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On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman was interviewed, along with veteran wrestling journalist and author Dan McCool, by Scott Casber, the host of Takedown Wrestling Radio. This discussion took place on Takedown Wrestling Radio and was recorded right after Monday's media conference call of the Agon Wrestling Championships. That conference call previewed the Agon 2 show, scheduled for Sunday, December 22, in Flint, Michigan. Our discussion focused not only on the development of the many real professional wrestling events like Agon, but also what changes are needed in general in wrestling to market, promote, and popularize the sport properly, and how many of the efforts in this regard so far have been inadequate at best. Scott Casber wrote that this was "a fun, informative, and lively roundtable discussion." As is usual when the three of us talk, we told the brutal and beautiful truth. 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: LenneHardt.com, the web site of the world's greatest ring announcer, Lenne Hardt. Need a unique and cool combat sports-related gift? At LenneHardt.com, you can order personalized messages, wedding calls, ringtones, phone answering messages, and more, all recorded by Lenne herself, in the style of your choice. For more information, go to LenneHardt.com. 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. GrappleGnostic, sponsored by Defense Soap. Where the will to win meets the power of knowledge. Features, interviews, analysis, health tips, and information on wrestling, grappling, jiu-jitsu, and all the grappling arts, written by some of the best writers and experts in the world. Check out their web site, at http://defensesoap.com/grapplegnostic. 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 http://defensesoap.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/. Thanks, Eddie Goldman EddieGoldman.com

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman presents the audio of the December 9 media conference call hosted by the Agon Wrestling Championships. Participating on this call were Agon matchmaker, undefeated MMA fighter, U.S. Olympian, and two-time NCAA Div. I national champion Ben Askren; NCAA Div. I national champion and current head wrestling coach at South Dakota State University Chris Bono; two-time NCAA Div. I national champion and current U.S. national team member in freestyle wrestling Brent Metcalf; NCAA Div. I national champion Max Askren; Agon co-founder Mike DiSabato; and Agon Commissioner Dave Dean. Asking questions were numerous members of the wrestling media. Agon 2 will be held Sunday, December 22, at the Perani Arena & Event Center in Flint, Michigan. The main event will feature a match between Chris Bono and Brent Metcalf. The Agon Wrestling Championships is one of several organizations bringing back real professional wrestling, and uses a mix of American folkstyle and freestyle wrestling rules. It was on this call that Ben Askren first officially announced that he had signed to fight with ONE FC, the largest MMA organization in Asia, beginning in 2014, as well as wrestling at an Agon event in January. 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: LenneHardt.com, the web site of the world's greatest ring announcer, Lenne Hardt. Need a unique and cool combat sports-related gift? At LenneHardt.com, you can order personalized messages, wedding calls, ringtones, phone answering messages, and more, all recorded by Lenne herself, in the style of your choice. For more information, go to LenneHardt.com. 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. GrappleGnostic, sponsored by Defense Soap. Where the will to win meets the power of knowledge. Features, interviews, analysis, health tips, and information on wrestling, grappling, jiu-jitsu, and all the grappling arts, written by some of the best writers and experts in the world. Check out their web site, at http://defensesoap.com/grapplegnostic. 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 http://defensesoap.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/. Thanks, Eddie Goldman EddieGoldman.com

