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Cage kings : how an unlikely group of moguls, champions, and hustlers transformed the UFC into a $10 billion industry / Michael Thomsen.

By: Material type: TextTextPublisher: New York, N.Y. : Simon & Schuster, 2023Edition: First Simon & Schuster hardcover editionDescription: xxvii, 413 pages ; 24 cmContent type:
  • text
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 9781501198472
  • 1501198475
Subject(s):
Contents:
God forgive me! -- Everything these guys touch turns to gold -- No one can do what you did -- There is no plan B -- A reverse socialization process -- Problem child -- This is not fantasy island -- Station to station -- I will make you look like a genius -- Brother, i lost everything -- Maybe i can -- Fair is defined as where we end up -- Be happy for me -- The money belt.
Summary: "A cultural and business history of the UFC, tracing the unlikely rise of mixed martial arts from what was derided in the '90s as "human cockfighting"-more violence than sport-to a global pop culture phenomenon"-- Provided by publisher.Summary: "A cultural and business history of the UFC, tracing the unlikely rise of mixed martial arts from what was derided in the '90s as "human cockfighting"-more violence than sport-to a global pop culture phenomenon.Senator John McCain once decried mixed martial arts as "human cockfighting," while the New York Times despaired that the sport offered a "pay-per-view prism" onto the decline of western civilization. But the violent spectacle of cage fighting no longer feels nearly as scandalous as it did when the sport debuted in 1993. Today, it's spoken of reverentially as a kind of "human chess" played out in real-time between two bodies and the UFC is one of the most valuable franchises in the world, worth more than any team in the NFL, NBA, or MLB and equal to what Disney paid to acquire Marvel Comics. Once banned in thirty-six states and hovering on the edge of bankruptcy, the UFC has evolved into a $10 billion industry. How did cage fighting go so mainstream? A rollicking behind-the-scenes account of one of the most spectacular upsets in American sports history, Kings of the Cage follows the desperate fighters, audacious promoters, fanboy bloggers, fatherly trainers, philosophical announcers, hustling sponsors, and three improbable twentysomething corporate titans on a darkly comic odyssey to normalize a new level of brutality in American pop culture-and make a fortune doing so. Stylishly written and poignantly observed, the book offers a provocative look at how the hollowing out of the American dream over the past three decades and the violence endemic to modern capitalism left us ready to embrace a sport like cage fighting"-- Provided by publisher.
Holdings
Item type Home library Collection Call number Materials specified Status Date due Barcode Item holds
Adult Book Adult Book Main Library NonFiction 796.815 T481 Available 33111011292071
Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

A "propulsive and wildly engrossing" (Brad Stone, author of The Everything Store ) account of how the UFC turned mixed martial arts into a multibillion-dollar business and global pop culture phenomenon.

Decried as "human cockfighting" by Senator John McCain and dismissed by the New York Times as a "pay-per-view prism" onto the decline of Western civilization, the UFC seemed by 2000 to be bleeding out. The cage fighting promotion had been banned in thirty-six states and was struggling to cover production costs for its next event.

But three buddies in Las Vegas--an ambitious personal trainer and two young casino heirs--saw something else in the UFC: a vision of the future. Over the next two decades, the trio would transform the company into one of the most valuable sports properties in the world, worth more than the Beatles catalog or the New York Yankees. And along the way, they would also transform the lives of some of the sport's biggest stars, both for better and worse.

A "captivating" (Christopher Leonard, author of The Lords of Easy Money ) behind-the-scenes account of a once-reviled subculture's strange path to pop legitimacy, Cage Kings embeds you in a world of desperate fighters, audacious promoters, fanboy bloggers, fatherly trainers, philosophical announcers, hustling sponsors, and three improbable twentysomething corporate titans on a darkly comic odyssey to normalize a new level of brutality in American pop culture--and make a fortune doing so. For in an era of generational poverty, eroding labor rights, radical media transformations, simmering political grievances, and an obsession with winning at any cost, the spectacle of two people fighting in a cage for another few months' wages suddenly seemed to make sense.

Stylishly written and poignantly observed, this "must-read for fans and the simply curious alike" (Matthew Polly, author of American Shaolin ) offers a provocative look at how the hollowing out of the American dream and the violence of modern capitalism left us ready to embrace a sport like cage fighting.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 297-390) and index.

God forgive me! -- Everything these guys touch turns to gold -- No one can do what you did -- There is no plan B -- A reverse socialization process -- Problem child -- This is not fantasy island -- Station to station -- I will make you look like a genius -- Brother, i lost everything -- Maybe i can -- Fair is defined as where we end up -- Be happy for me -- The money belt.

"A cultural and business history of the UFC, tracing the unlikely rise of mixed martial arts from what was derided in the '90s as "human cockfighting"-more violence than sport-to a global pop culture phenomenon"-- Provided by publisher.

"A cultural and business history of the UFC, tracing the unlikely rise of mixed martial arts from what was derided in the '90s as "human cockfighting"-more violence than sport-to a global pop culture phenomenon.Senator John McCain once decried mixed martial arts as "human cockfighting," while the New York Times despaired that the sport offered a "pay-per-view prism" onto the decline of western civilization. But the violent spectacle of cage fighting no longer feels nearly as scandalous as it did when the sport debuted in 1993. Today, it's spoken of reverentially as a kind of "human chess" played out in real-time between two bodies and the UFC is one of the most valuable franchises in the world, worth more than any team in the NFL, NBA, or MLB and equal to what Disney paid to acquire Marvel Comics. Once banned in thirty-six states and hovering on the edge of bankruptcy, the UFC has evolved into a $10 billion industry. How did cage fighting go so mainstream? A rollicking behind-the-scenes account of one of the most spectacular upsets in American sports history, Kings of the Cage follows the desperate fighters, audacious promoters, fanboy bloggers, fatherly trainers, philosophical announcers, hustling sponsors, and three improbable twentysomething corporate titans on a darkly comic odyssey to normalize a new level of brutality in American pop culture-and make a fortune doing so. Stylishly written and poignantly observed, the book offers a provocative look at how the hollowing out of the American dream over the past three decades and the violence endemic to modern capitalism left us ready to embrace a sport like cage fighting"-- Provided by publisher.

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