There are certain, rare sportsmen, who because of their charisma, skill, attitude and what some people call the X factor, cause their sports to explode in popularity and cultural significance. Tiger Woods is doing it in golf. Muhammad, Mike Tyson, Jack Dempsey did it for boxing. Jimmy Connors, John McEnroe and the Williams sisters helped sensationalize tennis. You get the idea. Randy Couture might be the one who most symbolizes the reason for the massive growth of mixed martial arts fighting in America.

Eleven years after embarking on his career in the Ultimate Fighting Championships, there is now an excellent autobiography about the modern day gladiator icon Randy Couture by Loretta Hunt (by Simon Spotlight Entertainment, Simon Schuster) and anyone who is a fan of the UFC and Couture will enjoy this biography. Couture tells his whole story, and leaves no stones unturned, including plenty of personal family information which readers will not expect to learn.

It all began for Couture, almost by chance. His friend’s older brothers entered nine-year-old Randy and a buddy into a novice wrestling tournament, just for fun. Two and a half decades later, when his international wrestling career was winding down, Randy was offered a UFC heavyweight tournament in Augusta, GA as a sub after someone pulled out with an injury two weeks before the event in May 1997. “Hell yeah, let’s do it,” said Couture to Rico Chiapparelli, a wrestling pal who saw the future potential in MMA. The rest is history.

Randy’s life story is told in a conversational tone that is easy to read. His childhood early years was captivating because Randy reveals plenty of details. The book always stays on course and only a few times did my mind start to drift a little - this was during the college and international wrestling years which I have never been much of a fan of . But the curiosity to learn what Randy would say about each of his fights in MMA and life in the UFC is what kept the pages turning.

And Randy tell is like it is, sharing interesting insights into many of the key players of the UFC, taking you behind the scenes of this fascinating world. When all is said and done, you realize Randy Couture is just like his good friend Brett Favre - one of the country’s most admired sporting icons.

This book is a success and not lacking a few surprises either. No reader will be disappointed after reading Randy Couture: Becoming The Natural.

-Scoop Malinowski

BRAWL: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at Mixed Martial Arts Competition
Erich Krauss and Bret Aita - with introduction by Bob Shamrock
(ECW Press, 2002, 300 pgs., $19.95)

It seems that mixed martial arts, for better or worse, is continually being compared with boxing. Well, boxing, with its long history, should be so fortunate as to have an account of its early days that is as detailed and historically accurate as “Brawl: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at Mixed Martial Arts Competition.” Kudos to authors Erich Krauss and Bret Aita for their painstaking research in chronicling the formative years of MMA in America, which started, of course, with Rorion Gracie’s marketing of himself and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, which subsequently morphed into the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Remember that there was no internet culture, no “underground,” no mainstream publicity, no organization to speak of within what the early MMA promoters were doing. With this book you get lots of “inside stuff” you would be hard-pressed to know even if you were closely following the limited number of mixed martial arts shows that were available at the time.

Obviously, there was an “outlaw” quality to all those early promotions, and “Brawl” is especially good at breaking down the political and regulatory difficulties encountered by the MMA pioneers, including anecdotes about cards that had to be moved from stuck-in-the-mud places like New York to safe havens that were unregulated by athletic commissions. If you were wondering about the hows and whys of John McCain’s campaign to destroy the sport, or the travails of Bob Meyrowitz that ultimately forced him to sell off the UFC, this is the right place.

Krauss and Aita also impressively detail the other MMA organizations that opened up shop in the mid-to-late 1990’s, many of which were operating on a shoestring, often moving under cover of darkness, sometimes paying their talent, sometimes not, but consistently helping to quench the thirst of a fan base that went largely ignored for years by the mainstream media. The background material on all the fighters who shaped the sport is impeccable. And this would have to be the publication of record for the first decade of UFC events, from its inception in 1993 to the post-Meyrowitz takeover by Zuffa LLC, because it contains information that is archived nowhere else. If you want a comprehensive story about every UFC show right through 2001, you will never find anything more authoritative, or more engrossing.

