The Rear Naked Choke, Featuring Joe & Ted

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 Bad Brad With a Bang! [103:51m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

With Joe & Ted & The RNC crew looking on at ringside the Meadowlands April 4, Bad Brad Blackburn came through with a bang.

Bad Brad was in trouble after losing the first two rounds to Brazilian Jiu Jitsu master Delson Heleno and he needed a knockout in the third round to win.

He got it.

RESULTS:

Jay Hieron defends welterweight belt over Mark Miller, TKO 2:10 Round 1

Wagnney Fabiano defends featherweight belt over Shad Lierley, KO :30 Round 1

Vladimir Matyushenko defends light heavyweight belt over Jamal Patterson, TKO 3:20 Round 2

Brad Blackburn defeats Delson Heleno via KO at 1:50 Round 3.

Alex Schoenauer defeats Brendan Barrett at light heavyweight via split decision

LC Davis defeats Rafael Dias at featherweight via knockout (leg kick) at 3:56 Round 3

Chris Horodecki defeats Nate Lamotte at lightweight via unanimous decision.

Jim Miller defeats Bart Palaszewski at lightweight via unanimous decision.

Emyr Bussade defeats Jesse Lennox via tapout due to submission on kneebar at 1:25 Round 2.

Carmelo Marrero vs. Mike Ciesnolevicz ruled no contest due to accidental headbbut cut on Marrero at 1:37 Round 1.

What you might not know is that The Rear Naked Choke video squad was behind the scenes with Bad Brad from the time he got off the plane! To watch the inside story behind one of the greatest in-fight comebacks in IFL history, keep track of www.joeted.com and listen to The RNC.

Prior to settling in for the fights, Joe & Ted had Ring Girls and Big(gest) Losers. Oh yeah, and fighters, too!

Ring Girl Lauren Urso, who was one of the winners of the IFL/NY Post Ring Girl contest, was the first guest and got things (and Ted) heated up in a hurry.

The massive Conan Silveira from American Top Team talked about coming from Brazil to Miami and gave some good intel on his fighters.

Jim Germanakos from The Biggest Loser stepped in. Jim is a big MMA fan and knows a thing or two about dropping weight and getting into shape. His brother, Bill, won the title after 17 weeks on the ranch. Jim stayed for six weeks and Bill for the entire 17.

Then it got to the fighters, with Deividas Taurosevicius and Mike Massenzio, both of whom will be fighting on the IFL’s May 16 card at Mohegan Sun in Connecticut.

Deividas’ wrist injury kept him from fighting in the Meadowlands but he has been cleared to battle for the lightweight title against Ryan “The Lion” Schultz. Deividas is from Lithuania and recounted his professional athletic start as a rugby player.

Massenzio, who will be making his IFL debut at Mohegan Sun, capped it off by talking about his amazing New Jersey high school wrestling career and his current role as a high school coach and MMA fighter. He was 142-13 in high school and is now 10-1 in MMA!

JUMP ON THE TRAIN!

<—pass it down—>

Jamal Patterson joined Joe & Ted four nights before his IFL title bout at 205 pounds against Vladimir “The Janitor” Matyushenko, kicking off IFL Fight Week on The Rear Naked Choke.

Jamal knows the hooker that ended the governorship of Eliot Spitzer. Can you believe it? It’s true, and you can only get that kind of juice with The RNC Listening Experience.

He talked about how he works his day job selling medical devices, being a sociology major at Colgate, and being young and good looking - wink wink! And then the New York Times did a huge feature on Jamal!

JP Double Feature! Jamal Patterson knows the Eliot Spitzer hooker - and he also knows some ass-kicking BJJ moves! - listen to it here and catch up with Jama’s first appearance with us here on The Choke as well! (he’s the second guest after Eric Ownings:

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 Jamal Patterson Kicks off Fight Week! [62:41m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Jamal Patterson's First Appearance [66:11m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Joe & Ted also attacked the latest news in MMA and the IFL, reviewing the fight card for April 4 and the newly announced May 16 card at Mohegan Sun! They mentioned their press release just put out by the IFL, talking about what is in store this week, with live remote shows from the IFL hotel Wednesday and Thursday at 9:30 pm Eastern (6:30 Pacific), and the ringside live stream, commencing from the Meadowlands at 5:00 pm Friday.

