?Since the beginning of time, men have engaged in hand-to-hand combat. In Ancient Greece, they called it Pankration, a no-holds-barred battle. Over time, one complete combat system was replaced by a variety of limited ones like karate, boxing, and wrestling. In the modern age this created an eternal question: who was tougher? Could a boxer beat a wrestler? Could a kung fu artist dispose of a jiu jitsu man? The Ultimate Fighting Championship answered those questions emphatically in 1993 and Mixed Martial Arts was born. Early stars like Ken Shamrock and Royce Gracie propelled this new sport into the North American public’s consciousness while pro wrestlers Nobuhiko Takada and Masakatsu Funaki led a parallel evolution in Japan, where cultural forces led to fighters becoming mainstream celebrities. With no television contract and little publicity budget to speak of, the UFC was forced to adopt an aggressive marketing scheme to get public attention. The potential for carnage and blood was played up and a predictable media outcry soon followed. Politicians, led by Arizona Senator and Presidential candidate John McCain, were able to ban the sport in most states and even managed to suspend pay-per-view broadcasts. While the popularity of MMA was at an all-time-high in Japan, MMA failed to thrive in America until Spike TV finally took a chance on the controversial sport and The Ultimate Fighter thrust mixed martial arts back into the mainstream, creating new mega-stars like Forrest Griffin and Rashad Evans, and breathing new life into old favourites. For the first time, Total MMA: Inside Ultimate Fighting arms you with all the history and information you need to know to understand the contemporary world of Mixed Martial Arts, where the backroom deal-making is as fierce as the fighting.

Total MMA: Inside Ultimate Fighting

Sports & Outdoors

Snowden, Jonathan

Individual Sports

ECW Press

Breaking the MMA language barrier for those who don't know the difference between a wristlock and a wristwatch, this guide offers various perspectives and analysis of the sport. Presents a combination of facts, fundamentals, and fighters of this growing combat sport.

The MMA Encyclopedia

Reference

Shields, Kendall

Encyclopedias & Subject Guides

From his fights inside the cage with Hall of Famers Royce Gracie and Dan Severn to his even more fearsome battles outside of it, this book takes an in-depth look at one of the most fascinating men in all of combat sports. In Shamrock: The World's Most Dangerous Man, acclaimed Bleacher Report sportswriter Jonathan Snowden offers a compelling and hard-hitting look at the factors that led to the rise and incredible fall of one of mixed martial arts most enduring icons Ken Shamrock.\nThrough extensive research and more than 100 interviews, Snowden reveals a complicated man who, even when on top of the sports world, was planting the seeds of his eventual fall. These are the stories behind the headlines, a rare glimpse at what life is really like for a WWE Superstar and UFC Hall of Famer including the drugs, crime and debauchery that almost cost Shamrock everything.

Shamrock: The World's Most Dangerous Man

Biographies

Hybrid Shoot

King of Pancrase\nWWE Superstar\nUFC Hall of Famer\nLegend\nFrom his fights inside the cage with Hall of Famers Royce Gracie and Dan Severn to his even more fearsome battles outside of it, this book takes an in-depth look at one of the most fascinating men in all of combat sports. In Shamrock: The World's Most Dangerous Man, acclaimed Bleacher Report sportswriter Jonathan Snowden offers a compelling and hard-hitting look at the factors that led to the rise and incredible fall of one of mixed martial arts most enduring icons Ken Shamrock. 
Through extensive research and more than 100 interviews, Snowden reveals a complicated man who, even when on top of the sports world, was planting the seeds of his eventual fall. These are the stories behind the headlines, a rare glimpse at what life is really like for a WWE Superstar and UFC Hall of Famer including the drugs, crime and debauchery that almost cost Shamrock everything.\nPraise for the work of Jonathan Snowden\n"The best book on the real history of MMA that I've seen. . .This book really is so great I couldn't put it down." 
—Wrestling Observer on Total MMA "If the history of MMA was taught as a college course, Total MMA would be the official textbook used for the class." —Sam Caplan, former Bellator matchmaker "An incredible resource for any fan . . . the book is a treasure trove of MMA stories, people and history." —Chicago Sun-Times on The MMA Encyclopedia "Highly recommended." 
 —WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross on Total MMA

Biographies & Memoirs

Imagine a new world of professional wrestling. 
Travel back in time to an era before the capitalists won the Cold War. Before cable television had narrowed the field to a handful of bloated behemoths. Back then, wrestling was a very different place. The entire scene could change depending on where you parked your Plymouth on a given night. From the blood-soaked South to the fading glitz of the West Coast, dozens of regional wrestling troupes vied for supremacy, each with its own unique cast, each putting a distinctive new spin on the old grunt and groan game. 
Set in a funhouse mirror of our own world, THE TERRITORIES leaps into the madness of 1980s professional wrestling, presenting the business the way we liked it—wild, unruly and a little unhinged. Filled to bursting with steroids, bad choices, body slams and love, this is an unvarnished vision of an industry so seedy even gangsters give it the side eye. Edited by long-time wrestling enthusiasts Chad Dundas (Champion of the World, The Blaze) and Jonathan Snowden (Shooters, Shamrock), more than a dozen writers spanning fictional genres and styles take you deep into a sport that is never truly what it seems.

The Territories: Wrestling Stories

Literature & Fiction

Mamatas, Nick

Ridler, Jason

Dundas, Chad

Seccia, Kevin

Fifield, Richard

Laben, Carrie

Brooks, Dan

Fowlkes, Ben

Dilbert, Ryan

Genre Fiction

Shooters recounts the stories of athletes like Brock Lesnar and Gene LeBell, men who have lived their lives on the border between works” and shoots,” between the routines of the professional wrestling circuit and the legitimate confrontations that made their reputations. From catch wrestling masters Strangler Lewis and Billy Robinson to pro-wrestling icons like Frank Gotch and Lou Thesz, from Olympic heroes Danny Hodge and Kurt Angle to the Japanese wrestler who trained the famous Gracie family and gave birth to the global phenomenon of MMA, Shooters takes you from the shadowy carnival tent and the dingy training hall to the bright lights of the squared circle and the Las Vegas glitz of the Octagon. This volume takes fans of pro wrestling and MMA from Billy Riley’s legendary Wigan Snake Pit to the rigorous UWF Dojo in Tokyo, and draws on meticulous research and original interviews with today’s tough guys.

Shooters: The Toughest Men in Professional Wrestling

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Books by Snowden, Jonathan