The year was 1998. I was in my final year of college and at the height of my pro wrestling fandom. At that time, I was working on a school project with some guys who couldn't care less about WWF/WCW, so I was surprised when one day, one of them kept talking about how awesome then-WWF superstar Ken Shamrock was. He then played us his VHS tape of UFC 7, and while I probably couldn't sit through all of the 33-minute Shamrock vs. Oleg Taktarov final at present day, 19- or 20-year-old me was impressed enough to appreciate non-scripted "ultimate fighting" almost as much as (and, for some time, much more than) the predetermined stuff.
With all that in mind, reading most of this book was like a trip back in time for me, as Gentry took great efforts to detail the early UFC events and give readers a background of the men who fought in them. These days, UFC is mixed martial arts in the truest sense, where practically everyone needs a similarly good stand-up and ground game and a versatile blend of different fighting styles to succeed in the sport. But back then, the idea was all about the clash of styles – for example, could a Brazilian jiu-jitsu specialist beat a boxer or vice versa? As Royce Gracie quickly proved against Art Jimmerson, the answer was the former. And before Mike Goldberg and Joe Rogan, the early UFC was called by people who a) had no idea what MMA was about, b) had no respect for the UFC, and/or c) couldn't even get the name of the event right. Unlike other reviewers, I had no problem with Gentry including a lot of specifics on the business and political machinations of mixed martial arts. Such pieces of information, after all, can sometimes be as important as the fighters and the fights.
As detailed as Gentry was in covering the UFC's early years, there are also a few key problems that I have to point out. One, it's more than a bit misleading to call the book a "complete history" even up to this day, when only the first five years or so of UFC are covered in depth. Fortunately, I chose to read the reviews before buying, so my expectations were set. Secondly, do MMA fans really need appendices on Tank Abbott and Bas Rutten, especially the former? As Abbott's wrestling heel persona seemed to willingly extend to real life, giving him his own appendix is like giving one to Dennis Rodman, but not to Michael Jordan, when writing a book about the history of the NBA.
Overall, this was a very solid, 3.5-4-star effort despite the flaws. This is strongly recommended reading for anyone who wants to learn more about or look back on UFC's oftentimes challenging, yet interesting beginnings.
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Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on August 31, 2018
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on December 7, 2014
Great nostalgic look back from an author with a first-hand perspective dating to the beginning of the UFC
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on November 30, 2013Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on June 5, 2015
