NO HOLDS BARRED: Mo Lawal, Ron Scott Stevens

NO HOLDS BARRED: Mo Lawal, Ron Scott Stevens

On this edition of NO HOLDS BARRED, host Eddie Goldman speaks with freestyle wrestler Mo Lawal and Ron Scott Stevens, the chairman of the New York State Athletic Commission.

This past Saturday, April 26, Mo Lawal (http://www.myspace.com/molawal) won his third U.S. Nationals title at 84 kg/185 lbs. With this victory, he advances directly into the finals of the U.S. Olympic Team Trials, which take place June 13-15 in Las Vegas, Nev. The winners at the Olympic Team Trials will represent the U.S. at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China, in August.

We spoke at length with Mo Lawal about his victory at the Nationals and his plans for the future.

Since 1997, the sport of mixed martial arts has been banned in the State of New York. Now there are plans to repeal the regressive legislation outlawing it and place it under the sanctioning of the New York State Athletic Commission.

To get his view on this matter, we spoke with Ron Scott Stevens, the chairman of the New York State Athletic Commission.

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, at http://www.secondsout.com/radio/. On this week's edition of SecondsOut Radio, we review the latest show of the popular local boxing series, Punchin' at the Paradise, which was held Friday, April 25, at the Utopia Paradise Theater in the Bronx, NY. We spoke with two of the victorious undercard fighters, heavyweight Joe Hanks (2-0. 1 KO) and middleweight Bryant Pappas (6-0, 6 KOs), about their fights, and promoter Joe DeGuardia of Star Boxing about his promotion and this show. 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:

YAMMA Pit Fighting (http://yammapitfighting.com). The producers of the original UFC and Live Nation (http://livenation.com/), worldwide leaders in live entertainment, present YAMMA Pit Fighting mixed martial arts. On the streets, it's against the law. In the pit, it IS the law.

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/

The Boxing Standard
http://boxingstandard.com/

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


Enjoy!

NO HOLDS BARRED: YAMMA, Miguel Cotto, Antonio Margarito, Kermit Cintron, Alfonso Gomez, Bob Arum, Emanuel Steward, Miguel Diaz‏

NO HOLDS BARRED: YAMMA, Miguel Cotto, Antonio Margarito, Kermit Cintron, Alfonso Gomez, Bob Arum, Emanuel Steward, Miguel Diaz On this edition of NO HOLDS BARRED, host Eddie Goldman previews the big combat sports weekend coming up Atlantic City, New Jersey. On Friday, April 11, at the Trump Taj Mahal, YAMMA Pit Fighting mixed martial arts makes its much-anticipated debut. There will be two Masters' Superfights and a one-night, eight-man single elimination heavyweight tournament. This card will be shown live on pay-per-view. The next night, Saturday, April 12, at Boardwalk Hall, a boxing card is headlined by two welterweight title fights. WBA welterweight champion Miguel Cotto (31-0, 25 KOs) will defend his belt against Alfonso Gomez (18-3-2, 8 KOs), and IBF welterweight champion Kermit Cintron (29-1, 27 KOs) will try to avenge the only defeat of hisprofessional career when he fights Antonio Margarito (35-5, 25 KOs).This card will be shown in the U.S. on HBO and in the U.K. on SkySports. At a New York news conference Wednesday afternoon, we spoke with the four main fighters on this card: Miguel Cotto, Antonio Margarito,Kermit Cintron, and Alfonso Gomez. We also got comments from promoter Bob Arum of Top Rank, Cintron's trainer Emanuel Steward, and Cotto's cornerman and cutman, Miguel Diaz. To listen to NO HOLDS BARRED, click the link below and just press theplay button on the player: http://nhbnews.podOmatic.com/entry/eg/2008-04-09T20_23_03-07_00 You can also download it by scrolling down that page and clicking onthe download link (right-click to save it). You can also listen to it through the NO HOLDS BARRED blog, athttp://nhbnews.blogspot.com, and MySpace page, at http://www.myspace.com/nhbnews,also by pressing the play button on the player. 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 IanCarpenter (http://iancarpenter.com/). NO HOLDS BARRED is free to listen to and is sponsored by: YAMMA Pit Fighting (http://yammapitfighting.com). The producers of the original UFC and Live Nation (http://livenation.com/), worldwide leaders in live entertainment, present YAMMA Pit Fighting mixedmartial arts. On the streets, it's against the law. In the pit, it IS the law. IFL, the International Fight League (http://ifl.tv/), the world'sfirst professional mixed martial arts league. Make sure to check outtheir regular TV shows on FSN (Fox Sports Net) (http://msn.foxsports.com/story/1636002) in the U.S., and to check your locallistings for dates and times. Check out the IFL web site (http://ifl.tv/), for a listing of IFL live events and their TV schedule, athttp://ifl.tv/TV-Schedule.html. Gladiator Challenge (http://gladiatorchallenge.com/), shaking up themixed 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 aslifestyle articles on surfing, cars, movies, and more. GladiatorMagazine 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 martialarts. Thanks, Eddie Goldman No Holds Barred bloghttp://nhbnews.blogspot.com/ No Holds Barred podcasthttp://nhbnews.podomatic.com/ The Boxing Standardhttp://boxingstandard.com/ No Holds Barred on MySpacehttp://www.myspace.com/nhbnews