Here is the press release about what’s going on this week from the IFL:

‘Rear Naked Choke’ To Produce Live Pre-Fight Internet Radio Show Before IFL Event on April 4 3/31/2008

Two-Hour Ringside Broadcast Highlights Week of Izod Center Preview Shows NEW YORK, March 31, 2008 – “The Rear Naked Choke, Featuring Joe & Ted,” an Internet radio program which focuses on the International Fight League (IFL) in delivering a unique perspective and insight into the entertaining culture of the burgeoning world of mixed martial arts (MMA), will broadcast a live two-hour program from ringside at the IFL event at the Izod Center in E. Rutherford, N.J., on April 4, beginning at 5 p.m. Listeners can tune in at www.joeted.com. The program, which will feature a variety of IFL athletes and coaches and other MMA personalities, concludes a week of IFL-themed programs. Hosts Joe Rizzo and Ted Takvorian will also air special Rear Naked Choke episodes on Wednesday and Thursday evenings. The Rear Naked Choke broadcasts weekly on Mondays at 9:30 p.m. ET (6:30 p.m. PT). Focusing on the IFL, Joe & Ted provide the inside scoop for the fans and the pros. The RNC offers fighters, coaches and legends of the sport a break from the rigors of training and a place to kick back for a few laughs, riff about what makes them interesting, and maybe even talk some trash. All shows stream live, feature an interactive chat room, and are available for listening or downloading any time through www.joeted.com. Dozens of IFL coaches and athletes and other MMA personalities have appeared on past programs, including Bas Rutten, Renzo Gracie, Pat Miletich, Randy Couture and Ken Shamrock. The RNC also features special event coverage with shows on location, including the ringside live stream leading up to the opening bell. For more info on how to listen live and participate in the chat, go to http://www.talkshoe.com/blog/index.php/help/. About the IFL International Fight League™ (IFL) has its headquarters in New York and offices in Las Vegas. For more information about IFL, please see: www.ifl.tv.

Spotted the other day in NYC’s Penn Station: Renzo Gracie, IFL featherweight champion Wagnney Fabiano and 170-pounder Delson Heleno rolling during a demonstration/press junket. Here is Riz with Delson:

Tune in this week to find out Bad Brad Blackburn’s reaction to this pic! Bad Brad will be arriving in New Jersey on Tuesday night, and Joe & Ted will be chronicling his moves on video. “Behind the Scenes With Joe & Ted” will premiere after the dust settles from the IFL event at the Meadowlands.

We’re also working on more things with video, so keep coming back to www.joeted.com for updates. Drop us a line at TheRNC@joeted.com if you have comments, questions or ideas, especially if you have a name for the Unnamed Segment (or is it Name That Segment?).

JUMP ON THE TRAIN!

<—pass it down—>

Bad Brad Blackburn gave The Rear Naked Choke and exclusive announcement - what a way to follow IFL heavyweight champ Roy Nelson - and there was controversy about Xtreme Couture and the IFL uncovered on Monday’s show on www.joeted.com.

Bad Brad revealed on the air to Joe & Ted and The RNC nation that he will be fighting again in the IFL, with his next match to be against Delson Heleno of Renzo Gracie Jiu Jitsu on April 4 at the Meadowlands in NJ.

Brad was his usual self, making easy conversation and keeping Joe & Ted in stitches with his endearing sarcasm. Because his announcement was breaking news, the guys did not reveal Blackburn was even coming on the show until they brought him on the air.

By the time the show was finishing, he was running out the door to practice his jiu jitsu!

Maybe he should train with “Big Country”, whose game has no weakness right now.

Coming off his dominating knockout of Fabiano Scherner in the IFL’s 2008 opener Feb. 29, Roy was in top form in his showdown with Joe & Ted.

Roy gave a quick recap of his fight, then offered fans of The RNC a free T-shirt at his web site, www.bigcountry.tv.

But it is Roy’s insights into the business and political sides of MMA that set him apart. The discussion turned to the issue in the IFL in which Xtreme Couture abruptly switched its camp name to Team Tompkins due to the ongoing legal battle between Randy Couture and Zuffa, which operates the UFC.

