Tank Abbott and Jake Shields will appear on the premiere episode of Inside MMA on HD.net, this Friday, Feb. 1, at 9:30 p.m. PT/6:30 p.m. PT

EliteXC standouts Tank Abbott (tankabbott.proelite.com) and Jake Shields (jakeshields.proelite.com) will appear on the premiere episode of Inside MMA on HD.net, this Friday, Feb. 1, at 9:30 p.m. PT/6:30 p.m. PT.

Tank, a true MMA icon and Hall of Fame talker, will discuss his upcoming, long-awaited showdown with Kimbo Slice (kimboslice.proelite.com) on Saturday, Feb. 16 in Miami on SHOWTIME, while the talented, personable Shields, a streaking, world-ranked welterweight, will talk about his future plans.

Kimbo Slice


The show, which is devoted to strictly Mixed Martial Arts news and events, will air several times. Please go to HD.net (schedules/programs) for replay times.

McGirts chasing history; Team McGirt unbeaten super middleweight prospect James McGirt, Jr. and his father-trainer, James 'Buddy' McGirt

VERO BEACH, Florida– Unbeaten super middleweight prospect James McGirt, Jr. (18-0, 9 KOs) and his father/trainer, James “Buddy” McGirt (73-6-1, 48 KOs), former two-time world champion and 2002 Trainer of the Year, are on a special mission together.

James “Buddy” McGirt (73-6-1, 48 KOs), former two-time world champion and 2002 Trainer of the Year

The McGirts, born and raised in Brentwood (NY) but now living and training in Vero Beach (FL), are trying to become what is believed to be the first family in boxing to feature father-son world champions with the former working his “blood” son’s corner as head trainer when the latter captures a major world title.

Two-time world heavyweight title-holder (1956-59, 1960-62) Floyd Patterson was the head trainer of his adopted son, Tracy Harris Patterson, who won the world super bantamweight (1992-94) and super featherweight champ (1995).

“That’s our mission,” James explained. “Even though we train everyday for my next fight, becoming world champion has never left my side. We’re working hard to make history. Without a doubt I’m preparing to be world champion. My father was a world champion and I’ve sparred with many world champions. Those experiences have helped me so much; I feed off of it. I haven’t won a world title but being around the sport for so long, I’ve been surrounded by world champions and top contenders. I’ve loved boxing since I was a little kid.”

McGirt has gradually moved up in the ratings, currently No. 26 in the WBC, as well as No. 8 by the USBA, No. 9 by the NABF, No. 14 by the NABO and No. 15 by the NABA.

“I’m in the gym sparring with world champions and, even though I know sparring isn’t like fighting, I hold my own,” James added. “I’m strong, calm and relaxed. Making 168 (pounds) is so much easier than fighting as a middleweight. The extra 5-8 pounds makes it so much easier on my body. I’ll be fighting 10-rounders this year and I should get a title shot next year. My father and I are going to make history.”

McGirt’s manager, Dennis Witherow, believes James will make history. “If you watch these two (James and Buddy) in the training and spend time with them in the gym,” Witherow remarked,” you can feel something special. “We have put together Team McGirt like a
business plan. We’ve found the best chemistry for all facets of this business. It started with us find the right promoter, Lou DiBella, who has been great helping us guide us to where we need to be. We have the right chemistry in our corner for each and every fight. As part of our plan, we now have James working with a strength-and-conditioning coach.

“Then, of course, you have Buddy as James’ head trainer. I want to repeat that – Buddy is James’ trainer. Yes, he is his father, but in the gym and in this sport, Buddy knows his job is to train his fighters to the best of their ability. That is exactly what he does with James. In this sport there is a tremendous value when a trainer can identify the natural talents of his fighter and then expand as well as build those talents. Buddy has done that with James, who is a very talented boxer. He has great boxing skills and also the ability to identify the weaknesses of his opponents. James didn’t enter this sport with those abilities; he learned them from his trainer, Buddy McGirt. Our team realizes what each of our jobs is and the rest is up to James. Do I believe James and Buddy will make boxing history? Yes, without a doubt.”

McGirt, who feels that his next fight will be in mid-March on national television, plans on making boxing history with his dad, Buddy.