YAMMA Pit Fighitng - Ricco Rodrigues, Mark Kerr and "The Yamma" Revealed‏

Los Angeles– Today YAMMA Pit Fighting (YPF), a new mixed martial arts (MMA) organization created by Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) founder Bob Meyrowitz, announced details on the YPF surface called "The Yamma" and revealed the revised fight card for the organization’s first live pay-per-view event, which will air live from the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City on April 11, 2008. MMA veteran and two-time UFC Heavyweight Tournament Champion Mark Kerr will fight in the ‘Masters Superfight’ against Oleg Taktarov. In addition, former UFC Heavyweight Champion and recent VH1's Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew participant Ricco "Suave" Rodriguez has been added to the eight-man heavyweight tournament. Tickets for the event can be purchased through Ticketmaster or at the Trump Taj Mahal Box Office. The live pay-per-view broadcast is available in the United States and Canada through In Demand Networks, TVN Entertainment, Bell ExpressVu, Viewer’s Choice Canada and Dish Network.

The YPF surface, known as “The Yamma,” is an evolution of the traditional fighting structure and is designed to keep the fighting more explosive and continuous. In today’s MMA matches, fighters rush their opponents in the quest for a takedown, and the fight often ends up on the ground and pushed up against the fence. The action often stalls there, and must be stopped and moved back into the center of the ring. The Yamma’s design is specifically aimed at stopping this break in the action. The Yamma is a circular pit, shaped almost like a bowl, with a circular flat bottom that rises up around the edge. In this ring, if a fighter is pushed backwards towards the fence, he moves up the lip, gaining both a height and leverage advantage over his opponent. From this position, the fighter on the lip can use gravity and leverage to reverse his opponent, and take the fight back into the center without a break in the action.

“There has been a lot of speculation about the Yamma; some people thought it would have a moving floor, spikes or even live alligators,” said Bob Meyrowitz, Rope Partners. “But the Yamma isn’t about flashy gimmicks; it’s about the evolution of a sport and how the traditional ring can be altered to accelerate that evolution. At its core, the purpose of the Yamma is to make MMA fighting more exciting for those who matter most - the fans.”

“The Yamma’s design is all about function,” said Scott Nagel, lead designer of the Yamma. “It works because of its sloped up edges and because there are no corners. If you are pushed back, you are pushed up – and what goes up is coming back down, probably in a way that causes the opponent a great deal of pain. It’s going to be much more exciting, much more continuous and have much more action.”

