NO HOLDS BARRED: Eddie Goldman Speaks w/ the IFL's Gracie Newton Miletich and Keisha Morrisey

Eddie Goldman
Date: Jan 1 2007 6:48 PM

NO HOLDS BARRED on PodOmatic

NO HOLDS BARRED: Part 1 -- Renzo Gracie, Carlos Newton, Pat Miletich, Matt Lindland, IFL World Team Championship Report

NO HOLDS BARRED: Part 2 -- Ben Rothwell, Andre Gusmao, Erik Owings, Keisha Morrisey, IFL World Team Championship Report

On this week's special two-part edition of NO HOLDS BARRED, host Eddie Goldman reviews the International Fight League (IFL) World Team Championship Final held December 29, 2006, at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn.

In part one, we begin by recapping the fights on that show.

On the card's main event superfight, Renzo Gracie won a controversial split decision victory over Carlos Newton. We speak with both Renzo Gracie and Carlos Newton right after their fight.

The IFL World Team Championship title was won by the Quad Cities Silverbacks, coached by Pat Miletich, who won four of five fights over the Portland Wolfpack, coached by Matt Lindland. We speak with both Pat Miletich and Matt Lindland about their teams as well as their own plans for the future.

In part two, we speak with Big Ben Rothwell, the heavyweight for the Silverbacks who is undefeated in IFL competition. He scored a first-round TKO over Devin Cole of the Wolfpack. We speak with two fighters from Renzo Gracie's New York Pitbulls, Andre Gusmao and Erik Owings, who each won their superfights on this card. And we speak with boxing and entertainment publicist Keisha Morrisey, who gives us her evaluation of this event.

To listen to NO HOLDS BARRED, just click here:

http://nhbnews.podomatic.com/

Also, NO HOLDS BARRED is available through iTunes.

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.

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

IFL, the International Fight League, the world's first professional mixed martial arts league. Make sure to check out their regular TV shows on FSN (Fox Sports Net) in the U.S., and Rogers Sportsnet in Canada, and to check your local listings for dates and times. Check out the IFL web site, ifl.tv, for a listing of IFL live events.

BJJMart.com, your premier source for all Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu gear, videos, books, and much more.

Thanks, Eddie Goldman

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Hands Down International Fight League (IFL) World Championship Finals Rocked

Hands down the IFL ROCKS
by Keishadivine El Empress



Headlining the IFL World Team Championship Finals Friday December 29th 2006 at the Mohegan Sun Arena Hotel and Casino, were the Silver back- Wolf pack match-ups and Gracie-Newton Super fight in addition to Eight IFL Athletes competing in four Intra-league Super fights on a 10 fight card, that included, Erik Owings unanimously defeating Ed West, Brent Beauparlant being defeated by Andre Gusmao, Jamal Patterson being TKO'd by Reese Andy, and Krzysztof Soszynski being defeated by "Iron" Mike Whithead in a controversial decision. In addition legends Renzo Gracie of the Pit bulls and Carlos "The Ronin" Newton of the Dragons, squared off in a middleweight Superfight with, Renzo Gracie becoming the Victor in a controversial decision, and Win.

(Keisha Gracie and Eddie Goldman)



(Keisha and Carlos Newton of the Dragons)


The pairing of the Silver backs, coached by Pat Miletich and the Wolfpack, coached by Matt Lindland, both teams advanced to the finals. The team to reign Supreme for the IFL World Team Championship finals was the Silver backs of Moline, Illinois, who's head coach, Pat Miletich is a former MMA welterweight champ himself. The Silver backs swept 4 of the 5 competitions, with the one lost coming from Rory Markham who was TKO'd by Chris Wilson of the Wolf packs.

(Chris Wilson of the Wolfpacks)



The Silverbacks winning team consisted of Bart Palaszewski who TKO'd Ryan Schultz, giving the Silverbacks the championship, 3 wins of the 5, Ryan McGivern defeated Matt Horwich in an unanimous decision, Mike Ciesnolevic defeated Aaron Starks and Ben Rothwell defeated Devin Cole by TKO.

(Keisha and Team Silverbacks after winning championship)





The Silver backs head coach stated at the post Press conference " I am extremely proud of of the team", while head coach of the Wolf packs stated "Its about making sacrifices, we came up short, they fought hard, we should have stuck to our game plan, when we deviated away, that's why they lost".

The IFL also awarded the Silver back team members, Mike Ciesnolevicz with the Best submission of the night, Ben Rothwell with the best knockout of the night, Bart Palaszewski with the Best fight of the night, in which he received an all expense paid trip and a X-box 360, and the Wolf packs Chris Wilson received the best finish of the night. The Silver back team in addition all received IFL world championship rings for their Win. It all came down to this....Mixed Martial Arts like no other one night, two legends, two teams and two great performances, Miss Maine, belted the National Anthem and Jodi K in her New England debut kept the sold out crowd entertained. Eddie Goldman Chris Thomas myself and other media representatives, headed over to the after- party, at the convention arena banquet hall, full to capacity, the event had great food and a host of celebrities, current fighters and legends of the game, IFL executives production staff and VIP's making my first time attending an event of this magnitude and nature, more memorable and the networking opportunity, well worth the trip.The event sponsors were Dale & Thomas, IFL.TV, Fairtex fight gear, FSN (Fox Sports Network), Mad, Mohegan Sun Arena, National Guard, Sandals, X-Box 360.





