No Holds Barred: Jeff Monson on MMA and May Day

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman once again speaks with American Top Team MMA fighter and two-time ADCC champion Jeff Monson (http://twitter.com/JeffMonson).

Jeff was originally scheduled to face Magomed Malikov on April 9 in the M-1 Heavyweight Grand Prix quarterfinals, but a pectoral muscle tear forced Jeff to undergo surgery and postpone that fight. He is recovering from this injury, and this fight is now scheduled to take place June 7 on the M-1 card in the Republic of Ingushetia, Russia.

We spoke with Jeff by phone Monday night about this fight, his career, why he is a self-described anarchist, and how he views the sport and business of MMA.

Our discussion took place right before May 1, or May Day, also marked around the world as International Workers' Day.

Asked what his May Day message would be to MMA fighters, Jeff replied, "My message would be solidarity. My message is, 'Be together.' We're all in this whether, like I said, whether you're trying to be a professional fighter or whether you're well-established or at the top of your game. It's the same sport. We're all in it together."

He also quoted the old saying associated with the IWW (Industrial Workers of the World), "'An injury to one is an injury to all.' And it really is."

We discussed numerous topics, including how this fight with Malikov may be "a classic grappler vs. striker match," why he likes M-1's new six-sided ring, how he has become a celebrity in Russia, his fascination with the country and people of Russia, the reaction to his politics, and the need for a fighters' union.

He also pointed out the "shameful" conditions facing MMA fighters, including no such union, no pension, no health insurance, no job security, no retirement, and often low pay, which is even less than boxers get, while they are still fighting. While the formation of a fighters' union is far from imminent, he stated, "It's going to happen," adding that more education of the fighters is needed and that he hopes to take an active role in this struggle.

You can play or download No Holds Barred at http://nhbnews.podomatic.com/entry/2013-04-30T08_42_21-07_00 and http://archive.org/details/NoHoldsBarredJeffMonsonOnMmaAndMayDay. If one link does not work, please try another.

No Holds Barred is also available on mobile phones and iPads through Stitcher (http://landing.stitcher.com/?vurl=noholdsbarred).

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", which is also available on iTunes by composer by Ian Snow(http://magicpumpkinstudios.com).

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

ONE Fighting Championship (http://onefc.com). ONE FC is Asia's largest and most prestigious mixed martial arts event. ONE FC features the best Asian fighters and has initiated the ONE Asia Partnership Network, which includes most of the major MMA promotions and MMA gyms in Asia. For more information, go to their web site, at ONEFC.com(http://onefc.com).

Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. 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.

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.

Thanks, Eddie Goldman http://eddiegoldman.com

Excellent show today, Monson made some very interesting points.

Thanks. Spread the word. This is only the beginning.

nhbnews wrote:Thanks. Spread the word. This is only the beginning.

I linked your show on our facebook, hopefully others will be inclined to give it a listen.

I hope to catch this later. Wouldn't mind seeing Monson win this GP.

PRIDE NEVER DIE wrote:Excellent show today, Monson made some very interesting points.

It would be great if you gave a preview/teaser and then linked back to here for discussion and new member promotion. Just a short teaser so they have to link thru to here to read/see/hear the entire thing. We need to do this for most all content/articles/vids/audio/etc. We need to turn over a lot more FB guys to G-MMA members. That's the main purpose of our FB & Twitter.

Dagwood wrote:

PRIDE NEVER DIE wrote:Excellent show today, Monson made some very interesting points.

It would be great if you gave a preview/teaser and then linked back to here for discussion and new member promotion. Just a short teaser so they have to link thru to here to read/see/hear the entire thing. We need to do this for most all content/articles/vids/audio/etc. We need to turn over a lot more FB guys to G-MMA members. That's the main purpose of our FB & Twitter.

I normally alway do this, however with Eddies stuff I always direct link to his site. I try to help a brother out man.