For MMA fans the book that tells the story of the first UFC is coming to bookstores. Art Davie’s IS THIS LEGAL? will be in the bookstores during the first week of July. This is the inside story about the fighters, the network executives, the managers, the partners, film stars and politicians who helped or hampered the first UFC in November 1993.
You can pre-order IS THIS LEGAL? on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/This-Legal-Inside-Story-Created/dp/0991275640/ref=sr_
Or Barnes & Noble:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/is-this-legal-art-davie/1119450132?ean=9780
On November 12, 1993, in Denver, Colorado, the Ultimate Fighting Championship was unleashed on an unsuspecting public, with virtually no warning or fanfare, and instantly redefined action sports for a new generation.
The creation of advertising man and serial entrepreneur Art Davie, the UFC entered nearly 90,000 US households through pay-per-view television with an explosion–an explosion of blood—as 6’5 Dutch Savate champion Gerard Gordeau kicked 420 lbs. Sumo wrestler Teila Tuli flush in the face, less than one minute into the night’s opening fight.
The blow not only sent Tuli’s tooth flying into the crowd, it knocked the martial arts and combat sports worlds on their asses.
With the very first UFC, the new sport of mixed martial arts (MMA) was launched–although it wasn’t even called that yet–and fighting would never again be the same.
Now, for the first time, the true story of how the Ultimate Fighting Championship came into existence will be told by the man who started it all. In this vivid and fast-moving, first-person account, Davie explains how his idea to crown the World’s Best Fighter, painstakingly evolved into the UFC, which now stands as a billion-dollar sports franchise.
Art Davie is the Dr. James Naismith and Abner Doubleday of MMA (with a touch of PT Barnum), yet his name is largely unknown. That is, until now.
Davie’s tale is one of perseverance and against-all-odds determination, as he worked tirelessly for four years to see his dream come to brutal fruition, while meeting plenty of resistance.
It’s also a mash-up of martial arts, celebrity, sports, and business, involving a highly improbable cast of characters, that includes Academy Award nominee John Milius, NFL Hall of Fame running back Jim Brown, action film star Chuck Norris, Brazilian jiu-jitsu godfather Rorion Gracie and pay-per-view TV pioneer Bob Meyrowitz.
This no-holds-barred account of how he started the ball rolling on the Ultimate Fighting Championship, and launched MMA, is one for not just fight fans, but for fans of mavericks in business and life, who stop at nothing to fulfill their dreams.
Whether you’re a hardcore supporter of mixed martial arts, or have never watched a single bout, you’ll be enthralled by Davie’s story of triumph. Art Davie created the sport of the 21st Century, which arrived two decades early. He started a revolution, and his revolution was televised.