Just two days before the IFL card was to take place, the Xtreme Couture camp entity asked the IFL to let it out of the naming commitment, which the promotion did, scrambling immediately in an obvious show of good faith. Within minutes of the request, the name Xtreme Couture was wiped clean of the www.IFL.tv site and all references were adjusted to read “Team Tompkins”.

Because Shawn Tompkins has fronted the core group of fighters associated with Xtreme Couture (the Anacondas), it was a logical and simple solution to make the name adjustment to Team Tompkins.

That should have been the end of the story.

What was not an issue at the time was that the fighters on the card representing Xtreme Couture/Team Tompkins were, with the exception of 145-pounder Dennis Davis, not regular training members in the Las Vegas-based establishment.

However, when Santino DeFranco and Lew Polley, members of American Top Team, were submission losers in the Feb. 29 card, it seemed to suddenly become a point of contention that the pair were not affiliated with Xtreme Couture, which contends it was forced by the IFL to have DeFranco and Polley fight under its banner.

Here is the camp’s statement, taken from the Xtreme Couture blog. Note the date of March 1, the day after the IFL card was contested:

Statement on Team Name Change from Xtreme Couture to Team Tompkins

March 1, 2008 ·

Yesterday our lawyers appeared in Judge Togliatti’s Las Vegas courtroom to address the previously continued preliminary injunction hearing. After many hours of argument, the judge agreed to fashion a remedy (without any admission or waiver or affect on any date and event other than the February 29th IFL event) based upon what Randy Couture had already advised the court he was doing and /or more than willing to do (and had already taken steps to do): (i) That he had not planned to attend the February 29th IFL event in Las Vegas; (ii) that, given the foregoing, he was not cornering at the IFL event on the 29th; and (iii) that the team name “Xtreme Couture” would not be used in the February 29th event (for the reasons discussed below). We don’t believe that anyone with full-knowledge of the facts could consider this a victory. In fact, it is a non-event.

However, the background story is a little more interesting. Simply put, the IFL was attempting to use the ”Xtreme Couture” name without properly representing the gym by using its own fighters.

On January 8 we submitted a list of seven (7) fighters to the IFL that would be available to fight in the IFL event from the Xtreme Couture gym. The fighters were: Dennis Davis 145lbs (16-8), Jay White Heavyweight (2-5), Phil Friedman Heavyweight (1-0), Eric Uresk 155lbs (2-3), Josh Haynes 185lbs (8-8), Johnny Hendricks 170lbs (3-0), and Karina Taylor 135lbs (0-1).

The IFL informed us that Dennis Davis would be booked to fight a prelim bout against Ian Loveland and that none of our other fighters would be utilized. According to the IFL none of our fighters were a proper matchup for Mario Sperry’s team of Brazilian fighters. The IFL intended to field a team of Benji Radach (who due to injury was replaced by Josh Haynes), Santino DeFranco and Lew Polley. Radach had been a member of Shawn Tompkins’ Anacondas team, while DeFranco and Polley are from American Top Team.

Lew Polley and Santino DeFranco are tremendous athletes and excellent fighters. However, they are members of American Top Team not Xtreme Couture. American Top Team is a great squad and by all means seem to be deserving of having their own team in the IFL. We have 35 athletes that train in our Las Vegas gym and proudly wear the Xtreme Couture patch on their shorts during fights. Yet the IFL decided to field a team called “Xtreme Couture” without putting any Xtreme Couture athletes on the team. The Patriots didn’t show up in the Super Bowl with a bunch of players from the Packers. Why would the Xtreme Couture name be put on the line and not be represented by Xtreme Couture fighters.

It is because of this that the team name was changed to ”Team Tompkins”.

The IFL may have been misguided in putting fighters under another camp’s banner, but this did not seem to be an issue until all of a sudden DeFranco and Polley were victims of first-round submissions.

The IFL has been doing the same thing since its inception and no one made an issue of it.

For instance, Jake Ellenberger, who had an impressive win over Pat Healy on the Feb. 29 card, is a member of Matt Lindland’s Team Quest. But Ellenberger fought in the IFL Team Finals in September for Pat Miletich’s Silverbacks when Rory Markham was injured.

Miletich had another Team Quest fighter, Gerald Harris (a member of the cast of The Ultimate Fighter 7, incidentally), join his Silverbacks for the team semifinals against Tompkins’ Anacondas, and he was knocked out by Radach.

