In a number of exclusive interviews with some of its most compelling figures, the personalities, fighters, promoters, medical staff and fans reveal the colourful world of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA). Jonathan Buffong and Brenda Downes’ insightful investigation presents the true world of the UK ‘cage fighting’ scene from the inside. The toughest contenders share their hopes, fears and ambitions, telling of the personal paths which led them to MMA. Readers will also learn how the fight game is organised, and what draws fans to the events – the gripping excitement and highly-trained skill, the brutal pain and the blood-soaked glory.

In this breathtaking volume, UK MMA scene aficionados Buffong and Downes relate a blow-by-blow account of a modern martial arts phenomenon, illustrated by archive and contemporary photographs:

• The Beginning: the origins of the sport; its rules and its history.
• The Fighters: interviews with up-and-coming names and established combatants. The champions, the contenders, the winners and the losers.
• The Fighter’s Life: the physical and mental preparation; the MMA ethos of ‘Train hard, fight easy.’
• The Pain Game: inside a training camp before a fight; an insight into the training and dietary regimes of the champions.
• Promotion: the events, the venues, the glamour girls, the advertising and the media sponsors.
• Fight Night: the people who make the event happen – the promoters, the cage makers, the doctors and the girls.
• The Fans: the enthusiasts tell of the most memorable bouts and their favourite fighters.
• The Bouts: the culmination of the fighters’ preparation; all the excitement of the event, backstage and in the cage . . .

JONATHAN BUFFONG was born and raised in north London. He is a diamond setter by trade, with his own jewellery business. He first encountered the Ultimate Fighting Championships (UFC – from which sprang Mixed Martial Arts) in the mid-1990s, and later met MMA promoter Dave O’Donnell in 2003, from whence his passion for the sport grew. His association with many of MMA’s luminaries has led to an understanding of their personal sacrifice and commitment.

BRENDA DOWNES was born near the Elephant & Castle in south London. She grew up listening to boxing matches on the radio and attending Millwall FC. Despite her dad’s attempts to turn her into another ‘local lad’, she attended university; later, she became the author of two books and a number of journalistic articles. Her love of sport has returned to her via Saturday afternoons spent at the New Den. Thanks to Jonathan, she is now also an MMA enthusiast.

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