On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with Donovan Craig, the editor-in-chief of Fight! Magazine (http://www.fightmagazine.com).

Our main discussion focused upon the upcoming Strikeforce World Grand Prix Heavyweight Tournament, which begins February 12 at the IZOD Center in East Rutherford, New Jersey, and will be shown live in the U.S. on Showtime.

We began our discussion by reviewing the previous records of the fighters in this tournament against each other. Seven of the eight have previously faced other fighters in it, with each having already faced more than one of the tournament fighters. Every one of these seven fighters has at least one win and at least one loss against the tournament fighters they have already fought.

Besides discussing the brackets, the historical importance of this tournament, and how we see it going, we delved into numerous other topics. Among those we talked about were the cultural and political reasons why MMA is still not legal in New York, the role of movies and fiction in combat sports, the significance of and lessons from the Ali-Frazier trilogy and rivalry for MMA, the Jacob Volkmann-Obama situation, the omission of MMA by a recent Harris Poll on their survey about favorite sports, the actual position of M-1 Global on drug-testing and this tournament, and much more.

In addition, an online petition has just been started for Strikeforce to get the legendary Lenne Hardt as a ring announcer for this tournament. You can sign it here: http://ironforgesiron.com/2011/01/lenne-hardt-strikeforce-petition.

You can play or download No Holds Barred at http://nhbnews.podomatic.com/entry/2011-01-20T17_53_28-08_00.

You can also download No Holds Barred at http://www.mediafire.com/?v67v5guvpg0hbv5.  

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:

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).

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

Thanks, Eddie Goldman

http://eddiegoldman.com

On this audio edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with veteran combat sports journalist Donovan Craig.

We opened with a discussion of the upcoming fight between two mixed martial arts legends, Fedor Emelianenko and Dan Henderson. They meet in a heavyweight fight in the main event of a Strikeforce-M-1 Global card this Saturday, July 30, at the Sears Centre Arena in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, near Chicago, which will be telecast in the U.S. on Showtime. We discussed the histories of both fighters, their recent wins and losses, the likely balance of striking and grappling in this fight, how each fighter can win, and more.

Also, Donovan recently returned from a trip to the Philippines to cover a mixed martial arts event promoted by Pacific X-treme Combat (PXC) (http://pacificxtremecombat.com). We discussed the level of fighters on that card, the prospects for growth of MMA in Asia, and much more.

You can play or download No Holds Barred at http://nhbnews.podomatic.com/entry/2011-07-27T19_16_32-07_00.

You can also download No Holds Barred at http://www.mediafire.com/?rfy12818u69mmdu. 

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