Perhaps the greatest compliment one can bestow on “Brawl” is to say that someone who was not familiar with mixed martial arts might easily become a fan after picking this book up, because it recounts a short, often obscure, but always eventful history with such color.

And for those who consider themselves a little more hardcore, it is, along with Clyde Gentry’s “No Holds Barred: Ultimate Fighting and the Martial Arts Revolution,” a mandatory historical reference.

ICEMAN: My Fighting Life
Chuck Liddell with Chad Millman
(Dutton, 2008, 305 pgs, $25.95)

The first line reads, “What’s it like to walk down the street and have no fear?”

Well, Chuck Liddell is going to tell us.

Liddell may not look it, but he’s college-educated. And pretty well, as it turns out - after scoring a 1280 on his SAT (720 in Math!), he could have gone to Cal-Berkeley, but instead chose to go Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo, where we wrestled and obtained an accounting degree. That was a smart exercise on his part.

This book is a smart exercise too. Certainly many of the MMA autobiographies are about image-building. We’re not saying this is a glaring exception to that. But it does bring quite a bit more to the table.

Maybe the quality of the writing doesn’t jump out at you, but it is frank and entertaining, and is packaged better - by far - than any of the other MMA-related bios we’ve seen.

He answers a few questions, if they hadn’t been answered already. No, his dislike of Tito Ortiz isn’t just an act: “Tito Ortiz was worse than a punk.
He was a coward.”

And I like the use of sidebars throughout the book. This is where you can find out Liddell’s favorite drinks, which are, in order, 1. Patron, 2. Wild Turkey, 3. Jameson’s, 4. Cactus Cooler, and 5. Grey Goose. And his favorite toenail polish colors (yes, he does that) are blue, white, pink and black.

As he addresses “Choosing a Tattoo That’s Right for You,” Liddell says “Make sure it means something to you.” Sage advice. And for more great advice, “If you’re buddy is starting to stalk a chick, don’t help him beat up the guys that she’s dating. You’ve got to know where to draw the line.”

Words to live by.

Liddell does something in his book that I haven’t seen before (but then again, I haven’t seen all the MMA bios), which is that he has a list of all his fights, right from the beginning, and summarizes all of them for the reader. And he’ll admit actual defeat from time to time too. In describing his loss to Keith Jardine: “I wanted to take my shot but couldn’t pull the trigger. I can’t complain about the decision, it was close all the way through.”

I liked the anecdote about his initial entry into MMA. After his college wrestling days, Liddell eventually became a kick-boxer, engaging in a dozen or so fights but frankly getting tired of making upwards (or downwards, as it were) of $500 a fight. He didn’t want to apply his college degree in the workplace and become an accountant, and guess what - it wasn’t because of his Mohawk, either (though that might have made me a confident client).

So he was a bar bouncer, a decent enough alternative vocation. One night at work, he met up with Lorenzo Neal, a college wrestler at Fresno State who plays fullback for the San Diego Chargers. Neal advised him that it might be a good idea for him to get into mixed martial arts.

And the rest is history, which has now apparently become Liddell’s major in life.

Making it, that is.

THE COMPLETE IDIOT’S GUIDE TO ULTIMATE FIGHTING
Rich Franklin with Jon F. Merz
(Alpha, 2007, 277 pgs., $19.95)

If you consider yourself an MMA idiot, as I often do, you will probably appreciate “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Ultimate Fighting.” If you are getting set to watch your first UFC pay-per-view, you may want to pick up this manual and study it a little.

It’s light reading, but for the newbie, it’s got some value as a ready reference. It is written (with help from Jon F. Merz) by Rich Franklin, the former UFC champ who knows this territory, as his background is as a teacher. Yes, it’s a UFC book, and so the brief history of mixed martial arts is slanted heavily toward the UFC. But you’re going to get a pretty good idea of what it is and where it came from. The basic rules and regulations are covered, so that you come to the firm understanding that, for example, eye-gouging, which might be a staple of the WWE, isn’t allowed
here.

