No Holds Barred: John Perretti, the Martist‏

No Holds Barred: John Perretti, the Martist

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman once again
speaks with the ex-pugilist, lifelong martial artist, former UFC and
Battlecade Extreme Fighting matchmaker, TV commentator, and our senior
correspondent, John Perretti (http://twitter.com/ACJohn Perretti).

A "martist" is a term coined by John Perretti, meaning someone who has
"the duality of the spirit of the martial and the aesthetic, a split
if you will in interests within one human being. The artist preceded
the pugilist and they have had a symbiotic relationship ever since."
John's new blog is also called "'The Martist' with John
Perretti" (http://johnperretti.com).

We spoke with John Perretti by phone Tuesday about his blog,
aesthetics and martial arts, the current states of MMA and grappling,
and more.

Although he is a pioneer in MMA and created the basics of the modern
structure of the sport, he is no longer enthusiastic about present-day
MMA. "I don't want to focus on this car accident that this sport has
become, because I don't feel that it's worth my time any longer," he
said in this interview. "I donated incredible time and energy and
resources and personal money to make this thing happen, and it for me
is something that I don't enjoy watching."

John also was the producer of the 1997 all-grappling pay-per-view
show, "The Contenders". While that show was a financial failure, he
still maintains his love of grappling: "I am a giant proponent of
grappling. Meeting Gene LeBell changed my whole life. I'm one of his
four original black belts. And that's why I started 'The Contenders'
and that's why I took striking out of the martial arts and created
straight grappling."

We also discussed fixed fights and purposeful mismatches, the need for
the Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform Act to be extended to MMA fighters, why
he is writing his autobiography, aesthetics and martial arts, his
current coaching of weightlifting, the issues of head trauma and CTE
in combat and contact sports, and much more.

♔EL Boxing Empress & MMA Princess♔, See you at the Fights and Thank You for your time. EL Boxing Empress Online @ Twitter http://www.twitter.com/Keishamorrisey ©®™ 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 All photos other than specified by "EL Boxing Empress & MMA Princess" Keisha Morrisey, for ♔Empire Morrisey Photo-Studios♔, KCKMT for Bloodline Boxing Communications Entertainment and ★Starlite★ Boxing's Sweetscience Magnews-Online Publication all rights reserved.