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Gary Goodridge

Gatekeeper: The Fighting Life of Gary "Big Daddy" Goodridge Paperback – Bargain Price, December 23, 2011

by Gary Goodridge (Author), Mark Dorsey (Author)

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The biography of a pioneer in the mixed martial arts (MMA) scene, this work takes readers through Gary “Big Daddy” Goodridge’s entire career—from his roller-coaster formative years and his emergence as a world champion athlete to his role as a loving father struggling to find work. With humble beginnings in a small town in Canada, Goodridge endured bullying as a child and honed his natural strength, athleticism, work ethic, and charisma while fighting on the streets and as a bouncer in clubs. Eventually learning to channel his rage into more productive outlets, Goodridge soon became a world-champion arm wrestler, a boxing champion, a lethal Ultimate Fighting Championship contender, and a renowned MMA warrior. Filled with stories about backstage fights, steroid use, and fixed fights, this tell-all is a must-read for fight fans the world over.

Print length

208 pages
Language

English
Publisher

ECW Press
Publication date

December 23, 2011
Dimensions

6.75 x 0.5 x 9.75 inches
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Josh Gross
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Paperback
20 offers from $6.35

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Gatekeeper is a deeply personal account of the life of one of MMA's most interesting fighters. For fight fans looking for more insight into the MMA industry, for fans of Gary Goodridge and for those looking for a fascinating life story – told by a man who owns up to his decisions – it is a book that I cannot recommend enough." —www.f4wOnline.com

About the Author

Gary Goodridge is a world-renowned fighter and arm wrestler. Mark Dorsey is a PhD candidate at York University in Toronto. They both live in Barrie, Ontario.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B009WH0LAG
Publisher ‏ : ‎ ECW Press (December 23, 2011)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 208 pages
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 15.2 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.75 x 0.5 x 9.75 inches

Customer Reviews:
24 ratings

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4.7 out of 5

24 global ratings

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SW

Big Daddy's been through it all

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on May 21, 2012

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Having just retired, Gary Goodridge has been involved with the sport of MMA almost since its modern day creation. Gary was involved all the way back with the 8th ever UFC tournament, which he was a finalist in, and was a member of the very first PRIDE show in Japan. Goodridge pretty much learned as he went along, his only background prior to the sport being arm-wrestling and some amateur boxing. All the grappling, kicking etc he learned on the job, in which he was around 30 years old before he began. Despite that seemingly handicapped position Gary accomplished quite a bit, winning the first International Vale Tudo tournament in Brazil, a regional K-1 kickboxing tournament(another sport he crossed over into as time went on)and was a finalist in additional K-1 tournaments as well as MMA. Constantly fighting the best in the world, Goodridge was a fan favorite as he had a very aggressive style. Unfortunately Gary fought on into his mid 40's, after his body was long passed its prime as he needed the money. The result was a ton of unnecessary beatings which resulted in him currently being afflicted with dementia pugilistica.

He gave some very interesting background details of this journey and the people he met during it, from Tank Abbott singing "Drop it like its Hot" drunk, at karaoke, to literally trying to remove Pedro Otavio's family jewels from his body during the IVC 1 championships(there were no rules). There's also that bit about the, uh, "competition" that Gilbert Yvel won on the bus full of fighters going to a PRIDE show one day(you'll understand when you read the book ;) ). Controversial topics are touched, such as fixed fights. He's pretty open about his private life during all this time too. There are some minor historical inaccuracies that more serious fans will pick up on, such as him claiming Chuck Liddell's first fight was UFC 19 against Jeremey Horn( Chuck had won a fight at UFC 17)but the book isn't really meant to be some definitive history of the sport, just one man's journey through it, so it is just a small caveat. All in all, it is definitely worth a read.

One person found this helpful

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CharlieBOOKFAN

Gary "Big Daddy" Goodridge is a combat sports and arm wrestling legend!