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman continues our coverage of the rebirth of real professional wrestling, with comments from Frank Molinaro, Mike Van Arsdale, and Ben Askren. Frank Molinaro has already competed in two of these events. A 2012 NCAA Div. I champion at Penn State and now an assistant wrestling coach at Rutgers, on October 20, he defeated two-time All-American Kyle Borshoff by a score of 10-1 at the inaugural Tour ACW event in Pittsburgh. He was a late replacement for the injured Kyle Dake at the second annual Grapple at the Garden event held December 1 at Madison Square Garden in New York. There he faced 2011 NCAA Div. I national champion and 2007 junior world freestyle wrestling champion Bubba Jenkins, who also is an MMA fighter for Bellator. The match was held under American folkstyle rules. Tied 2-2 after three periods, it went to sudden victory overtime, with Jenkins scoring a takedown to win 4-2. We spoke with Frank Molinaro after his match at Madison Square Garden. While he is aiming at representing the USA in freestyle wrestling at the 2016 Olympics, he has his eyes on this rebirth of real professional wrestling. But he believes that much more needs to be done to guarantee its success. "I kind of feel like everybody is out on their own plan and everyone's trying to start their own wrestling league," he said. "And I think at some point we're all going to have to come together and make one organization and have everyone contribute a piece to the puzzle and maybe get a great wrestling league out there." We also replay comments on real professional wrestling from recent interviews on No Holds Barred with another NCAA Div. I champion and retired MMA fighter Mike Van Arsdale. He advocated "some kind of a tournament format." And we close with a response by two-time NCAA Div. I champion, 2008 Olympian, undefeated MMA fighter, and a victor at the first Agon Wrestling Championships on October 27, Ben Askren, about what the vast majority of wrestlers who have entered MMA would do if they could earn the same from wrestling as they do in MMA. 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: LenneHardt.com, the web site of the world's greatest ring announcer, Lenne Hardt. Need a unique and cool combat sports-related gift? At LenneHardt.com, you can order personalized messages, wedding calls, ringtones, phone answering messages, and more, all recorded by Lenne herself, in the style of your choice. For more information, go to LenneHardt.com. 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. GrappleGnostic, sponsored by Defense Soap. Where the will to win meets the power of knowledge. Features, interviews, analysis, health tips, and information on wrestling, grappling, jiu-jitsu, and all the grappling arts, written by some of the best writers and experts in the world. Check out their web site, at http://defensesoap.com/grapplegnostic. 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 http://defensesoap.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/. Thanks, Eddie Goldman EddieGoldman.com

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman spoke with Joel Resnick, the CEO of RUFF (Ranik Ultimate Fighting Federation). The only MMA organization sanctioned to hold events in mainland China, RUFF just held their 11th show on November 30, at the Hongkou Indoor Stadium in Shanghai. The much-talked about main event pitted two undefeated fighters against one another, Bekbulat Magomedov of Russia and Wang Guan of China. After three rounds, Magomedov won by unanimous decision, but this was only the second time in his 12 victories that Magomedov went the distance and didn't win by submission or knockout. We spoke with Joel Resnick about RUFF 11 and the plans of RUFF by Skype Thursday (Wednesday New York time). Asked where RUFF stands in comparison to other MMA organizations around the world, he replied, "RUFF stands on their own. That's where we stand. We don't pay attention to too many other organizations. Really, we're the only ones in China that are government-sanctioned that are actually holding MMA events as sporting events. Not as a promotional event, not as a cultural event, but as a sporting event." He added, "We have no plans to go outside of China. We have 1.4 billion people to educate here about MMA." He believes that since RUFF first started in 2011, the top Chinese fighters have risen to "a global level." He also said that with their system of crowning champions and now by bringing in fighters from outside China, like Magomedov, they do not have "paper champions." As for next year, he said, "For 2014, we're going to keep doing what we're doing. We're going to bring in more foreigners to challenge our champions." He said to expect RUFF's fighters to get more exposure through increased sponsorships and appearances on television shows. "We always said from day one, how we're going to grow the company is by growing the fighters. And that's what we're going to continue to do." He also did not exactly sound worried by the attempted entrance into China by non-Chinese MMA companies, including UFC. "We have all the good fighters under contract with us, and everybody knows that," he said. Regarding the UFC's upcoming reality TV show in China, "We haven't heard too much about it here." We also discussed RUFF's growing number of viewers, plans to add English-language commentary to their upcoming shows, how fighting is readily accepted in China since martial arts are such an important part of Chinese culture, the coverage of RUFF in the Chinese media, and much more. 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: LenneHardt.com, the web site of the world's greatest ring announcer, Lenne Hardt. Need a unique and cool combat sports-related gift? At LenneHardt.com, you can order personalized messages, wedding calls, ringtones, phone answering messages, and more, all recorded by Lenne herself, in the style of your choice. For more information, go to LenneHardt.com. 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. GrappleGnostic, sponsored by Defense Soap. Where the will to win meets the power of knowledge. Features, interviews, analysis, health tips, and information on wrestling, grappling, jiu-jitsu, and all the grappling arts, written by some of the best writers and experts in the world. Check out their web site, at http://defensesoap.com/grapplegnostic. 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 http://defensesoap.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/. Thanks, Eddie Goldman EddieGoldman.com

