletes, earlier this year in the California State Assembly. While this bill did not pass this year, expect another round in this battle to extend the provisions of the Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform Act to professional MMA fighters.

We also read parts of a letter from Paul Johnson, head of the Boxers Organizing Committee, to U.S. President Barack Obama calling on him to support efforts to unionize boxers, and outlining the call for an "an industry summit meeting" in boxing to lay the foundations for structural reform in boxing.

The battle to organize mixed martial arts as a sport and not a spectacle has been raging for a long time now, and is related to the current discussion about the origins of the sport and the term "mixed martial arts" itself. We read a message sent by author Dr. Peter Maguire about some of his experiences training with John Perretti. In this message, Dr. Maguire wrote, "Like contemporary history under the Soviet Union, Perretti has simply been airbrushed out of the present history of MMA."

Another step in organizing MMA as a real sport is being taken with the growth of amateur MMA and the FILA World Championships in grappling, Pankration, and amateur MMA. This event takes place November 15-18 at the Hala Widowiskowo-Sportowa, ul. ks. Stanislawa Poletka 34, 32-043 Skala, Poland, near Kraków.

We will be covering this event from matside. This trip to Poland, and also to visit the FILA headquarters in Corsier-sur-Vevey, Switzerland, will mean that it is highly unlikely that an edition of No Holds Barred will be produced and posted until after the trip is over. So sit tight because there should be some interesting commentary and interviews from this trip.

As many already know, because of the effects of Hurricane Sandy, one of the many events which has been postponed is the MMA World Expo. The new dates are February 16-17, 2013, at the same location, the Jacob Javits Center in New York. While some part of the Expo program may have to be changed due to the postponement, the FILA North American Invitational in amateur MMA will go on during these new dates. Also, the postponement actually makes it more likely that the Expo will feature some matches in catch wrestling, as well as a demonstration of that sport.

So these battles continue, on many fronts and in many countries, all for the betterment of the combat sports.

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.

MMA World Expo. The mixed martial arts community comes to New York City February 16 and 17, 2013, for the fourth annual MMA World Expo, featuring an amateur MMA tournament, grappling, MMA fighters, seminars with world-class trainers, vendors, panel discussions, and much more. The MMA World Expo takes place Saturday, February 16, and Sunday, February 17, 2013, at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City.

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/.

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman and Gary Abbott, the Director of Communications of USA Wrestling, preview the 2010 World Wrestling Championships.

This event takes place Monday, September 6, through Sunday, September 12, at the Sports Centre Olimpiskiy in Moscow, Russia.

USA Wrestling has a special section on the World Championships on TheMat.com.

Our interview previewed this event by focusing upon many of the top and champion wrestlers from around the world in the three styles which will be contested: men's and women's freestyle wrestling, and Greco-Roman wrestling. We discussed the U.S. entries this year, and their chances of winning medals against the international competition.

We also discussed the significance of this event being held in Russia this year, the always-controversial rules of wrestling, the annual predictions of international wrestling journalists of gold medal winners (including both of us), how to follow this event live, and more.

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.