000			03059nam a2200325 i 4500
001			wb9449322
005			20230830091521.0
008			230615t20232023enk erb 001 0 eng d
020			_a9781529103717 _qpaperback
040			_aQBOO _beng _cQBOO _erda _dWWBK
082	0	4	_a796.815 _223/eng/20230615
099			_a796.815 _bTHO
100	1		_aThomsen, Michael, _eauthor. _9130494
245	1	0	_aCage kings : _bhow an unlikely group of moguls, champions & hustlers transformed the UFC into a $10 billion industry / _cMichael Thomsen.
264		1	_aLondon : _bEbury Spotlight Publishing, _c2023.
264		4	_c©2023.
300			_axxvii, 413 pages ; _c24 cm.
336			_atext _btxt _2rdacontent.
337			_aunmediated _bn _2rdamedia.
338			_avolume _bnc _2rdacarrier.
504			_aIncludes bibliographical references and index.
520			_aA 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. 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. enator 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.
610	2	0	_aUltimate Fighting Championship (Organization) _xHistory. _9131015
611	2	0	_aUFC (Mixed martial arts event) _xHistory. _9131016
650		0	_aMixed martial arts _xCompetitions. _9131017
650		0	_aHand-to-hand fighting _xCompetitions. _9131018
945			_i31111088333537 _p$22.27
999			_c45838 _d45838
942	0	0	_01