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on August 28, 2013

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I love this book, I have been a fan of Gary's since I first saw him enter the UFC and I followed his career through Pride and K-1 along with some other promotions as well and I'm honored to have met him in person before also, he is a legend in Combat Sports and arm wrestling, the guy was always super funny and very honest and he is the same in this book, you won't believe some of the true stories in this book and you won't be able to put it down either, it's sad what has happened to Gary lately but you gotta read the book to find out, Gary was always exciting to watch fight whether he won or lost, you never knew if he was going to literally knock his opponents head off with his massive power punches, the guy was simply a thrill to watch and always entertaining and this book is extremely honest, super funny and very interesting, I just wished he said how much he made in his Pride fights but I'm sure he didn't want to cause it was tax free and he wouldn't want the IRS coming after him for not filing enough on his taxes which is totally understandable, great book Gary and it's awesome you could remember so many guys names from the times when he was a bouncer to being a top arm wrestler to fighter etc. but did you ever beat Rick Vardell in a rematch after he beat you the first time in arm wrestling Gary? Rick is from my area and I have seen him fight in some local MMA shows many times but I can read about all the stuff in this book and what Gary thought about various fighters nonstop it's so interesting to me, great book and great true stories, buy it if you haven't already, you won't be disappointed at all and congratulations on a legendary career Gary and for putting it down on paper for everyone to learn about, thank you!

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Tyler Durden

For an Inside Look into the early days of MMA

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on January 30, 2012

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Before UFC on FOX and mainstream acceptance, before it was even called "MMA," there was Gary Goodridge and No Holds Barred (NHB) fighting where fighters with a single style ruled and groin punches were still legal. Gary offers lots of insight and first hand accounts of early days of the UFC, PRIDE, and K1. From steroid use to the mad scrambling of SEG UFC events - it offers a nice honest account of what really happened. A good read for any MMA fan interested in learning the history of MMA from the eyes of a true pioneer.

3 people found this helpful

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Frankie Uhl

The human punching bag

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on January 17, 2013

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A good read ,full of behind-the-scenes action. He paints a clear picture of the underbelly of Japanese MMA. Sad to think so many great Pride match-ups were fixed. It's amazing he didn't get more brain damage with his philosophy of collecting paychecks instead of training hard and evolving with the sport

One person found this helpful

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john

compelling reading

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on February 14, 2012

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Interesting perspective, I met Gary once in Las Vegas, he was always great with the fans a genuine no b/s person out side of the ring. The book is very honest and from the heart, he was a great fighter and won plenty and lost plenty he would fight any one at any time unfortunately in the end to his own down fall. I wish him luck he was a true MMA gladiator.

4 people found this helpful

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Tina Sands

Fast shipping

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on January 20, 2020

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Was exactly what I wanted

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on May 1, 2015

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This is one of the best books on MMA I've read by far! Holding nothing back and talking straight from the heart. The honesty of his story is refreshing and needed with all of the preachy books ghost written by other fighters.

One person found this helpful

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James Andrew Thomson

Former training partner of mine, Gary Goodridge. Great guy, great book.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on November 2, 2015

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Former training partner of mine in Japan. Gary Goodridge 's book gives some incite into the realities of being a professional fighter at the highest level....

One person found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

TheManFromACRONYM

Anyone, anytime, anywhere!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on April 1, 2013

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Gary Goodridge was never one of the worlds premier mixed martial artists, but few fighters more epitomised the image of a fighter willing to take on anyone, anywhere, anytime than him, or put their body on the line for the entertainment of the fans the way he did.

Despite the fact that Goodridge would probably never have been considered a top ten heavyweight MMA contender, he was a mainstay of the early UFC, and attained incredible popularity with Japanese fans for his never say die attitude in what was, up until the mid-2000's, the worlds best and most talent-filled martial arts organisation - Pride Fighting Championships.

Basically, if you were going to make it in in Pride F.C then you had to go through Gary Goodridge, and it was his title as the 'gatekeeper' of that organisation from which this book is named.

Goodridge speaks candidly and even self-depreciating about many of his match-ups over the years against the likes of Tom Erikson, Fedor, Gilbert Yvel, Mark Coleman and many others, the friends he made as well as the enemies, the women he loved and those he lost, the money he made, the times he was screwed over, doping in the sport of MMA, bribery, cheating, fight fixing, and the litany of injuries he suffered - and which plague him to this day - from continuing his career (by his own admission) long past his prime.

Its a good book. Its relatively short, fairly low-grade in terms of production standards, and has disappointingly few photos considering the length of Goodridges career, but its concise, honest, lacks any false bravado or ego, and is revealing - not just regarding Goodridge himself, but also the Pride organisation and many of the characters he met there.

One person found this helpful