No Holds Barred: Ultimate Fighting and the Martial Arts Revolution

by Clyde Gentry

On November 12, 1993, eight men met in Denver, Colorado, to decide who was the greatest fighter in the world. They fought one-against-one in an octagonal cage where they could punch, kick, knee, elbow, head butt and choke. "There are no rules!" proclaimed the organizers. The Ultimate Fighting Championship was born-and the mystique of traditional martial arts had died. For thousands of years, the fighting arts had been shrouded in mystery and deceit. Secrets were jealously guarded, while blood-curdling claims were made of lethal techniques and even supernatural powers. Each style or system asserted that it was the best, its masters unbeatable. By matching experts in different arts against each other, the Ultimate Fighting Championship exploded many of these myths. Black belts and flashy moves proved no match for the skill and technique of a new breed of athletic warrior. In just over a decade, no-holds-barred fighting-otherwise known as mixed martial arts-has gone from a novelty spectacle to a worldwide sport. It has produced its own superstars like the Gracie family, Ken and Frank Shamrock, Maurice Smith and Randy Couture. It has also attracted massive condemnation from the media and run the gauntlet of police raids and banning orders. Its critics labeled it "human cockfighting." It was pursued from state to state, excoriated by campaigners and banned by politicians. Through it all, the sport has continued to thrive, spreading across the globe. Author and journalist Clyde Gentry has interviewed more than 100 key figures to produce the definitive account of the world's most controversial and misunderstood sport and of the fighting men who dare to enter the octagon.

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

336 pages, Paperback

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.