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman spoke with Paul "Hitman" Herrera, the head MMA instructor at Empire MMA in Corona, California. A 1990 All-American wrestler at Nebraska and a former MMA fighter, he now focuses on training both adults and youths in professional and amateur MMA, boxing, and wrestling. He also has promoted an amateur MMA world championship in Beijing, China, and plans to do more of these tournaments. He was in New York this past weekend for the second annual Grapple at the Garden wrestling event, held December 1 at Madison Square Garden, where he cornered Bubba Jenkins, whom he also had trained. Bubba Jenkins, a 2011 NCAA Div. I champion and a 2007 junior world champion in freestyle wrestling, faced 2012 NCAA Div. I champion Frank Molinaro under American folkstyle rules in the main event of Grapple at the Garden. The match was tied 2-2 after three periods and went into the sudden victory overtime, where Bubba Jenkins scored a takedown to win 4-2. This match marked Bubba Jenkins's entrance into this budding circuit of real professional wrestling events. Bubba Jenkins, of course, is also an MMA fighter, currently with Bellator MMA. We spoke with Paul Herrera by phone Wednesday. Speaking about the goals for Bubba Jenkins and his participation in MMA and wrestling competition at the same time, he said, "This crossover, I love it. I think it's going to do a lot for wrestling. I'm in support of anything for wrestling." But he added, "Our main focus and our main goal right now is to win that Bellator tournament, become a Bellator champion, and then move on to become the best in MMA." We discussed the difficulties of competing at a high level in two sports at once. "You've got to treat it like a full-time job," he said. "You can't do both." Another problem is that wrestling "is lacking that big backer," meaning that very few elite level wrestlers can make a living in the sport, with many going to MMA. "Most people have never seen a wrestling match," he said, highlighting the problems stemming from the absence of wrestling from major television networks in the U.S., except once a year for the NCAA Div. I championship finals and every four years for the Olympics. That is a challenge this new circuit of real pro wrestling events must meet if they are to survive. So while Empire MMA trains its share of wrestlers, they also focus on training MMA fighters and boxers of all ages and experience. We also discussed how "fighting is wrestling", the development and growth of amateur MMA, and much more. 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: LenneHardt.com, the web site of the world's greatest ring announcer, Lenne Hardt. Need a unique and cool combat sports-related gift? At LenneHardt.com, you can order personalized messages, wedding calls, ringtones, phone answering messages, and more, all recorded by Lenne herself, in the style of your choice. For more information, go to LenneHardt.com. 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. GrappleGnostic, sponsored by Defense Soap. Where the will to win meets the power of knowledge. Features, interviews, analysis, health tips, and information on wrestling, grappling, jiu-jitsu, and all the grappling arts, written by some of the best writers and experts in the world. Check out their web site, at http://defensesoap.com/grapplegnostic. 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 http://defensesoap.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/. Thanks, Eddie Goldman EddieGoldman.com

