The 411 Book Review: Blood in the Cage by L. Jon Wertheim
Posted by Dan Plunkett on 02.03.2009
We take a look at the rise of Pat Miletich and the UFC in L. Jon Wertheim's latest work. Plus, come find out how YOU can win a SIGNED copy of Blood in the Cage!
Title:Blood in the Cage: Mixed Martial Arts, Pat Miletich, and the Furious Rise of the UFC Author: L. Jon Wertheim Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
hmhbooks.com
Copyright 2009 by L. Jon Wertheim
Purchase it here.
Blood in the Cage is a tale of two stories, that of fighter and MMA legend Pat Miletich, and another of the biggest organization in the world today, UFC. Both stories, which are told together, are brilliantly recounted by L. Jon Wertheim of Sports Illustrated. It tells how both Miletich and the UFC (and MMA in general) helped each other grow, and how the relationship came crashing down.
Pat Miletich didn't begin a champion, or a trainer of champions for that matter. Miletich is the definition of a hard worker. He never had anything handed to him; he had to work for everything he has today. From his saddening family situation, to having to pick food out of trash, Miletich's story IS that of MMA's, and telling that is what Wertheim does so well.
Both were given unfair circumstances surrounding them when they were born. Pat was the last chance for his parents to mend their marriage, and he was caught in the middle, unfairly punished for life, when things didn't work out. The UFC was never given a chance by the media, who called it "brutal" and more famously "human cockfighting," both of which are understandable, but the misconceptions of the media, and therefore the public, were burdens on the sport of MMA.
Wertheim recalls such acts of ignorance as John McCain, in reference to a boxing match he had attended when a fighter died in the ring, saying "at least there was a referee in the ring" during a debate of the morality and safety of MMA. At the time of course, the refereeing in the UFC was handled by "Big" John McCarthy, who is just one of the many people detailing their stories, and in turn MMA stories, to Wertheim.
On top of the main story of Miletich and the UFC, many interesting stories are told in the book that the hard-core fan may be familiar with, but there is much more to the actual story. These stories include how Miletich was ousted of his rematch for the welterweight title, how he and Carlos Newton were supposed to be coaches on The Ultimate Fighter, the legendary story of "Lighting" Lee Murray knocking out Tito Ortiz, and the story of how Steven Segal allegedly eh hem, defecated his pants, after being choked out by Gene Lebell.
Overall, Blood in the Cage is an engageing, quick read that you won't be able to put down. In a time when MMA books are pouring into shelves, Blood in the Cage is truly the diamond of the group.
Do you want YOUR very own SIGNED copy of Blood in the Cage? Well then you've come to the right place! All you have to do, is email me here!. That's it! For those of you who don't like clicking things, you just send an email to thegreatestmmacolumn@yahoo.com with the subject heading: Blood in the Cage Giveaway! It's that easy! You don't need to write any information in the email; I'll email you for it if you win. Shipping will only be available in North America, sorry to everyone else. Entries will be accepted until February 6, 2009 at 3:00 EST. The winner will be notified either that day or on February 7, and the book will be shipped after the winner replies with their shipping information. Good Luck!
