Octagon (Ultimate Fighting Championship) (Hardcover)

by BradyGames (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Foreword from Dana White, UFC President

Ever since I can remember, I always loved fights. Whether it was sitting in front of the television watching boxing on Saturday afternoons when I was growing up or getting together with a bunch of friends to go to the arena to see a championship fight, there was nothing better than watching two fighters go toe-to-toe while matching wits and trying to prove who had the bigger heart.

To me, it was better than baseball, basketball or football, sports where you had teammates to help you out or take the blame when you lost. Fighting was a one-on-one sport, mano e mano, with no excuses. If you won, you took all the glory; you lost, you had no one to blame but yourself.

It was sport at its purest, but as the years went on, I saw boxing get engulfed and diluted by politics, in-fighting, and greed. I started to get disillusioned by the sport I loved, and it wasn’t until I met some athletes competing in a sport called mixed martial arts that the love of combat sports came back for me like it did when I was growing up.

In this sport, which combined the disciplines of boxing, wrestling, Muay Thai, kickboxing, and Jiu-Jitsu, I not only saw the future, but I saw the understated artistry that only true fight fans can appreciate. It’s something a lot of people can’t see, and I could never really put my finger on what it is, but when I saw Kevin Lynch’s photographs, I finally found something I could point to and say “that’s it. That’s what this sport is about.”

So when we at the Ultimate Fighting Championship decided to move forward with the book project that became Octagon, there was no question who would be the photographer. And while Kevin’s talent is obvious, his understanding of this sport and its athletes was another key factor in our decision, because let’s face it – not everyone is willing to look past the misconceptions about mixed martial arts and give it the fair treatment it deserves.

It’s been a long process to get to this point – for the UFC and for this book – but it was of the utmost importance to get it right, whether that meant unprecedented access to our events for Kevin, or having him capture our athletes at their most vulnerable, which was immediately before and after their fights. In combat sports, or any sport for that matter, vulnerability can be seen as weakness; but one look at the pictures in this book will show that behind the bruises and cuts and the defeated or triumphant eyes, there is strength. It’s what these athletes are all about, and let me tell you, it takes a special person to step into that Octagon and fight another man – it’s why I call our guys real fighters, and why many of them are like family to me.

Octagon captures everything that’s great about this sport, and it makes me a fan all over again. It also reminds me that even with all the traveling, business meetings, interviews, late hours, and time away from my family, I’m here because I love fights and the UFC, and I always will.

- Dana White

About the Author
Kevin Lynch is a professional photographer in Los Angeles who's work focuses on entertainment, sports, advertising, celebrity and fashion photography. His photography has appeared in museums and galleries throughout Europe and the United States and in publications like Harper's Bazaar, Vibe, Camera Arts, Vogue Magazine and B&W magazine. He lives in California.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 360 pages
• Publisher: BRADY GAMES; illustrated edition edition (December 15, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0756645638
• ISBN-13: 978-0756645632
• Product Dimensions: 12 x 10.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #17,391 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Truly Amazing Collection of Very Poignant, Personal, and Revealing Photographs of Today's UFC Fighters, December 15, 2008

By	Shawn Kovacich "Author of the Achieving Kicki... (The Greatest Little City in the World) - See all my reviews

If you are one of the uninitiated and ill-informed, this is simply a coffee table book filled with a large collection of photographs taken of a great many UFC fighters at various times in their respective careers.

On the other hand, for those of you in the know (so to speak), this is quite an extraordinarily visual guide into the very hearts and souls of those very same fighters who graciously permitted their photographs to be taken not only in moments of great triumph and glory, but also in those times of despair and defeat, which, in my opinion, makes for some truly defining moments in the individual being photographed and also the photographer, who captured some pretty amazing moments on film.

This is definitely not a book that you are going to want in order to learn some new technique or strategy to help you compete in the cage, but it is without-a-doubt a very important and influential piece of MMA history that will never happen again. And it is in that respect that I give this book, the photographer/author, and the subjects so vividly portrayed within its pages, my highest regard and my most profound recommendation to all of you to pick up this book and add it to your collection. You won't be disappointed!

Shawn Kovacich
Martial Artist/Author of the Achieving Kicking Excellence series.

4.0 out of 5 stars good book. came in mint condition, May 25, 2009

By	M. Wheeler (RI) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Its a great picture book. theres no story or UFC or fighter info. just pictures. they are all high quality glossy photos from different events with alot of before and after shots. it arrived in mint condition and makes a great collectors piece.

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book for a great price, February 17, 2009

By	Denise Conley "D" (St Clair Shores, Michigan) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

First off this isn't a mma training book, its a Photography book. I'm really surprised that this book is this cheap, because it is really great, tons of pictures, and over 300 pages!

Most pictures are portraits of the fighters before and after their fights, but Kevin Lynch (the photographer) puts in his own creative style on some pictures while the fighters are fighting.