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman once again spoke with Carlos Carvalho, the executive officer of the USA ADCC Federation, about the ADCC U.S. Nationals. This edition of the ADCC U.S. Nationals will take place this Saturday, December 7, at the John Adams Middle School, 2002 Presidential Drive, Charleston, West Virginia 25314. There will be both professional and amateur divisions for men and women, as well as superfights. This will be the last edition of the four ADCC U.S. Nationals events held in 2013. To pre-register or for more information, click here. We spoke with Carlos Carvalho by phone Tuesday. The ADCC U.S. Nationals have been established "with the objective of trying to find new athletes, new competitors to be able to compete in the ADCC" world championships, the "most prestigious" no-gi championships in the world, he said. The ADCC rules of no-gi grappling are unique. Thus, he said, amateur athletes need experience competing under them "so when they become professionals, they are used to the rules and regulations for the ADCC." We also discussed the many pro and amateur divisions at this event, the superfights, the plans for ADCC to run more events in 2014 in the U.S., and more. 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: LenneHardt.com, the web site of the world's greatest ring announcer, Lenne Hardt. Need a unique and cool combat sports-related gift? At LenneHardt.com, you can order personalized messages, wedding calls, ringtones, phone answering messages, and more, all recorded by Lenne herself, in the style of your choice. For more information, go to LenneHardt.com. 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. GrappleGnostic, sponsored by Defense Soap. Where the will to win meets the power of knowledge. Features, interviews, analysis, health tips, and information on wrestling, grappling, jiu-jitsu, and all the grappling arts, written by some of the best writers and experts in the world. Check out their web site, at http://defensesoap.com/grapplegnostic. 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 http://defensesoap.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/. Thanks, Eddie Goldman EddieGoldman.com

(Photo of Hudson Taylor, Fallon Fox, and Brendon Ayanbadejo receiving 2013 Emery Awards, courtesy of Fallon Fox) On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman spoke with Fallon Fox, the first openly transgender MMA fighter; Thomas Krever, the CEO of the Hetrick-Martin Institute (HMI); and Brendon Ayanbadejo, a three-time Pro Bowl NFL player, a member of the world champion Baltimore Ravens who won Super Bowl XLVII, and a long-time advocate for equal rights. What they have in common is that they all were involved in the 2013 Emery Awards, presented by the Hetrick-Martin Institute, a professional provider of social support and programming for at-risk lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or questioning (LGBTQ) youth. These awards were presented at an event in New York on Wednesday, November 13. Fallon Fox and Brendon Ayanbadejo were among the athletes receiving these awards, as well as Hudson Taylor, a three-time All-American wrestler at the University of Maryland who is now a volunteer assistant coach for the Columbia University wrestling team and is the founder and executive director of Athlete Ally, a nonprofit organization focused on ending homophobia and transphobia in sports by educating allies in the athletic community and empowering them to take a stand. Also receiving awards were Chelsea Clinton, vice chair of the Clinton Foundation, and several other individuals. The Emery Awards are given to individuals and corporations that exemplify HMI's mission of providing a safe and supportive environment for all young people regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity. We spoke with Thomas Krever and Brendon Ayanbadejo right before the awards event on November 13, on the red carpet outside Cipriani Wall Street. We spoke with Fallon Fox by phone Wednesday, November 27. Saying that she had a "wonderful time" at this event, Fallon Fox, in our discussion, raised some of the issues involving the combat sports and the LGBT community. "I don't think mixed martial arts is very big within the LGBT world. I think it's getting bigger with myself in mixed martial arts and a few other athletes who are lesbian, open lesbian," she said. There are "LGBT athletes in every sport. We've always been there and always will be. But it's a good thing that a lot of us are coming out now," she said. And she added, "I hope there's going to be a male gay athlete that comes out in the future." We also discussed her plans to return to action next year after suffering her first loss in MMA, her plans to go on the public speaking circuit, and much more. 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: LenneHardt.com, the web site of the world's greatest ring announcer, Lenne Hardt. Need a unique and cool combat sports-related gift? At LenneHardt.com, you can order personalized messages, wedding calls, ringtones, phone answering messages, and more, all recorded by Lenne herself, in the style of your choice. For more information, go to LenneHardt.com. 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. GrappleGnostic, sponsored by Defense Soap. Where the will to win meets the power of knowledge. Features, interviews, analysis, health tips, and information on wrestling, grappling, jiu-jitsu, and all the grappling arts, written by some of the best writers and experts in the world. Check out their web site, at http://defensesoap.com/grapplegnostic. 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 http://defensesoap.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/. Thanks, Eddie Goldman EddieGoldman.com

