Rating: 
Summary: This book is correct. Take it from me, I've been there.
Review: Mixed Martial Arts is the future. Sure, I did the boxing thing. (I sparred with Chris Byrd, for example, and let's just say I held my own, hee hee.) Sure, I did the Wing Chun thing. (Red sash, baby.) Sure, I've done a bit of Jiu Jitsu and submission wrestling. (Competed at a high level, in fact.)But, only MMA brings all of these disciplines together. I'm a professional fighter in MMA now (in addition to being a writer), and I can tell you that this book brings it to you, the fan, with no holds barred. You get the straight scoop on the UFC from the beginning. It's almost like the writer puts you there, in the planning room, where the Gracie legend was born. (Not to give anything away, but let's just say that the Gracie legend is the product of some pretty creative and shady fight-fixing.) You will see the evolution of the UFC from fixed Gracie wins to legitimate sport. It's all there. I've read thousands of books, and I will say that this is one thorough and cool history of MMA. I recommend it without reservation. Get it now! I tell all of my friends to read it, so that they can see where I'm coming from.
Rating:
Summary: awesome
Review: This is a phenomenal read. Heres what i like about this book: the book is so eloquently written that it doesn't need any pictures (i.e the authors do a great job of describing the fights.)
The stories are exceptionally interesting as well as inspiring for soon to be mixed martial arts fighters.
My favorite of the book was the description of Igor vovchanchin's early years, "vovchanchin grew up in a small village. Altough his early youth was relatively eneventful, during his teens he developed an insatiable apetite for brawling."I enjoyed street fights and got tremendously excited" he says " sometimes i became really aggresive, which was dangerous for my fellow villagers." AS igor grew older, his aggressive streak prompted villagers to hang a metal rail from the tree in the center of town; whenever young igor would fly into one of his rages, someone would bang on the rail. hearing the alarm, the villagers would drop what they were doing, hurry home, lock their doors, and remain inside until the hot headed teen cooled down and it was once agian safe to venture outside.
At age seventeen igor gave his fearful village a break and moved to kharkov ( the second largest city in Ukraine after Kiev)""... Conclusively this a great read for Anyone that loves fighting. Oh and this book was written in 2000 so it doesn't give any info on nog, mirko, fedor, or jackson.
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Summary: A Concise , Neatly Written History of the Sport
Review: Up until six moths ago, I had never seen an MMA bout in my life. Since my recent introduction, my curiosity and respect for the sport has taken off in a way that surprised even me, and this volume has been a terrific resource in furthering my understanding and appreciation of the sport. The behind-the-scenes tales and historical anecdotes contained within its pages may be - as one reviewer noted - information that could be garnered by surfing through MMA WebPages. Yet, nevertheless, it's an appreciated convenience to have the information in one compact, chronologically ordered volume at your fingertips for about the price of a meal at Denny's. Added treats are exclusive, albeit short, interviews with a handful of well-known MMA fighters. Beginning with a very brief overview of ancient hand-to-hand combat styles and competitions, and the emergence of 20th century Japanese fighting organizations, it then moves into UFC territory, supplemented with an overview of the development of Gracie jiu-jitsu and its subsequent reign over early MMA. The evolution of MMA styles, and the advent of various post-UFC MMA organizations, along with the political battles the sport has had to endure in America, makes up the bulk of the text, highlighting some of the fighters along the way who've had a considerable impact on the sport. Notable fights and tournaments are discussed in a play-by-play manner, in which Krauss-as is expected with any editorial author-shares his opinion on the bouts. Krauss also shares his opinion on MMA in contrast to other combat sports. This is not an encyclopedia; this is a personal insight into the history of sport, and more than just facts are put forth. The text is not meant to be gospel - you're free to disagree, but like any good history book, it is more than just dates and numbers. Having only seen the UFC, Pride, and King of the Cage competitions, it was compelling to learn of the IFC, Superbrawl, RINGS, etc. It was also exciting to learn what happened off-camera at events I have watched, e.g., "UFC 19," when the camera panned away from the octagon after the Ortiz/Mezger rematch. Other than one factual error on page 261, where Bustamante is cited as having defeated Liddell in UFC 33, everything appears to be in order, and despite others' claims of horrendous grammar and spelling, the prose of Kraus and Aita works just fine. All around, this is an adequately accomplished history of MMA.
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