Focus Fights Audio

With this taking place 3 weeks ago and prior to the release of the most recent episode of this podcast, we couldn’t pass this one up.

Combat Sports Icon Antonio Kanji Inoki passed away due to natural causes on Oct. 1st at the age of 79 & on this special edition of this podcast, we do not want to focus on how Inoki died or even of his numerous accomplishments in Combat Sports. Instead, we want to focus on the one fight that he had that helped set the lexicon for today’s era of Combat Sports: his 15-Round Draw with “The G.O.A.T.” Muhammad Ali (with “Judo” Gene LeBell as the Special Guest Referee) from 1976.

Our own “Chillmeister” Chris Gary will be taking a deep dive with help from Andrew Benjamin of the “We Are RIZIN” Podcast & esteemed Combat Sports Writer Josh Gross as the overall impact of that fight is discussed. 

Josh is the author of “Ali vs. Inoki: The Forgotten Fight That Inspired Mixed Martial Arts and Launched Sports Entertainment.” You can get it on Amazon or wherever books are (still) sold: https://www.amazon.com/Ali-vs-Inoki-Forgotten-Entertainment/dp/1942952198

If you’re listening to this episode on Spotify or Anchor, there is a question we wanted to ask: “What will you miss about Antonio Inoki & how will you remember his impact?” There’s no right or wrong answer to that question. We just want to know your thoughts about this Combat Sports Icon passing away & how you’ll reminisce about him. 

(Photo of Ali x Inoki courtesy of @CatchWrestlingU on Twitter by way of Getty Images.)

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0:00 Disclaimer 

1:04 Monologue + 10 Bell Salute 

7:45 Musical Intro (George Benson’s “I Always Knew I Had It In Me (Version 2)” + Antonio Inoki’s Entrance Theme “Honō No Fighter (Part 1)”) 

11:04 Special Interview (co-hosted alongside Andrew Benjamin of the “We Are RIZIN” Podcast) with esteemed MMA Media Member Josh Gross 

56:45 Musical Outro (“Honō No Fighter (Part 1)” + Inoki’s “1, 2, 3, DA!” Saying)

The summer has come & gone and the fall is now dawning on us all. With that, our own “Chillmeister” Chris Gary hosts this jam-packed edition of Focus Fights Audio that just happens to be so big that it’s our 3rd 2-Parter.

For starters, we honor the memory of Canadian MMA Pioneer Elias “The Spartan“ Theodorou with a traditional 10 bell salute & tribute. 

Then, to kick off Part 1, Chris speaks with Battlefield Fight League Cage Announcer Ryan Ventura on his humble beginnings growing up in Western Canada and becoming a hot commodity in the fight world. They also previewed BFL 74 set to take place Oct. 12th on the UFC FIGHT PASS from Vancouver, BC, CAN.

Then, in an interview from the summer months, Chris spoke with media maven Raheel Ramzanali about his journey from the Radio Dial to pumping up crowds at XFL Games & cageside commentary for the Houston-Based FURY Fighting Championships.

(This Episode was done BEFORE the passing of Antonio Inoki, hence the tribute to Theodorou.)

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To see more of what the BFL & FURY FC has to offer, sign up for the UFC FIGHT PASS: https://www.ufcfightpass.com/

And don’t forget to check them out on Social Media:

Battlefield Fight League (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube)

FURY FC/Garcia Promotions (FURY FC’s Facebook, Garcia Promotions’ Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube) 

Check out Ryan’s links. Oh, and Raheel’s pages: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, his blog.

Check our links out, too & support Chris Gary as well: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, CashApp

Also, support Elias Theodorou’s GoFundMe Campaign as a way to give back to The Theodorou Foundation & Higher Access: https://www.gofundme.com/f/elias-theodorou

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0:00 Disclaimer 

1:04 Tribute to Elias “The Spartan” Theodorou (+ 10 Bell Salute) 

4:38 Bruce Buffer Intro of Theodorou (+ Avicii’s “The Nights”) 

6:44 Intro & Run-Down 

9:20 Ryan Christian Ventura (Cage Announcer of the Battlefield Fight League) 

1:10:57 Raheel Ramzanali (Lead Commentator of FURY Fighting Championships/Former Houston Sports Radio Host) 

2:09:57 Bridge to Part 2/Side B (+ C-Note’s “Hold It Down”)

Due to a policy on one of these platforms that states that you can't upload a 4+ Hour Long Podcast Episode, this episode was split in half.

In the 2nd Part of this 2 Part RIZIN Fighting Federation-Based episode of Focus Fights Audio, our own "Chillmeister" J. Christian Gary spoke with 3 of the competitors who will be competing at RIZIN 37 on July 31st.

First, he’ll be speaking with outlandish competitor Felipe Zina Masoni aka “KING HUNTER” (9-4 w/5 SUBs & 2 KOs) as he returns from a 3 year hiatus to fight 2nd Generation Athlete Kota Miura. It wasn’t what Chris really expected, but something was made out of this. (Kinda.)