There is also a concise explanation of the various disciplines involved in a “mixed” martial arts competition - including Jiu-Jitsu, wrestling (freestyle and Greco Roman versions), boxing, kick-boxing and judo.

And more than half the volume is dedicated to strategy and technique, going through a rather detailed illustration (for the idiot, that means there’s a lot of pictures) of all the various holds and maneuvers, so that when you’re watching that UFC pay-per-view with other newbies, you can sound a lot like Joe Rogan.

As a bonus, you get a complete chapter on “The Rich Franklin Story,” which, I imagine, was part of the deal he negotiated to write this thing.

There are useful sidebars throughout, coming in the form of “FightSpeak” (UFC terms defined and explained), “Fighter Facts” (stats and trivia related to the UFC and its competitors) and “Notable Fights” (which takes the reader through UFC history). And there are a load of brief thumbnails on fighters past and present, including Anderson Silva, Randy Couture, Royce Gracie, Tank Abbott, Kenny Florian, Chuck Liddell, Forrest Griffin, Mark Coleman, B.J. Penn and many more.

Franklin’s handiwork may not make you as strong of an expert as Larry Goldberg, but there won’t be any more idiot-itis after reading this book.

LITTLE EVIL: One Ultimate Fighter’s Rise to the Top
Jens Pulver with Erich Krauss
(ECW Press, 2003, 188 pgs., $14.95)

Jens Pulver’s book is a worthwhile autobiography, because not only does it brings you back to his roots in childhood (a lot of books do that), but it also demonstrates a real cause-and-effect as to how his life experiences helped to shape the very attitude that could drive an athlete to a championship, because there is no other acceptable alternative.

We know, that Pulver was: the first fighter to win a UFC title in the lightweight division, a coach on The Ultimate Fighter, a member of Miletich Fighting Systems, and a 5′7″ all-around dynamo who authored many superb efforts, including a memorable fight with B.J. Penn in which he defended his title for the second time. He is also known for having ditched his title and bolted the UFC due to contractual problems.

He has also authored a superb effort here.

Pulver, who grew up in Maple Valley, Washington, which sounds benign enough but indeed was not. Jens came from what could justifiably be referred to as a dysfunctional household. And he sets the tone for the book, as well as his subsequent career path, right from the first page. It is not presented as a revelation, or a turning point, but rather matter-of-factly, as if it were “all in a day’s horror.” His father, a jockey, was rampaging through the house, threatening to kill someone or everyone. As Pulver writes, it was almost a foregone conclusion that he was a goner - the big hint was that his father had stuck a loaded gun into his seven-year-old mouth.

Pulver was ultimately spared, and the father calmed, but he leaves a child sitting there who has long since rationalized that it was only a temporary respite until the next storm. And those storms came, in different forms, almost every day.

In one sense, children like this never totally grow up; they suffer from Adult Child Syndrome, forever struggling with approval. In this case Pulver was an ACoA - an adult child of alcoholics.

The seemingly perpetual insecurity that comes out of this kind of background manifests itself in an insistence on accomplishment and perfection, as a weapon against low self-esteem. And that’s only if it is positively channeled. Pulver was lucky to have gotten support from his mother and a father figure named Jack Vantress, who mentored him and encouraged him to pursue wrestling as a vehicle by which to achieve his objectives.

As we’ve seen, Pulver has accomplished many of those objectives, including his UFC title and a college degree (from Boise State University). But along the way, he is in a constant battle with himself, trying to overcome the kind of self-doubt that was embedded in him since childhood; something that has never left him and likely never will. Indeed, even as he was walking down the aisle for the biggest fight of his life, his father’s voice, filled with abuse of the psyche, rang in his subconscious.

Since the culture that creates demand for a book like this is a result of hero worship, there might be a tendency to drift toward restraint. But credit Pulver and co-author Erich Krauss for presenting the framework for this narrative, warts and all.

