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Fight Opinion Radio: The Christmas Show

By Zach Arnold | December 22, 2006

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Six big MMA guests, five days of taping, four radio team members producing, three guest co-hosts for a segment, two weeks to produce, and one large three-plus hour-long Christmas radio show. An emergency room visit, a visit to the mental institution, armlocks in an American football scrum, Christmas shopping at the mall, and coming home after a 20-hour flight from Russia. Just a sampling of some of the stories told by our guests this week on this special Christmas Show edition of Fight Opinion Radio.

First, we have event promoter Barry Meyer in Las Vegas. Barry is producing the first-ever Pro-Am MMA event in Las Vegas, taking place on December 29th (the day before UFC 66). The event also features a submission wrestling match with Renato Babalu. For more information on this check, check out Barry’s HP at TuffnUff.net.

Second, we have BodogFIGHT play-by-play TV man and HOOK ‘n SHOOT event promoter Jeff Osborne to talk about the latest happenings in Bodog, UFC, and PRIDE. Jeff came back from Russia after taping several days of season two of the BodogFIGHT series. Want good promoter stories? Check. Want a good perspective of how the MMA business has changed in the last decade? Check. For more information on Jeff, check out FightWorld.com. That web site also features some brand new DVDs, including a new Vanderlei Silva DVD.

Third, we have special co-hosts Bryan & Vinny (along with Blake Norton) from F4WOnline.com to talk about many things MMA and pro-wrestling related. How has the MMA boom in 2006 impacted the business of wrestling? What can pro-wrestling promoters learn from the MMA industry? Will MMA devolve into what boxing has become in the near future? Plus, which F4W personality was recently locked up into a mental institution? Quality entertainment from the F4W crew. I highly recommend this segment whether you are a pro-wrestling fan or not.

Fourth, we have an interview with Kenny “KenFlo” Florian, who fought Sean Sherk last October for the 155-pound Lightweight title. When is his next match? What are his thoughts coming out of the Sherk fight? What’s the latest regarding the MMA scene in the New England area? Spend some time with us and get smartened up on the latest grass roots news coming out of Kenny’s area. For more information on Kenny, you can visit his web page at KennyFlorian.com.

Fifth, we have IFL coach (his team is the Anacondas in the IFL) Bas Rutten on from the emergency room, where someone got a toe ripped off during sparring. Mutilated body parts? Check that off on your wish list. One of the best interviews ever produced on an MMA show. Specials thank to the great Mr. Canada for the El Guapo remix song. You can check out Mr. Rutten’s HP at BasRutten.tv for more information on the man, the myth, and the legend. A special thanks to Mr. Canada for his F4W El Guapo remix song that we played in full on the air. High-quality entertainment.

Sixth, we have Arena Football star Rex Richards of the San Jose Sabercats (and of West Texas MMA & Carlson Gracie BJJ) to talk with us about his latest fight that happened on December 8th at the StrikeForce event at the San Jose Arena (now called HP Pavilion). What is his reaction to ESPN signing a deal with the AFL to start airing games on prime-time television every Monday night? What does he like better, football or MMA? How does a man 6’5″ and over 300 pounds become a brown belt in BJJ? What submission holds does Rex apply during a football scrum? Meet one of MMA’s largest two-sport star athletes.

Seventh, we have Gracie FC star fighter Jake Shields (MySpace link here) on the program to talk about how he broke into Mixed Martial Arts, his thoughts on fighting Japan a few years ago and how the scene has changed, plus his take on the upcoming Gracie FC event from Miami, Florida on January 20th. All while doing wind sprints and Christmas shopping. A very good guy.

Last but not least, the world-famous grab bag makes an appearance on our Christmas show. Want to know what it’s really like when you have obnoxious family members all together in a group setting for the holidays? Then listen to this week’s segment and find out exactly what happens when everything falls apart and no one is there to save the day. Merry Christmas.

We would like to give our special thanks to both the IFL and Gracie FC for helping us out with producing the program. Most importantly, a sincere thanks to Jeff Thaler, Erin Bucknell, and Luke Nicholson — the hardest-working MMA radio team in the business today. Bar none. Without them, you wouldn’t have the high quality show for free for Christmas that you have today. This is the season for giving, so make sure that if you enjoy the show that you contribute to the Fight Opinion project by donating money here. All the money goes to pay for the actual costs of this project. Your donations are greatly appreciated.

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Podcasting Links

The Christmas Show edition of Fight Opinion Radio is now online and available to download. Here are your options for listening to the show:

Broadband (MP3) | Dial-up/Streaming

Or you can use the great flash player to listen to it streaming (without having to use an external program). Check it out (down below).

[audio:http://www.puroresupower.com/powerhour/shows/foradio-12-22-2006.mp3]

Donations

With the listenership for Fight Opinion Radio dramatically increasing week by week, we definitely could use your financial support for the Fight Opinion project. If you want to contribute to us in a way that directly helps us out with our web server costs, you can donate directly to our web host – A Small Orange. Please help us out. I will personally contact you and give my sincere thanks if you make a donation.

Sponsors

We are looking for new sponsors. E-mail me if you are interested in having both site & radio show ads.

Feedback

To contact us for show feedback, you can e-mail any of us on the Fight Opinion radio staff.

Topics: All Topics, Erin Bucknell, Fight Opinion Radio, IFL, Japan, Jeff Osborne, Jeff Thaler, Luke Nicholson, Media, MMA, podcasts, Pro-Wrestling, StrikeForce, UFC, Yakuza, Zach Arnold | 3 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |

3 Responses to “Fight Opinion Radio: The Christmas Show”

  1. […] The show, available at FightOpinion.com, is always entertaining, though I sadly don’t get to listen to it as much I wish I could. (That happens when your usual daily commute is only seven minutes long. Not that I’m complaining.) […]

  2. […] Today’s top news stories, plus a look at the MMA calendar for the next 45 days. Key word: Oversaturation. Plus, go listen to the Christmas radio show if you haven’t already. […]

  3. […] There will be a lot more details surfacing soon about a potential MMA project for WWE. One thought that should be taken into consideration: Kenny Florian on the Fight Opinion Radio Christmas 2006 Special show stated that Massachusetts has essentially become the wild west as far as promoters running their own events with their own rules (the boxing commission is now hands-off on MMA regulation in the state). Massachusetts would likely be a prime MMA debut show area candidate for WWE (right in their backyard.) […]