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Raw Combat: The Underground World of Mixed Martial Arts ReviewJim Genia, editor of the bible of MMA "Full Contact Fighter", has been a fixture in the MMA scene since the beginning and has seen some of the most pivotal moments in MMA history happen right in front of his eyes from cageside. In 2003, Jim found himself pulled into a side of the sport he did not know even existed - underground fighting in New York City. Soon, Jim was hooked on Peter Storm's "Underground Combat League" shows, and has become the authority on this promotion."At a New York City underground show, words like motley crew, varied assortment and wretched hive of scum and villainy barely scratch the surface."
This is how the author describes the kind of people that frequent the "Underground Combat League", or UCL. The UCL has been home to many fighters who made it big, like Frankie Edgar and Bryan Vetell. It is also home to local stars like James Funaro, and more dubious competitors like Lamont Tereyton Williams, who after a nyquil binge took a power saw on a subway and attempted to carve up a poor bystander. This book documents the life and times of the many combatants who have fought in closed-doors gyms and random martial arts schools with the only purse the winner takes home being pride.
Combined with the tales of UCL promoter Peter Storm and his stable of mainstay fighters, Jim also tells us about local fighters from the tri-state area whose efforts mirror the stories from the underground. A tale about twin brothers James and Joe Funaro spins off into a story about Louis Gaudinot from TSMMA fighting in a sanctioned amateur show in New Jersey. To top this off, the history of MMA in the US is also spread purposefully through the book.
The story of the UCL itself is quite impressive. Imagine prohibition times with speakeasy's and floating games of craps, then add fisticuffs and a ground game and you could sum up this underground organization. The author tells us about the owner of the company who fits the bill for his events, even if he rarely makes a profit (let alone break even), and stories of other men coming up in the league, including the tragic tale of Kaream, and the essentials like Shawn and Kirkland. You come to know these men well by the end of the book, and in spite of the violence they engage in, the writer humanizes them and shows you that behind the machismo is the code of bushido. Some readers may be unfamiliar at first with some of the names that Jim focuses on, but there is star power as you turn the pages, including discussions on Matt Serra, Lyman Good, Tom Gallicchio, and even referee Big Dan Miragliotta, all of whom somehow connect to the UG scene and with the growth of the sport as a whole.
The author writes in a bare-knuckled, no-holds-barred style that perfectly matches the raw world of underground MMA. Jim makes the experience as intimate as spending time with the actual fighters in person, inside and outside of the cage or ring (and sometimes gym mats). Imagine reading Hunter S. Thompson writing about MMA, subtract the insane amount of drugs he did but leave in the clever wordplay, and there is the experience you will be reading for the next 200 pages.
I have read plenty of books on MMA; biographies, travel stories, encyclopedias and instructional books to name a few varieties. None of them compare to Jim Genia's "Raw Combat: The Underground world of Mixed Martial Arts", check it out today! - Matthew Kaplowitz, The Fight Nerd
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