Then, Chris will speak with Recent RIZIN Lightweight Title Challenger Johnny “Hollywood“ Case (27-8-1 w/19 KOs & 4 SUBs in MMA; 3-0 w/3 KOs in Boxing) as he not only details his upcoming fight vs. Koji Takeda (& his tan game), but also about his boxing career, his life away from the fight game & his thoughts since losing to Roberto Satoshi de Souza back on NYE 2021.

And finally, Chris will speak with PAWFC Strawweight Champion Laura Fontoura (7-0 w/5 SUBs) before her Main Event fight with Seika Izawa as well as her career & life outside of competition so far (keep in mind, she’s only 21 years old) and with her agent Lucas Lutkus on his thoughts of Laura’s future success and who might follow Laura into RIZIN’s Superior Ruleset down the line.

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Felipe Zina Masoni aka “KING HUNTER” (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram)

Johnny “Hollywood“ Case (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram)

Laura Fontoura (Instagram)

Lucas Lutkus (Instagram, Brazilian Fight Series, ALL IN Sports Management)

Also, check out all of what we got HERE.

Check out what the RIZIN Fighting Federation has in store HERE.

And be sure to follow & show support to Chris Gary as well. (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, CashApp)

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0:00 Intro (+ Eiichi Saeki’s “Judgement”)

1:40 Felipe Zina Masoni aka “KING HUNTER”

25:50 Johnny “Hollywood” Case

1:20:55 Laura Fontoura & Lucas Lutkus

2:08:18 Chris runs down the RIZIN 37 Fight Card

2:14:13 Outro, plugs, Nobuhiko Takada’s “DETAGOYA” Yell & Eiichi Saeki’s “Theme of RIZIN” w/Lenne Hardt’s “WE ARE RIZIN” shrill.

Due to a policy on one of these platforms that states that you can't upload a 4+ Hour Long Podcast Episode, this episode had to be split in half. In Part 1 of this 2 Part RIZIN Fighting Federation-Based episode of Focus Fights Audio, our own "Chillmeister" J. Christian Gary spoke with LFA Veteran and "proud nerd" Andrew Tenneson as well as 2 Fight UFC Veteran Luiz "Besouro" Dutra Jr. 

While both of whom have not fought in a while & represent big name fight gyms (Tenneson [8-1 w/5 KOs & 2 SUB], representing Jackson-Winklejohn, hasn’t fought since May 10th, 2019; Besouro [13-7-1 w/5 KOs & 2 SUB], represents Renovação Fight Team despite having last fought in Oct. 2017), they are hoping that their next respective opportunities to compete are in RIZIN.

In addition to speaking with both Andrew (along his WeAreRIZIN Podcast Co-Pilot Andrew Benjamin) & Luiz, Chris also puts over some other fighters that want to see their futures potentially play out in RIZIN’s Superior Ruleset & how to let those in charge know to make it happen.

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Be sure to follow both of these fighters on Social Media:

Andrew Tenneson (Facebook, Instagram & Twitter)

Luiz “Besouro“ Dutra Jr. (Facebook, Instagram & Twitter)

Also, check out all of what we got: https://linktr.ee/focusfights

And be sure to follow & show support to Chris Gary as well. (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, CashApp)

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0:00 Disclaimer/Content Warning

1:07 Intro (+ a mix of Tomoyasu Hotei’s “Death or Fight” & “Tops Drop” by Fat Pat)

8:10 Andrew Tenneson (via the WeAreRIZIN Podcast)

1:16:52 Luiz “Besouro“ Dutra Jr.

1:49:48 Outro including ways to contact the powers that be in RIZIN to get their attention on fighters wanting to fight for them (+ the song that Andrew Tenneson wants to have as his RIZIN Entrance Theme [Hitomi Shimatani’s “Destiny”])

In this full blown, wrestling-only edition of Focus Fights Audio, our “Chillmeister” Chris Gary spoke to someone representing a faction of people/army of one called “The 8th Day” (not to be confused with Indie Wrestler Saieve Al Sabah) in a very enthralling, yet intriguing interview. In addition to that, Chris also speaks with Texas Indie Wrestling Manager Johnny Blade of Undisputed Pro Wrestling, Kiefer “Startek” Bartek of New Texas Pro Wrestling & Jaime Martinez of LOKO Wrestling and previews shows that the latter 3 interviewees will be a part of.

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If you want to follow more of The 8th Day, check out their Social Media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) or Call Them (1-281-868-4898).

Don’t forget to check out Undisputed Pro Wrestling (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter) and their next show.