Radach originally was supposed to fight under the Xtreme Couture banner for the card in question Feb. 29, but because he broke bones in his neck during training was replaced by Josh Haynes. Although Radach has trained in Florida with American Top Team for years, no one seemed to have a problem with the star being associated with the Anacondas, Xtreme Couture or Team Tompkins.

While valid, the timing of the Xtreme Couture statement seems curious at best, sour grapes at worst. There had been plenty of time for them to step in and either ask for the name association to be removed or demand the IFL utilize true members of the camp for all events in which it was participating.

It was a subpar move by an otherwise top-flight outfit with some of the most respected people in the business.

On The Rear Naked Choke, both Nelson and Blackburn assessed the situation and added special insight. Give it a listen and comment through the site or via email at TheRNC@joeted.com.

Also, do not forget to visit Fightchix. When you make your order, drop them a line on info@fightchix.com and mention The Rear Naked Choke to get 15% off!

JUMP ON THE TRAIN!

<—pass it down—>

Ryan “The Lion” Schultz and Jay Hieron joined Joe & Ted on The Rear Naked Choke fresh off their title-winning performances at Mohegan Sun in Connecticut. They talked about their championship fights. A little. But you can get that almost anywhere, or even from just watching the fights.

What you cannot get anywhere else is what they gave Joe & Ted.

Does Ryan (pictured above in red trunks, fighting Chris Horodecki for the title) really try to look like a lion? Has he ever had a couple too many beers before a van ride to the airport with Joe & Ted? Where is North Platte, Nebraska, and who is the toughest guy from that small town?

Listen and find out. Get some laughs while doing it, and get to know the first lightweight champion in the history of the IFL right here on www.joeted.com!

What about Jay (pictured above, getting his IFL welterweight champion’s belt) ? Find out what it will take for Jay to agree to co-host the show, and with whom he will co-host. Find out his real name, and why he changed it. Live through the gut-wrenching decision he had to make in his personal life just weeks before the welterweight title fight victory over Delson Heleno, and listen as he lifts spirits and describes the origination of the greatest catch phrase in MMA!

There also was breaking news on The RNC about the first title defenses of Ryan The Lion and Jay. Find out who they’ll fight, when they’ll fight them and where it will take place. And listen up to get their assessment of their opponents!

UP NEXT

Coming up Monday, January 14, it’s new heavyweight champion Roy “Big Country” Nelson and middleweight title contender Tim Kennedy.

The live stream is 9:30 Eastern, 8:30 Central, 7:30 Mountain, 6:30 Pacific, and 2:30 GMT Tuesday.

Big Country knocked out Antoine Jaoude on Dec. 29 at Mohegan Sun in Connecticut to take the heavyweight belt. Roy was the first guest after the show was re-Christened as The Rear Naked Choke, and he also joined Joe & Ted in person on the show a couple of nights before his title fight. He will take on Fabiano Scherner, fighting in front of the hometown fans in Las Vegas on Feb. 29.

Tim also fought at Mohegan Sun and pounded out a quick win over local favorite Elias Rivera. He will battle Matt Horwich with the middleweight belt at stake on the Leap Day Vegas card. This will mark Tim’s second appearance on The Rear Naked Choke.

Did we mention Tim is an American hero who is an Army Ranger but somehow does double-duty as an MMA ass-kicker? Visit our mySpace page or go to www.joeted.com to listen to the show. We encourage live participation, and you can catch the live stream while interacting with other listeners and fans, so check it out.If you’re going to be on the road (or at the mall, or at dinner), you can listen by phone. Or you can download any show at any time.

Drop us a note on mySpace or through email at TheRNC@joeted.com!

JUMP ON THE TRAIN!

<–pass it down–>

In our next show on October 22nd, we’ll look at the upcoming IFL World Grand Prix Semifinals! Here’s the fight card we’ll be discussing:

IFL World Grand Prix Semi-Finals
Saturday, Nov. 3
Sears Centre in Chicago, Ill.

Lightweight
Wagnney Fabiano vs. John Gunderson
Chris Horodecki vs. Bart Palaszewski

Welterweight
Delson Heleno vs. Brad Blackburn
Patrick Healy vs. Jay Hieron

Middleweight
Benji Radach vs. Brent Beauparlant
Matt Horwich vs. Brian Foster

Light Heavyweight
Vladimir Matyushenko vs. Alex Schoenauer

Heavyweight
Roy Nelson vs. Reese Andy
Antoine Jaoude vs. Bryan Vetell

Just about all of these guys have been on the show so you can always catch up with past shows here.