CONTACT: Bob Trieger, Full Court Press

NO HOLDS BARRED: Frank Shamrock

NO HOLDS BARRED: Frank Shamrock

http://nhbnews.podOmatic.com/entry/eg/2008-01-29T13_41_51-08_00

On this edition of NO HOLDS BARRED, host Eddie Goldman begins by commenting on the announcement Tuesday that Bob Meyrowitz, the former CEO of Semaphore Entertainment Group, which produced the original, classic UFC events from 1993 to 2001, is returning to mixed martial arts. His new league is called YAMMA Pit Fighting (YPF), and will be debuting Friday, April 11, 2008, at the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, New Jersey, with a pay-per-view show (http://adcombat.com/Article.asp?Article_ID=14768).

In the main part of this edition of NO HOLDS BARRED, we speak with mixed martial arts legend Frank Shamrock (http://frankshamrock.com/).

In a lengthy interview, Frank discusses why he has not signed and will not sign with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC); the need for fighters to defend their rights, embrace their own brands, and be built as stars; how mixed martial arts is regressing in technique; art and professional athleticism in MMA; how good a fighter he believes he is today; his upcoming fight with Cung Le March 29; the likelihood of a fight with his older brother, Ken Shamrock; the future of the latest wave of MMA companies; the possibility of a rematch with Tito Ortiz once his contract with UFC is over; Hillary Clinton, John McCain, Willie Nelson, and country music; and more.

To listen to NO HOLDS BARRED, click the link at the start of this message, scroll down that page, and just press the play button on the player.

You can also download it by scrolling down that page and clicking on the download link (right-click to save it).

Also, NO HOLDS BARRED is available through iTunes at http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=150801513&s=143441.

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 (http://iancarpenter.com/).

Make sure to check out my regular weekly boxing show SecondsOut Radio. On this week's edition, we begin by discussing some of the social implications of the rise to prominence of fighters from the countries of the former Soviet Union. Two of those fighters, IBF junior bantamweight champion Dimitri Kirilov (29-3, 9 KOs) of St. Petersburg, Russia, and unbeaten junior welterweight Dmitriy Salita (27-0-1, 15 KOs), originally from Odessa, Ukraine, will be headlining a card Thursday, February 28, at the Roseland Ballroom in New York. In the main event, Kirilov will be making the first defense of his title, facing Mexican fighter Cecilio Santos (22-8-2, 12 KOs). In the co-feature, Salita will be fighting an opponent yet to be named. We spoke with both Dimitri Kirilov and Dmitriy Salita at a news conference in New York this past week about their upcoming fights and their careers. It is free to listen to SecondsOut Radio, but you must register to gain access to it. Just click here, http://www.secondsout.com/radio/, and listen, learn, and enjoy.

Make sure to check out my regular articles on the ADCC News at http://www.adcombat.com and on FightBeat.com at http://fightbeat.com.

NO HOLDS BARRED is free to listen to and is sponsored by:

Art of War (http://www.artofwarlive.com), 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 (http://www.artofwarlive.com).

IFL, the International Fight League (http://ifl.tv/), the world's first professional mixed martial arts league. Make sure to check out their regular TV shows on FSN (Fox Sports Net) (http://msn.foxsports.com/story/1636002) in the U.S., and to check your local listings for dates and times. Check out the IFL web site (http://ifl.tv/), for a listing of IFL live events and their TV schedule, at http://ifl.tv/TV-Schedule.html.

Gladiator Challenge (http://gladiatorchallenge.com/), 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 (http://gladiatorchallenge.com/).

BJJMart.com (http://bjjmart.com), your premier source for all Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu gear, videos, books, and much more.

Gladiator Magazine (http://gladmag.com/), 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 (http://bjjmart.com) or Jiu Jitsu Pro Gear (http://jiujitsuprogear.com/).

FightBeat.com (http://fightbeat.com/), for news, results, interviews, and free exclusive videos from the worlds of boxing and mixed martial arts.

Thanks, Eddie Goldman

No Holds Barred blog
http://nhbnews.blogspot.com/

No Holds Barred podcast
http://nhbnews.podomatic.com/

No Holds Barred on MySpace
http://www.myspace.com/nhbnews

Enjoy!