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman spoke with Nick Garone, the president of X-Cel Worldwide. The main topic of our discussion was the second annual Grapple at the Garden. This event will be held Sunday, December 1, at the world's most famous arena, Madison Square Garden in New York. For the first time in almost 94 years, when Joe Stecher defeated Earl Caddock on January 30, 1920, to win the world heavyweight wrestling championship, there will be real professional wrestling at Madison Square Garden. In the main event of Grapple at the Garden 2, four-time NCAA Division I national champion Kyle Dake, the only wrestler to win these championships in four different weight classes, will take on another former NCAA Division I national champion, Bubba Jenkins, who was also a freestyle wrestling junior world champion and is currently a professional MMA fighter. This match will be held under freestyle wrestling rules and is being promoted in association with X-Cel Worldwide. The co-main event, just announced, is a match between Frankie Edgar, a former UFC lightweight champion and Division I All-American wrestler at Clarion, and Phillipe Nover, who is the current Ring of Combat MMA lightweight champion and will represent the Renzo Gracie Academy. The card also has numerous college wrestling dual meets, involving Army, Bloomsburg, Boston University, Cornell, Drexel, George Mason, Hofstra, Illinois, Maryland, Penn, Princeton, and Rutgers, as well as four local wrestling programs including Stevens Institute of Technology and NYU in an NCAA Division III matchup, and a match between NCWA men's club teams from Stony Brook University and Westchester Community College. The card also includes the Renzo Gracie Academy vs. Team Joe Warren, with numerous MMA fighters such as "King" Mo Lawal and Joe Warren himself wrestling; top USA Wrestling senior clubs from the New York Athletic Club and the Titan Mercury Wrestling Club; a team USA vs. team Canada in two women's freestyle wrestling matches with 2012 world champion and three-time world medalist Adeline Gray of the U.S. vs. Canadian World Team member Erica Wiebe, and 2012 world silver medalist Helen Maroulis of the U.S. vs. Canadian World Team member Jillian Gallays; the finals of the Beat The Streets PSAL Thanksgiving Dual Meet Invitational in high school wrestling; and the finals of the inaugural Grapple at the Garden middle school championship, produced in association with the Metropolitan Wrestling Association. The full card, which of course is subject to change, can be seen here. We spoke with Nick Garone by phone Sunday. "One of the things that is so exciting about this opportunity is the venue," he said. "The venue is just second to none. It's the Mecca. It's the most famous arena on earth, in the world. People know it from all around the world, from China, to London, from California to Maine, everybody knows Madison Square Garden." The event is also aimed at a broad audience. "We really don't want to attract just wrestling people," he said. "Wrestling fans are going to be into it. Wrestling fans are going to come out and they're going to support. We really want people to appreciate the great athletes that this sport produces." As for the athletes, he added, "This is giving them an opportunity to make a little money in their own sport, give the sport publicity, and as well be a good will ambassador for their style of wrestling." We also discussed that while many Division I college wrestling programs have been dropped in recent years, there has been an actual growth of the number of college wrestling programs overall, that the sport of wrestling is growing in the U.S. on the grassroots level, and much more. 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: LenneHardt.com, the web site of the world's greatest ring announcer, Lenne Hardt. Need a unique and cool combat sports-related gift? At LenneHardt.com, you can order personalized messages, wedding calls, ringtones, phone answering messages, and more, all recorded by Lenne herself, in the style of your choice. For more information, go to LenneHardt.com. 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. GrappleGnostic, sponsored by Defense Soap. Where the will to win meets the power of knowledge. Features, interviews, analysis, health tips, and information on wrestling, grappling, jiu-jitsu, and all the grappling arts, written by some of the best writers and experts in the world. Check out their web site, at http://defensesoap.com/grapplegnostic. 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 http://defensesoap.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/. Thanks, Eddie Goldman EddieGoldman.com