And, as always, we welcome your participation in the live show.

Bad Brad Blackburn of the Seattle TigerSharks and Pat Healy of the Nevada Lions joined Joe & Ted for a preview of the IFL Grand Prix semifinals in the 170-pound division on the Oct. 15 show.

Bad Brad will be fighting top seed Delson Heleno of the NY Pitbulls, while Healy will take on Jay Hieron of the LA Anacondas. 

Brad kept calling him “Deleno”.  He candidly talked about his no-contest against Travis Cox, with an ending that was, to say the very least, controversial.  Brad made sure to ask Ted if he was going to fight Emily “Ring Girl” Miller, and called out Ted for being a “sleepy head” and not partying with him after the Florida fight.

Pat revelaed that Chicago will be a homecoming for him, since he went to college in Southern Illinois.  He could not have picked a better place to have his semifinal fight against Jay Hieron, he said, explaining that in his travels he has passed the Sears Centre (site of the Grand Prix on Nov. 3) so many times and has a lot of friends in the area that will be attending.

This show started with a special treat, as IFL PR Manager Jerry Milani joined Joe & Ted on the air to recap the first round of the 2008 IFL Draft, which was held over the previous weekend in Costa Mesa, Calif.  Jerry said that of the 200 or so participants, some 20 to 25 warranted a second look.  Matt Lindland, Ken Shamrock, Marco Ruas and Bas Rutten were among the assessors of the talent.

Keep track of the personalities of the IFL right here!

The show, as always, was availabe live via Talkshoe.  Here’s the information you need to listen to / participate in the next show:

Talkcast ID: 25116

Date: Mon, October 22, 2007

Time: 09:30 PM EDT

How to participate:
Call in:

1. 1. Dial:(724) 444-7444
2. 2. Enter: 25116 # (Talkcast ID)
3. 3. Enter: 1 # or your PIN

Join from your computer:

1. Become a TalkShoe member
2. Download and install TalkShoe Live client
3. Click here to join the Talkcast

Listen to the Recording:
As always, if you missed this event or want to hear previous recorded episodes click here!

IFL 185-pounder Brent Beauparlant, who grew up just a stone’s throw away from the revered Forum in Montreal, is a closet Boston Bruins fan. 

Beauparlant confessed his dirty little secret to Joe & Ted on the Oct. 8 show.  He joined the guys, he thought, to talk just about his upcoming IFL Grand Prix semifinal match with top-seeded Benji Radach, but the conversation went well beyond.   

As often happens, guests get caught up with the Joe & Ted.  Brent, who fights for the Toronto Dragons, ended up spending nearly the entire show with them, talking about everything from living on three continents in the span of a year, to his time with Canada’s national wrestling team, to the state of MMA in the Great White North.

To listen, find our player over here on the right ————————————–>
or CLICK HERE to get to the full listing of past shows and upcoming episodes.

Speaking of the schedule, Bad Brad Blackburn of the Seattle TigerSharks will be a guest on Monday, Oct. 15 at 9:30 EDT.  Bad Brad is coming off his no-contest against Travis Cox.  He has just gained a spot in the vaunted 170-pound class for the IFL Grand Prix, in which he will battle No. 1 seed Delson Heleno of the champion NY Pitbulls on Nov. 3 in Chicago.

SO YOU THINK YOU CAN FIGHT?

The IFL is conducting its “Draft” - an extensive open tryout in Los Angeles, New York and Chicago.  Joe & Ted are keeping on top of the stories that come from this unique talent search.  Nevada Lions 155-pounder John Gunderson, who was on the Sept. 20 show from Hollywood, FL before the IFL Team Finals, emerged from such a tryout last year!

In addition, Joe & Ted will be exploring the angles on the Grand Prix, with shows on Oct. 15, 22 and possibly 29.  They’ll be in Chicago for one-hour sit-down shows Nov. 1 & 2 before the two-hour ring-side extravaganza Nov. 3 at 5:30 pm EDT, right up until the bell rings to kick off the IFL Grand Prix semifinals!

LISTEN, OR GET CHOKED OUT!