pay per fight, here
prison record of, here
Straus’s concern about, here
on promotions aspect of MMA, here
publicity photo shoot of, here
recruitment to ATT, here
recruitment to MMA, here
Robinson fight (Dayton), here
in hotel, pre-fight, here
injuries from, here
trip to, here, here
and self-promotion, here, here
strengths as fighter, here
and success, ambivalence toward, here, here
as superstitious, here
on support needed for victory, here
on title, relief of losing, here
title bid against Curran, here
delay of due to injury, here
delay of due to legal problems, here
downgrading of from pay-per-view, here
entourage for, here
night-before activities, here
post-fight activities, here
pre-fight activities, here
Straus’s growing anger before, here
title defense against Curran, here
layoff following, here
weight cut, here, here
training by, here, here
win-loss record of, here, here
stud, as term, here
super-camps, here
Sylvia, Tim, here
Tate, Miesha, here
Team Quest gym (Portland), here, here
technique, importance of, here
Teixeira, Glover, here, here
testosterone replacement therapy, here
testosterone testing, here
theatricality of MMA fights, here
Tolstoy, Leo, here
Total Impact Wrestling, here
travel, families and, here
Tuli, Teila, here
and brand, building of, here
drug testing in, here, here
early dominance of jiu jitsu in, here, here
early struggle for legitimacy, here
evolution into mixed martial arts competition, here
first match, here
founding of, here
legal issues and, here, here
and public opposition, here
Fox TV contract, here
growth of, here
history of, here
MMA leagues below, here
pay for fighters in, here
bonus system for, here
fighters’ lack of leverage and, here
pay-per-view income and, here
popularity of, Ultimate Fighter TV show and, here, here
rule changes to accommodate critics, here, here
secrecy of financial records, here
women fighters in, here, here, here
UFC Fan Expo (Las Vegas, 2013), here, here
autograph booths at, here
Dana White’s Q&A session at, here
fans at, described, here
Hall of Fame inductions at, here
Liborio at, here
merchandise at, here, here
Rousey at, here
Sonnen at, here
title fight culminating, here
UFC Hall of Fame, here
The Ultimate Fighter (TV show)
creation of, here
first season of, here
gay fighters in, here
Kakai’s efforts to appear on, here, here
and rise of UFC popularity, here, here
women fighters as coaches on, here
vale tudo matches, here, here, here, here
Van Damme, Jean-Claude, here
Vasquez, Sam, here
Viacom, as Bellator parent company, here, here, here
violence, ethics of as issue, here, here, here
walk-out shirts, here
walk-out songs, here, here, here, here, here, here
Wallace, Bill “Superfoot,” here
Wayne, John, here, here
Weidman, Chris, here
weight classes in MMA, here
weight cuts
Bektic and, here, here, here
fan interest in, here
Straus and, here, here
Weil, Simone, here
Werdum, Fabricio, here
White, Dana
on American Dream, here
background of, here
Bektic’s efforts to contact, here
and bonuses for fighters, here, here
as character on Ultimate Fighter TV show, here
on expendability of lower-level fighters, here
fans’ opinions about, here, here
on Jon Jones, here
and Ménière’s disease, here
at Orlando fight (April 2014), here, here
as owner of Zuffa LLC, here
purchase of UFC, here
on pussification of America, here
and UFC brand, here
at UFC Fan Expo (2013), here, here
on women in UFC, here
Will, George, here
Winklejohn, Mike, here
women fighters
good publicity from, here
in local matches, here
in UFC, here, here, here
World Extreme Fighting, here, here
World Series of Fighting, Mocco’s joining of, here, here
wrestlers
in circuses and carnivals, here
switch to MMA fighting, here, here, here, here, here, here
wrestling
in Iran, here, here
as key component of MMA, here, here
Mocco’s career in, here, here, here, here
Wrestling Observer Newsletter, here
Yordanov, Valentin, here
Zuffa LLC, here, here, here
A Note on the Author
Doug Merlino won the 2011 Washington State Book Prize for Biography/Memoir for his first book, The Hustle: One Team and Ten Lives in Black and White. He has also contributed to Slate, Wired, Men’s Journal, Vice, and many other publications. Merlino received master’s degrees in journalism and international affairs from the University of California at Berkeley. He lives with his wife in New York City.
BY THE SAME AUTHOR
The Hustle: One Team and Ten Lives in Black and White
Bloomsbury USA
An imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
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BLOOMSBURY and the Diana logo are trademarks of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
First published 2015
This electronic edition published in October 2015
© Doug Merlino 2015
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publishers.
No responsibility for loss caused to any individual or organization acting on or refraining from action as a result of the material in this publication can be accepted by Bloomsbury or the author.
ISBN: HB: 978-1-62040-155-2
ePub: 978-1-62040-156-9
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA
Merlino, Doug.
Beast : blood, struggle, and dreams at the heart of mixed martial arts / Doug Merlino.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-62040-155-2 (HB)—ISBN 978-1-62040-156-9 (ePub)
1. Mixed martial arts—Social aspects. 2. Mixed martial arts—Training.
3. Martia
l artists—Anecdotes. 4. Mixed martial arts—History. I. Title.
GV1102.7.M59M47 2015
796.8071—dc23
2015012092
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