This is not a tale of UFC glory - it is the account of one individual who has been to hell and back in the process of battling his demons, and who is, so far, coming out on the winning side.

In a way, everything else becomes secondary in importance. The human triumph is of far greater significance than the professional triumphs. If that’s the lesson you take from it, you will have gotten the most out of this book.

Unlike most of the pablum we see in this genre, here is one athlete who REALLY has a story to tell.

MADE IN AMERICA: The Most Dominant Champion in UFC History
Matt Hughes with Michael Malice
(SSE, 2008, 295 pgs., $24)

Matt Hughes, I suppose, is another small-town farm kid made good. The All-American boy? Hmm….maybe. But just like almost everyone else, he got into his share of mischief. This book, an account of one of the more storied careers in the brief history of the UFC, obviously reveals things most people didn’t know before, but it’s just sort of like a field goal that sailed wide right - it misses at being something gripping or intriguing.

Look - like any autobiography that is a product of sudden notoriety, as well as a response to popular culture, there is a certain amount of self-indulgence in this volume. One can tell that there is a healthy dose of ego in the title; after all, whether Hughes is the most dominant champion is clearly debatable. For sure, the book’s jacket is a little misleading; Hughes is a two-time UFC champion, which is notable enough, but he is not a nine-time champion, as the promo implies.

Suffice it to say that this covers a life that, truth be told, is not so remarkable, and wouldn’t really interest a non-MMA fan the way, for example, a biography of Jake LaMotta would grab someone who wasn’t interested in boxing or Jim Bouton’s “Ball Four” transcended baseball.

However, the fan of mixed martial arts will find himself exposed to a world where there is usually not a lot of intimate access.

Hughes, who won the UFC’s welterweight crown on a couple of occasions and has since, like everybody else (yawn) moved to the entrepreneurial side of the sport, had an extensive background in amateur wrestling, winning All-America honors twice in college, then competing in events like the ADCC submission wrestling tournament. He then became an assistant wrestling coach at his alma mater, before Monte Cox came calling to get him into MMA. The story of how Cox and MMA legend Pat Miletich played an important role in Hughes’ entry into the sport is interesting indeed, if you’re a Hughes fan.

And there is a chapter that supplies insight regarding Hughes’ first opportunity to fight for a title - against Carlos Newton, which, according to Hughes’ account, he refused to accept because he felt it rightly belonged to Miletich and only followed through with when Miletich gave it his OK. Then there is his recounting of the memorable moment when, caught in a triangle choke that almost numbed him, Hughes suddenly picked up Newton and slammed him to the canvas, rendering him unconscious and giving birth to a new MMA star.

That would seem a heroic triumph, but somehow Hughes doesn’t develop himself as a very sympathetic character, though we know he wants to. And it’s not because he’s exercising some conscious self-awareness or reflection by giving us the unfettered view of things. The fact is, he comes off as kind of disagreeable, and intentionally so, especially with stablemates like Tim Sylvia. A lot of fighters are actually somewhat low-key, preferring to exercising their aggression in the ring or the octagon or the cage or what have you. Hughes seems to have a bit of an aggressive personality to begin with; the type that mandates him to be demonstrative about his manhood. That comes through in the early part of the story. Maybe it’s a product of the kind insecurity and/or natural competitiveness that comes with having a twin brother who’s into some of the same things you are.

And as for additional insight, I’m not sure giving a chart of his fifty phone calls home from Bettendorf (the site of the Miletich camp) is particularly useful. Okay we get it - he’s a family man.

Some readers we’ve heard from call Hughes’ tale “uninspired.” But the realization is that most of the MMA books were written because the timing was right for it to be sold, not because there’s necessarily an extraordinary story to tell.

The high notes? Honestly, we didn’t see an abundance of them. But then again, his life and career, like many, will only be noteworthy until the next two-time champ comes along.

And writes himself a book.