On this audio edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with Stephen Koepfer, the head coach at New York Combat Sambo (http://www.nycombatsambo.com) and the co-founder of the Coalition to Legalize Mixed Martial Arts in New York (http://nymmanow.blogspot.com).

Having recently returned from the Spartak Olympic Training Center in Ukraine, we spoke with him about why sambo continues to be such an important discipline and combat sport in Eastern Europe. Training in sambo is also seen as a way of promoting health and physical culture among the population.

We also gave a post-mortem on the attempts this year to get the New York legislature to re-legalize mixed martial arts. After once again being passed in the Senate, the bill was bottled up in committee in the Assembly and never reached the floor for a vote. We thus discuss why we must continue our efforts, the strengths and weaknesses of the battle for MMA in New York, why MMA fighters should be provided the same legal protections as boxers have under the Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform Act, and much more.

You can play or download No Holds Barred at http://nhbnews.podomatic.com/entry/2011-06-26T07_05_00-07_00.

You can also download No Holds Barred at http://www.mediafire.com/?9d8nu8a4adpm3c8. 

If one link does not work, please try another. The show is in MP3 format, so may take some time to download.

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

The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by Ian Carpenter (http://iancarpenter.com).

No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by:

M-1 Global (http://www.m-1global.com). Founded in 1998, M-1 Global has staged over 100 mixed martial arts events worldwide including the M-1 Selection tournaments and M-1 Challenge events, in Eastern and Western Europe, North America, and Asia. While discovering and developing the world's next generation of superstar fighters, M-1 Global's greatest asset is the number one heavyweight in mixed martial arts history, Fedor Emelianenko. Make sure to catch their shows from around the world, including on Showtime in the U.S., and visit their web site, M-1Global.com (http://www.m-1global.com), and the M-1 Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/pages/M-1-Global/145250878842244) for news, videos, and live streaming events.

Beezid.com - Penny Auctions (http://www.beezid.com). Your #1 source for exciting auction shopping and outstanding deals on just about anything! Top rated, most trusted auction site online. Where do you shop? Beezid.com - Penny Auctions (http://www.beezid.com).

American Top Team (http://americantopteam.com). 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.

The American Sambo Association (http://www.ussambo.com), which is committed to becoming the premier association in the U.S. dedicated to the advancement of Sambo. Sambo is a form of sport, self-defense, and combat established in the former Soviet Union during the early twentieth century. For more information, go to ussambo.com (http://www.ussambo.com).

Thanks, Eddie Goldman

http://eddiegoldman.com