Mark Kerr, a Toledo, OH native, got his start in wrestling, where he was a high school state champion. At Syracuse University, Kerr was the Division I champion at 190 pounds in 1992 - Randy Couture, wrestling for Oklahoma State University, took second place. Kerr soon got into MMA, and had four impressive wins in the UFC, in which he was a two time heavyweight tournament champion. He then began fighting in Pride Fighting Championships in 1998. In 2003, HBO aired a documentary titled "The Smashing Machine: The Life and Times of Mark Kerr." The program chronicled the no-holds barred aspect of mixed martial arts and Ken Shamrock, Bas Rutten and Mark Coleman also appeared in the film. Kerr won his last fight against Steve Gavin on November 7, 2007. He stands 6 ft 3 in tall and weighs 236 lbs and has a record of 13-06-0.

Ricco "Suave" Rodriguez, a UFC/Pride/King of the Cage veteran, was born in San Jose, California and raised in Staten Island, New York. Rodriguez may be best known for defeating MMA mega-legend Randy Couture in 2002 at UFC 39 to win the UFC heavyweight title. He subsequently lost the title to none other than powerhouse Tim Sylvia. Rodriguez recently appeared on VH1's Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew and made a commitment to sobriety and returning to the MMA scene. Since returning to MMA, he has competed in four fights, winning two by TKO and losing two by decision. Rodriguez stands 6 ft 4 in tall and weighs 250 lbs and has a record of 27-7-0.

For the first time in over a decade, MMA will return to its origins by reviving the hugely popular tournament format, in which fighters will participate in multiple fights on their way to claiming the ultimate victory, the title of YAMMA Heavyweight Champion. The format will test the endurance and skill of each fighter, as victory in each round is rewarded not with extended rest, but with another fight. Tournament fighting has long been a huge draw for dedicated MMA fans due to the non-stop action provided by fight-after-fight formatting.


The April 11th fight card is as follows:

MASTERS SUPERFIGHTS (Two Five-Minute Rounds)

Oleg “The Russian Bear” Taktarov VS. Mark Kerr

Butterbean VS. Gary "Big Daddy" Goodridge

8 MAN HEAVYWEIGHT TOURNAMENT (One Five-Minute Round & Championship is Three Five-Minute Rounds)

Marcelo “Pato” Pereira
Sherman Pendergarst
Ricco "Suave" Rodriguez
Tony Sylvester
Chris Tuscherer
Travis “The Diesel” Wiuff
Alexey Oleynik
George Bush

Tickets are available through Ticketmaster’s extensive network of 81 ticket centers throughout the Delaware Valley including Boscov’s, Marshalls and select West Coast Video and Gallery of Sound locations or call Ticketmaster’s convenient Charge-by-Phone service at 1-800-736-1420. For Online Information: www.ticketmaster.com


About Rope Partners

Rope Partners, formed by Bob Meyrowitz and Peter Kauff, have over a 20 year track record of pioneering successful ventures in the music, broadcasting and sports industries. This is illustrated by their successes with DIR Broadcasting (the largest independent radio syndication company), The College Television Network (the largest private television network in the United States), and Semaphore Entertainment Group (the originator and founder of the UFC).

For more information, visit www.yammapitfighting.com or www.myspace.com/yammapitfighting

YAMMA Pit Fighting Statement‏; Pat Smith will replace Gary Goodridge in the YAMMA Pit Fighting “Masters Superfight” against Eric “Butterbean” Esch

YAMMA Pit Fighting has announced that Pat Smith will replace Gary Goodridge in the YAMMA Pit Fighting “Masters Superfight” against Eric “Butterbean” Esch in Atlantic City on April 11, 2008. Goodridge was forced to withdraw from the event after losing a fight in South Korea on March 30, 2008 in what has been determined a knockout. This rendered Goodridge ineligible to fight on April 11 by the New Jersey Athletic Commission, which requires 30 days of inactivity following a KO.

Pat Smith was previously slated to fight Oleg Taktarov in the event.

Patrick Smith, an American mixed martial artist and professional kick boxer, gained notoriety in the early days of the UFC with his commanding wins in several memorable fights, including his defeat of Ninjitsu practitioner Scott Morris in UFC 2. The Denver, Colorado native stands 6 ft 2 in tall and weighs 230lbs., and has won five of his last six MMA fights.

