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Brawl: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at Mixed Martial Arts Competition | 
 enlarge | Authors: Erich Krauss, Bret Aita
Creator: Bob Shamrock
Publisher: Ecw Press
Category: Book
List Price: $19.95
Buy New: $12.27
You Save: $7.68 (38%)
New (28) Used (15) from $8.99
Avg. Customer Rating:  16 reviews
Sales Rank: 108674
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 300
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.3
Dimensions (in): 9.9 x 6.8 x 0.8
ISBN: 1550225170
Dewey Decimal Number: 796
EAN: 9781550225174
ASIN: 1550225170
Publication Date: October 1, 2002
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
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Product Description
Mixed martial arts (MMA) fighting pits masters of every kind of combat
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| Customer Reviews: Read 11 more reviews...
 A Great Introduction to All Things UFC May 14, 2008
Krauss' work is essential reading for UFC fans who are late arrivals to the sport and want to know how it all got started. Many major bouts in the early days of UFC are discussed and also Pride receives a tremendous referencing.
 Affray May 9, 2008
So there appears to be a recent flood of MMA biographies, most notably Iceman: My Fighting Life, Made in America: The Most Dominant Champion in UFC History, and This Is Gonna Hurt: The Life of a Mixed Martial Arts Champion. In order to truly understand these biographies, one has to get a sense of the historical context under which the events occurred, and there is no better place to start than with "Brawl."
The book begins by tracing the origins of man's inherent need for hand-to-hand combat. In the beginning, so the book states, was a man named Arrachion, who was apparently declared the victor in a fight in which he died. Thus, the origins of the sport are rooted in early history, and the recent rise of MMA is what has sprouted from this inherent need for combat.
It is an interesting read with a lot of insight into the early UFCs, Frank Shamrock's rise to the top, and Zuffa's transformation of the UFC brand. Before you touch any of the new biographies that are coming out, you should read this book first.
Also, check out No Holds Barred: Ultimate Fighting and the Martial Arts Revolution for further insight into the sport of MMA in general, and Japanese MMA in particular.
Good overview of the development of MMA January 15, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
The author does a good job providing an overview of the development of MMA in the US. He provides background on the inception of the UFC and its evolution up to the purchase by the Fertitta brothers in early 2001 (right before UFC 30). [And as MMA fans know, the Fertitta brothers and Dana White did much to get the sport sanctioned and back on cable distribution -- contributing to its rapid growth in recent years.]
The book also provides some bios on the early pioneers of MMA. Good reading overall for the MMA fan.
awesome June 24, 2004
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
This is a phenomenal read. Heres what i like about this book: the book is so eloquently written that it doesn't need any pictures (i.e the authors do a great job of describing the fights.)
The stories are exceptionally interesting as well as inspiring for soon to be mixed martial arts fighters.
My favorite of the book was the description of Igor vovchanchin's early years, "vovchanchin grew up in a small village. Altough his early youth was relatively eneventful, during his teens he developed an insatiable apetite for brawling."I enjoyed street fights and got tremendously excited" he says " sometimes i became really aggresive, which was dangerous for my fellow villagers." AS igor grew older, his aggressive streak prompted villagers to hang a metal rail from the tree in the center of town; whenever young igor would fly into one of his rages, someone would bang on the rail. hearing the alarm, the villagers would drop what they were doing, hurry home, lock their doors, and remain inside until the hot headed teen cooled down and it was once agian safe to venture outside.
At age seventeen igor gave his fearful village a break and moved to kharkov ( the second largest city in Ukraine after Kiev)""... Conclusively this a great read for Anyone that loves fighting. Oh and this book was written in 2000 so it doesn't give any info on nog, mirko, fedor, or jackson.
A Concise , Neatly-Written History of the Sport March 30, 2004
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Up until six months ago, I had never even seen an MMA bout. However, since my recent introduction, my curiosity and respect for the sport has taken off in a way that surprised even me. And this volume has been a terrific resource in furthering my understanding and appreciation of the sport.
The behind-the-scenes tales and historical anecdotes may--as one reviewer noted--be information that could be garnered by simply surfing through MMA WebPages. Yet, nevertheless, it's an appreciated convenience to have the information in one compact, chronologically-ordered volume at your fingertips for about the price of a meal at Denny's. Added treats are exclusive, albeit short, interviews with a handful of well-known MMA fighters.
Beginning with a very brief overview of ancient hand-to-hand combat and the emergence of 20th century Japanese fighting organizations, the book then moves into UFC territory while also taking a slight detour into the history of Gracie jiu-jitsu as it was developed in Brazil, and its subsequent reign over early MMA. The evolution of MMA styles after Gracie jiu-jitsu, the advent of various post-UFC fighting organizations (including Pride), as well as the political battles the sport has had to endure in America, make up the bulk of the text. Included along the way are some highlights and brief bios of the fights and fighters who've had a considerable impact on the sport. Many of these notable fights and tournaments are discussed in a play-by-play manner, in which Krauss--as is expected with any editorial author--shares his personal take on the bouts. Krauss is also not shy about sharing his views on MMA in contrast to other combat sports. This is not an encyclopedia; this is a personal insight into the history of a sport. More than just facts are put forth. It's not gospel--you're welcome to disagree with the conclusions, but like any good history book, it is more than just dates and numbers.
Having thus far only watched the UFC, Pride, and King of the Cage events, it was nice to learn of other lesser-known organizations, such as the IFC, Superbrawl, RINGS, etc. It was also compelling to learn what happened off-camera at some of the events I have watched, e.g., "UFC 19," when the camera panned away from the octagon after Ortiz's rematch with Mezger.
Other than one editorial oversight on page 261, where Bustamante is cited as having defeated Liddell in UFC 33, everything--as far as I can tell--appears to be in order. And despite other reviewers' assertions of horrendous grammar and spelling, the prose of Kraus and Aita works just fine.
All around, this is an adequately accomplished history of a sport still in its developmental infancy.
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