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman spoke with Dr. Margaret Goodman, a neurologist, the former chair of the Medical Advisory Board of the Nevada State Athletic Commission, and the president and board chairman of VADA, the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association. We spoke with her by phone Sunday, mainly about one of the many health issues facing the combat sports: concussions and the subsequent risks of dementia and diseases like CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy). "You can generalize, and you can say that what we know today is, getting hit in the head in any kind of sport, whether it be football, baseball, boxing, or MMA, is not good for the brain," she said. "How good it's not for the brain hasn't really been established as far as how much trauma can someone sustain before they're predisposed to a condition like chronic traumatic encephalopathy. And those factors are still unknown." However, she cautioned, "But what we do know is concussions or trauma to the head is additive. So the more punishment you take to your head, especially over a shorter period of time, often in the short time of a career of an MMA fighter or a boxer, has a whole bunch of risks as far as predisposing someone to a dementing illness." We discussed how trauma to the head can lead to serious brain diseases even in young athletes and especially children, why children are more predisposed to these diseases than adults, and how many in the combat sports are turning "one blind eye to what's going on." All the studies about the dangers on concussions and the prevalence of CTE in former NFL football players "should be a wakeup call" to those in combat sports where striking the head and trying to score a knockout are key, legal parts of the sport. We discussed the old saying from the 1990s that "MMA is safer than boxing," and whether or not that can still be said to be true, assuming it ever was. She was especially critical of the regulators of sports like boxing and MMA, who are largely "ignoring what is happening to the NFL." She said, referring not just to bad scoring, but to health and safety issues, "We're not regulating these sports properly." We also discussed the dangers of rapid weight-cutting, and what might be changed in order to minimize these dangers. But with the growing body of scientific studies and literature on concussions and CTE, with these issues seeming only to mount in the combat sports, with increased public attention all the time on the effects of head trauma involving high-profile athletes like Georges St-Pierre, with no solution in sight to these problems, and with the likelihood of more tragedies and premature deaths facing these athletes, we had to ask some very tough questions, to which there are not easy answers. Can the combat sports survive? Which ones are likeliest to go the way of smoking and becoming socially unacceptable and severely decline? Can combat sports with no striking to the head, like the various styles of grappling and wrestling, fill what may be a coming void? And what should those of us presently involved in various capacities with the combat sports do about all this? 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: LenneHardt.com, the web site of the world's greatest ring announcer, Lenne Hardt. Need a unique and cool combat sports-related gift? At LenneHardt.com, you can order personalized messages, wedding calls, ringtones, phone answering messages, and more, all recorded by Lenne herself, in the style of your choice. For more information, go to LenneHardt.com. 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. GrappleGnostic, sponsored by Defense Soap. Where the will to win meets the power of knowledge. Features, interviews, analysis, health tips, and information on wrestling, grappling, jiu-jitsu, and all the grappling arts, written by some of the best writers and experts in the world. Check out their web site, at http://defensesoap.com/grapplegnostic. 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 http://defensesoap.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/. Thanks, Eddie Goldman EddieGoldman.com

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman spoke with trainer and former MMA fighter and wrestler Mike Van Arsdale. Mike Van Arsdale had a distinguished career in wrestling, winning an NCAA Div. I national championship at 167 pounds in 1988 for Iowa State, and winning a gold medal at 97 kg in freestyle wrestling at the 1997 World Cup. In 1998 he began fighting in MMA, competing in Brazil, Mexico, and the U.S. until 2006. Now 48 years old and retired as an active MMA fighter and wrestler, he is training fighters in strength and conditioning, wrestling, and wrestling for MMA. He is widely known as one of the most respected and sharpest coaches and trainers. We spoke with him Friday while he was in New York cornering a fighter at the Glory 12 kickboxing event. A lot of what he teaches is influenced by the old school training methods. Many trainers today, he said, just "make things up," which is not the best approach. "What they're making up does not replace the real lifts, like the dead lift, or the pullup, or the dip," he said. "Going back to the old days and looking at their systems, some of them are good. Some of them are better than some of the stuff they have out right now." Along with his business partner, the world-renowned strength and conditioning coach Tim McClellan, he uses what he calls "a prime system". This is based on "what really worked the best. We looked at everything, and we use what works the best, and it's just a matter of putting the sequence together in the proper order." We also discussed some of the many problems associated with training, including overtraining, as well as the growing concern in all contact and combat sports with head trauma, brain injuries, concussions, and CTE, and how that is affecting the future of these sports. In addition, we discussed the recent revival of real professional wrestling in the U.S. He noted that in order for this to be successful, a tournament format is needed, along with new and better leadership in wrestling to organize these events. And we discussed why so many wrestlers have turned to MMA, how his view of wrestling compares to that of the many other combat sports, and much more. 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: LenneHardt.com, the web site of the world's greatest ring announcer, Lenne Hardt. Need a unique and cool combat sports-related gift? At LenneHardt.com, you can order personalized messages, wedding calls, ringtones, phone answering messages, and more, all recorded by Lenne herself, in the style of your choice. For more information, go to LenneHardt.com. 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. GrappleGnostic, sponsored by Defense Soap. Where the will to win meets the power of knowledge. Features, interviews, analysis, health tips, and information on wrestling, grappling, jiu-jitsu, and all the grappling arts, written by some of the best writers and experts in the world. Check out their web site, at http://defensesoap.com/grapplegnostic. 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 http://defensesoap.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/. Thanks, Eddie Goldman EddieGoldman.com

