NO HOLDS BARRED: Tadashi Tanaka on Pride, the Yakuza Scandal, the Expected Sale of Pride, and MMA in Japan -- Parts One and Two

On this special two-part edition of NO HOLDS BARRED, host Eddie Goldman speaks with our long-time colleague and friend, the Japanese journalist Tadashi Tanaka, who is the top mixed martial arts and puroresu (Japanese pro wrestling) journalist in the world.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /> Tadashi is the journalist who broke the story in the Japanese magazine Shukan Gendai (Weekly Gendai) containing allegations that Pride was actually owned by the Yakuza, Japanese organized crime. Shortly after that last year, and despite very high television ratings, Pride shows were dropped by Fuji TV, a major national broadcast network in Japan similar to NBC, CBS, and ABC in America. Now Pride is expected to announce in <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Japan this Tuesday that it is being sold to a new ownership group which will include major investors who also are owners of Zuffa, the parent company of UFC. We discuss with Tadashi the allegations made against Pride, how these allegations and the Yakuza scandal have affected Pride, and what to expect with Pride's expected sale.  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 to check your local listings for dates and times. You can also catch the IFL's newest show, "IFL Battleground", every Monday on MyNetworkTV from 8-10 PM. An encore presentation will run each Saturday night from 8-10 PM. Check out the IFL web site, ifl.tv, for a listing of IFL live events and their TV schedule. BJJMart.com, your premier source for all Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu gear, videos, books, and much more. FightBeat.com, for news, results, interviews, and free exclusive videos from the worlds of boxing and mixed martial arts. Thanks, Eddie Goldman http://nhbnews.blogspot.com/ http://nhbnews.podomatic.com/ http://www.myspace.com/nhbnews