The updated fight card for the April 11th event is as follows:

MASTERS SUPERFIGHTS (Two Five-Minute Rounds)

Oleg “The Russian Bear” Taktarov VS. Mark “The Titan” Kerr

Butterbean VS. Pat Smith

8 MAN HEAVYWEIGHT TOURNAMENT (One Five-Minute Round & Championship is Three Five-Minute Rounds)

Marcelo “Pato” Pereira
Sherman Pendergarst
Ricco "Suave" Rodriguez
Tony Sylvester
Chris Tuscherer
Travis “The Diesel” Wiuff
Alexey Oleynik
George Bush

NO HOLDS BARRED: Jay Hieron, Wagnney Fabiano, Bob Meyrowitz, YAMMA Preview, IFL Review‏

NO HOLDS BARRED: Jay Hieron, Wagnney Fabiano, Bob Meyrowitz, YAMMA Preview, IFL Review

http://nhbnews.podOmatic.com/entry/eg/2008-04-05T14_20_06-07_00

On this edition of NO HOLDS BARRED, host Eddie Goldman reviews the IFL mixed martial arts card held Friday, April 4, at the Izod Center in East Rutherford, New Jersey, and previews the debut show of YAMMA Pit Fighting mixed martial arts this coming Friday, April 11, at the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

Right after their fights, we spoke with two of the IFL champions, 170-pounder Jay Hieron and 145-pounder Wagnney Fabiano, about their successful title defenses Friday night. Hieron, a former Div. I college wrestler at Hofstra, scored a TKO win over Mark Miller with a ground-and-pound attack, winning at just 2:10 of the first round. Fabiano, a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt and expert, scored a first-round knockout of Shad Lierley in just 37 seconds, landing a beautiful straight left-right hook combination that put him away.

This coming Friday, April 11, the much-anticipated and already controversial debut show of YAMMA Pit Fighting takes place at the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, New Jersey. This will be an all-heavyweight show, with two Masters’ Superfights and a one-night, eight-man tournament. This card will also be shown live on pay-per-view.

To get the latest on this card and clear up some of the mysteries about this show as well as some of the confusion being spread by some so-called media members, we spoke directly this past Thursday afternoon with Bob Meyrowitz, a co-founder of the UFC and now the man in charge of YAMMA Pit Fighting.

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, at http://www.secondsout.com/radio/. On this week's edition, we speak with Joseph Agbeko, the IBF bantamweight champion, and Richard Schaefer, the CEO of Golden Boy Promotions. Joseph "King Kong" Agbeko (25-1, 22 KOs) was not widely known to the boxing world before his title fight Sept. 29, 2007, with then-IBF bantamweight champion Luis Perez. Most of his fights had been in Africa against opponents who were nowhere near being world-ranked. But that did not stop Agbeko from pulling the upset and dethroning the veteran Perez with a seventh-round TKO. We discussed with Joseph Agbeko his background as a fighter and his plans for his next fight. We also recently spoke with Richard Schaefer, the CEO of Golden Boy Promotions, at the kickoff news conference to announce the April 19 fight between two champions, light heavyweight king Bernard Hopkins and super middleweight champion Joe Calzaghe. We spoke with him about this fight, and also about the plans of Golden Boy Promotions to enter the worlds of soccer (football) and mixed martial arts. Also, we discuss the narrow view of much of the boxing media towards combat sports, their failure to understand other real combat sports such as mixed martial arts and wrestling, and their fawning over the staged pro "wrestling" spectacle, which has left so many of its participants prematurely dead. 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:

YAMMA Pit Fighting (http://yammapitfighting.com). The producers of the original UFC and Live Nation (http://livenation.com/), worldwide leaders in live entertainment, present YAMMA Pit Fighting mixed martial arts. On the streets, it's against the law. In the pit, it IS the law.

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/

The Boxing Standard
http://boxingstandard.com/

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

Enjoy!