No Holds Barred Evolution: The history of the Ultimate Fighting Championships

by Clyde Gentry III, Paul Viele (Editor)

No Holds Barred: Evolution is the definitive American history of mixed martial arts (MMA), arguably the fastest-growing sport in the world. Nearly 100 original interviews were conducted to reveal the raw, behind-the-scenes nature of the world's most misunderstood sport. For the first time, the creators behind the UFC (Rorion Gracie, Campbell McLaren, Art Davie, Robert Meyrowitz and David Isaacs) speak out about the beginnings of the UFC and the spectacle that became a sport. This kindle version contains the complete fight results of every no holds barred show (including submissions) from 1993 to 1997, and includes over 125 photos from personal collections and fight photographers around the globe. This is a must-have book for every UFC and mixed martial arts fan

Genres: Nonfiction, Sports, Martial Arts, History, Mixed Martial Arts

436 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 28, 2002

Reviews

[Katie M · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very informative and comprehensive, but poorly written. The book is filled with incomplete sentences and fragments. The author will frequently recount some anecdotal story with little to no context, and leave out pertinent details so the story doesn't make any sense and the reader is left wondering what actually happened.

I don't recommend this book as there are plenty of others that tell the same story and are clearer for the reader.

[Bowie V. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good one. I love the behind-the-scenes books about the early days of mainstream MMA. This Gentry dude did a real good job.

[Steve Albert · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lot of good content, but some of the worst formatting I've ever seen. Paragraphs are repeated, captions are out of place, sentences get cut off, and there's a ridiculous number of unnecessary hyphens. Almost impossible to read at some points.

[Matt Hill · Rating 3 out of 5]

an interesting book . . starts off as a brief pre-history of modern mma (pankration, etc.), then spends the majority of the book being a history of the UFC . . this largest middle section was the most interesting to me . . i like behind the scenes stuff when it's about things that end up being historic, though no one knew it at the time . . it made me go back and watch old clips of dark-age UFCs, etc. . . then at the end, there are a collection of almost miscellaneous chapters on mma, its athletes, thoughts on the sport, its possible future, etc. . . i think a little more focus and organizing could've made the book better . . it may have tried to do too much, or didn't market/define itself as well as possible . . still worth a read for mma fans though . .

[Oliver Bateman · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great single-volume history of the early days of MMA coverage in the US, improved by the access the author had to these figures due to being one of a handful of people covering the sport in at least a half-serious way. An easy read, packed with good information.

[Rustam · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a pretty well-documented history of the rise of the UFC and modern mixed martial arts.

[Chris Harrison · Rating 3 out of 5]

If your new to the MMA scene this won't appeal I don't think as its all about the start of UFC, I think would only appeal to hardcore MMA fans.