The event will air Sunday December 31st 2006 @9PM, if you were not there live, watch all of the explosive action on FSN, You won't want to miss this IFL World Team Championship Final Showdown.

"IN THE SEASON OF GIVING, HELP ANN WOLFE HELP OTHERS

"IN THE SEASON OF GIVING, HELP ANN WOLFE HELP OTHERS Interview

By Dan Horgan

When an individual is at the very forefront of his or her field, pursuing other interests is certainly not uncommon. Peter Gammons, perhaps the world's best baseball analyst, has made his own indie rock album. Steve Kim, one of the world's best boxing writers, has an obsession with college football. And Floyd Mayweather, pound for pound one the best fighters in boxing today, is the owner of Philthy Rich Records. Obviously, there is nothing wrong with taking up these outside interests. A creative outlet can be healthy and, let's face it, everyone has hobbies, right? Not Ann Wolfe. Ann Wolfe just may be the most selfless individual in the world today. Despite amassing a 24-1 record (with the one loss avenged twice) and winning world titles in three weight classes, Wolfe does not take any time to pursue fun activities. Instead, she takes the much more noble route, spending every single day in the Ann Wolfe Boxing Gym, helping to turn lives around. When I asked Wolfe what was left for her to accomplish at the age of thirty-five, I was hoping to get an answer that revolved around her boxing career, maybe something like "Laila Ali needs to stop ducking me and fight me before I retire." However, the answer I did get was the epitome of why Wolfe should be praised, honored, and loved by everyone in the boxing world. "I want to be the first woman to guide a male fighter to a world championship," she said. "Training means more to me right now than fighting, because in addition to helping the fighter to box better, I am helping them to change as a person. Here at the Ann Wolfe Boxing Gym, we help people of all types. We have boys and girls from ages five to seventy-five who all train here, and we judge no one. No matter what race, what criminal background, if you come in here, you will be welcomed." Uplifting, right? Well here comes the sad part. Because of the lack of outside funding, the Ann Wolfe Boxing Gym is close to being shut down. Right now, a man named Brian Pardo sacrifices his own salary to pay the gym's monthly rent, but the financial strain is beginning to become too much. This strong and happy family could be torn apart. "If this gym closes, then many kids who have nowhere else to go will end up suffering," said Wolfe. "This gym is a place where they can be safe from all home troubles, where they won't be beaten or raped. A lot of the kids that come here look at the gym as a place to get something to eat! You should see the way some of the kids look at me -- it's as if I'm their sister. And I deny no kids to the gym, no matter what their financial constraints. This gym is the only place they have to go, and without it, their only safe outlet will have been taken away." Imagine that. A positive, safe refuge for troubled kids being snatched away simply because of monetary reasons. Wolfe has the power to help these kids -- after all, nearly every tournament fighters trained by Wolfe enter, they win -- but she does not have the financial backing to do so. It doesn't get much worse than that. While Wolfe says she does not like to beg, she is willing to swallow her pride, and encourages everyone to help out in any possible way.
"If you are in the Austin area, get a membership to the gym. In addition to helping us out, you can get a good workout in and learn a lot about the sport. For those who aren't in the Austin area, donations are welcome, but what would really help is to sponsor a fighter. By sponsoring a fighter you can change his or her life. Every time I see someone go to prison, I get sad because I know they could have been helped. If you sponsor one kid, then you could be the one who ends up preventing them from going to prison one day." To all Dog House readers: WE CAN HELP PREVENT THIS AWFUL TRAGEDY FROM HAPPENING!!! If we all chip in, we can help save the gym, and ultimately change the lives of many people. If you are interested in helping to continue the only outlet of hope for many individuals, send all donations to 720 Bastrop HWY, Suite 109 Austin TX, 78741. Anything you can give will be greatly appreciated by Wolfe, and the people who treat the gym as their sanctuary. "To show how much we appreciate donations, we send donors a letter back describing to them what we do here at the Ann Wolfe Boxing Gym. We make sure to show our gratitude." It is the holiday season, and there's no better way to spread the holiday spirit then to donate money. Just think: You could save a young boxer's life. At one point in time, Ann Wolfe herself was a young refugee who was in desperate need of guidance, and she found that guidance through boxing. Imagine if the gym she went to was not open! Nothing but positive results can possibly come out of keeping this gym open. Who knows? The next heavyweight champion of the world could end up walking through its doors tomorrow, and if the gym does get shut down, he could end up choosing the wrong path in life. Ann Wolfe has the power to save lives. We have the power to help her.