Be sure to follow NTPW (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok) on Social Media

As well as Jaime (Facebook) & LOKO Wrestling (Facebook, Instagram, Tiktok, their shop, their Official “Unofficial“ website) on Social Media

And, don’t forget to follow Chris Gary (Facebook x Instagram) & send him money (if you enjoyed what you heard)

And if you wanna check us out, here’s our calling card: https://linktr.ee/focusfights

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0:00 Disclaimer 

1:11 Intro (+ Hikaru Utada’s “Exodus 04” Instrumental) 

3:30 The 8th Day (not to be confused with Saieve Al Sabah) 

34:45 Johnny Blade of Undisputed Pro Wrestling 

1:01:00 Previewing UPW’s “Fight Fire With Fire” 

1:02:50 Kiefer Bartek of New Texas Pro Wrestling 

2:10:28 Monologue for Kiefer Bartek since Last Summer 

2:12:37 Jaime “The Smark” Martinez of LOKO Wrestling 

2:31:06 Putting Over the NTPW & LOKO Events (in the style of Excalibur or Mattress Mack) 

2:36:16 Outro (+ Dwayne Swayze x Great Black Century’s “Heaven’s Gate”)

On this very special edition of Focus Fights Audio, “Da Chillmeister” Chris Gary talks with Current UFC Fighter & Houston, Texas based Media Maven Mike “The Truth” Jackson (2-1, not 1-1 w/1 NC) about a number of topics. Namely, the aftermath from the Dean Barry fight, how serious Dean Barry supposedly took the fight, his thoughts on who his next opponent might be & is the UFC the be-all end-all anymore.

Chris & Mike’s thoughts are of theirs & theirs alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of Focus Fights, iHeartMedia, the UFC/Endeavor Group Holdings Inc. or any entities mentioned in whole or in part for fear of lost opportunities in the present or future.

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Feel free to check out Mike’s Social Media Handles:

http://Mikethetruth.com

Mike “The Truth” Jackson (Facebook)

@TheTruthJackson (Twitter)

shitsandgigglesbrand (Instagram)

Also, be sure to follow Chris on his Social Media Handles:

J. Christian Gary (Facebook)

@ChrisGary92 (Twitter)

christiangary1992 (Instagram)

$JChrisGary (Cash-tag for CashApp; people need money nowadays, Chris is one of them)

And check out our collection of where you can find us HERE: https://linktr.ee/focusfights

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5:17 Introduction by Joe A. Martinez from UFC Fight Night 205 + Jackson’s Entrance Theme from that event (Lil Keke & Scarface’s “I’m A G [Remix]”)

7:25 Start of the Interview 

9:05 The Dean Barry Fight & the Immediate Aftermath 

14:08 Comparing the Dean Barry fight from the CM Punk & Mickey Gall fights from the level of opponent seriousness 

19:16 Regarding people who don’t understand things or think that Jackson doesn’t belong in the UFC 

25:27 What people like Chris & Mike go through in people saying what folks like them deserve (keep in mind, both Chris & Mike are minorities [Black/African American in particular]) 

36:29 Mike’s thoughts on Floyd Mayweather getting another RIZIN Payday (vs. Mikuru Asakura) 

39:39 Mike’s thoughts on the passing of South African Boxer Simiso Buthelezi 

42:34 Mike’s thoughts on Jake Paul taking fights vs. non-boxers (pre Tommy Fury) 

44:28 Is the UFC still considered the be all, end all with different promotions sprouting up 

50:09 Possibilities on Mike’s next UFC Opponent 

51:48 Putting over Mike’s Social Handles & Upcoming Happenings 

54:20 Mike tells a crazy Muay Thai Kickboxing Story (kinda related to Lion Fight canceling their Texas Debut at Booker T’s World’s Gym Arena in Texas City, but still interesting nonetheless) 

1:02:47 Mike’s future goals in the fight & fight-media worlds 

1:04:03 End of the Interview 

1:04:55 Epilogue (feat. plugs, Mike Jackson’s famous words from UFC 225 & “Shake Dem Haters Off” by Quint Black [not Tela as Chris misnamed])

With a little over 24 Hours Away from possibly the biggest fight of his career, Former 2 Fight HBO Boxing Veteran & former New York Golden Gloves Alum Cletus “The Hebrew Hammer” Seldin spoke with our own “Chillmeister” Chris Gary about not just his upcoming fight with Brazilian William “Babyface” Silva tomorrow night (Oct. 15th) at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, USA, but about why the HBO Stint didn’t work out, his thoughts on the current Activist Athlete movement, the possibility of fighting outside of North America or for bigger opportunities & his love of collecting Funko Pops and how Netflix reached out to him for a documentary. It was actually a pretty intriguing story & one we hope you'll enjoy.

Cletus will be in the Main Event of the upcoming TRILLER FIGHT CLUB III Card taking on Brazilian William "Babyface" Silva for the WBA-NABA Super Lightweight Championship! Be sure to check that event Tomorrow Night at 7 PM Eastern/4 PM Pacific out on FITE.TV & the FITE App available for iOS & Android!

Also, a reference was made to the downfall of HBO Boxing and the Sporting News story that was talked about on this episode. If you got time to kill, be sure to check out "The Way I See It: 10 reasons for HBO Boxing's demise" Written By Kenneth Bouhairie.

Check us out on our Social Platforms:

Focus Fights on Twitter

Focus Fights' YouTube Channel