L. Jon Wertheim’s “Blood in the Cage”
Published by on April 22nd, 2009 in Book Reviews

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The amount of non-instructional books devoted to mixed martial arts can be counted on two hands, while the amount worth reading numbers around just a few fingers. Thus far, we’ve learned that Matt Hughes shouldn’t be allowed anywhere near a typewriter, there is such a thing as too much information when it comes to Randy Couture, and Chuck Liddell… well, let’s just say when “Iceman: My Fighting Life” is made into a film, the producers will be hard-pressed to avoid an NC-17 rating. Then there’s L. Jon Wertheim’s “Blood in the Cage: Mixed Martial Arts, Pat Miletich and the Furious Rise of the UFC”, which straddles the line between Miletich biography and historical text examining the growth of the sport. Is it among those worth reading? If you like well-written prose short on outsider’s hyperbole but long on factual perspective, the answer is an emphatic “yes”.

The Miletich timeline begins with a loss via beatdown courtesy of a bully in kindergarten – an unsanctioned bout for sure, and the first of many unsanctioned bouts as Miletich transforms from an angry Midwest bar room- and back alley brawler to disciplined karateka to pioneer in some new-fangled unarmed combat endeavor called “ultimate fighting”. Meanwhile, the UFC blossoms and waivers, is bought by Zuffa, suffers until “The Ultimate Fighter”, etcetera, etcetera. Anyone with even a passing knowledge of the sport knows its short history; however, not everyone knows where Miletich fits in to it all, and Blood in the Cage does a masterful job of weaving it together. Going into the “Battle of the Masters” and “Quad City Ultimate” tournaments back in 1995, Miletich was a big fish in a small Midwest pond, but his ventures into the Octagon suddenly validated what many within the industry already knew: “The Croatian Sensation” could scrap. From his victorious UFC 16 bouts against Olympic wrestler Townsend Saunders and grappler Chris Brennan (a tournament that crowned the UFC’s first “lightweight”, i.e., under 200 pounds, champ) to his first UFC loss over three years later, Miletich proved to be the man to beat – and few could manage that feat.

Wertheim was a writer for Sports Illustrated (specializing in tennis, no less) before penning Blood in the Cage. Thankfully, the narrative voice of wide-eyed newcomer is kept to a minimum, and while there are a few minor factual mistakes (a flubbed UFC number, mistaking Ken Shamrock for Frank), the concise prose makes for an effective storytelling vehicle. Ever hear the one about Miletich being threatened in a bar by someone claiming to be “Pat Miletich”? Know the one about Miletich’s severe weight cut for UFC 32 and needing teammate Tom Sauer to score him an IV bag full of fluids? Or the one about Miletich pressuring ward Matt Hughes into taking that game-changing UFC 34 bout against Carlos Newton, a bout that was meant to be Miletich’s rematch but instead marked Hughes’ ascension to glory? It’s all in there, plus more for both those who picked up the book knowing nothing and those who picked it up thinking they already knew it all.

The MMA literary landscape is littered with sub-par works, yet some books are worthwhile. Wertheim’s Blood in the Cage is among the better ones and worthy of a read.