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The Airdrie Judo Club was rewarded for its efforts throughout the 2012/13 season with the Judo Alberta club of the year award during the annual provincial awards ceremony on Nov. 30 at the Red Deer Judo Tournament.

Great Britain's most promising judoka descended on the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield this weekend for the British Championships for Pre-Cadets and Cadets - including a number of youngsters from Kingsley's judo team.

Three years ago, the Hoover High wrestling program resembled Brentwood, the Tornadoes' opponent in Wednesday's nonleague match.

MARTIAL ARTISTS: Ben Donegan, Amila and Sancia Carlile, Bryan and Allan Jolly, Anais and Louis Mott, Thea Sestosa and Phil Cursons at Judo Bendigo's dojo in Breen Street.

Preview and analysis of tonight's UFC Fight Night 33 headliner between heavy-handed slugger Mark Hunt and hulking top-10 heavyweight Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva.

The International Judo Federation is composed of National Judo Federations and Continental Unions.

December 5 - Japan were at it again in the International Judo Federation's World Tour today picking up where they left off in Tokyo to top the medal table at the end of day one in Jeju, South Korea.

The Wyre Forest club's lightweight girls team were in awesome form, with Darcie Hancocks and Leah Grosvenor backed up by Ellie McAteer.

Sampson Sampson is a name not easily mistaken. He has gained something of a cult status for his unusual title, while achieving much more besides in the Islington community.

Ryedale Judo Club are in the medals again after six members travelled to the Goole Under-17 and U12s Christmas Championships and came away with two silver and one bronze.

The Airdrie Judo Club was rewarded for its efforts throughout the 2012/13 season with the Judo Alberta club of the year award during the annual provincial awards ceremony on Nov. 30 at the Red Deer Judo Tournament.

Great Britain's most promising judoka descended on the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield this weekend for the British Championships for Pre-Cadets and Cadets - including a number of youngsters from Kingsley's judo team.

Three years ago, the Hoover High wrestling program resembled Brentwood, the Tornadoes' opponent in Wednesday's nonleague match.

MARTIAL ARTISTS: Ben Donegan, Amila and Sancia Carlile, Bryan and Allan Jolly, Anais and Louis Mott, Thea Sestosa and Phil Cursons at Judo Bendigo's dojo in Breen Street.

Preview and analysis of tonight's UFC Fight Night 33 headliner between heavy-handed slugger Mark Hunt and hulking top-10 heavyweight Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva.

The International Judo Federation is composed of National Judo Federations and Continental Unions.

December 5 - Japan were at it again in the International Judo Federation's World Tour today picking up where they left off in Tokyo to top the medal table at the end of day one in Jeju, South Korea.

The Wyre Forest club's lightweight girls team were in awesome form, with Darcie Hancocks and Leah Grosvenor backed up by Ellie McAteer.

Sampson Sampson is a name not easily mistaken. He has gained something of a cult status for his unusual title, while achieving much more besides in the Islington community.

Ryedale Judo Club are in the medals again after six members travelled to the Goole Under-17 and U12s Christmas Championships and came away with two silver and one bronze.