Monday, March 2, 2009


Book Review: "Blood in the Cage: Mixed Martial Arts, Pat Miletich and the Furious Rise of the UFC"

Yeah, so I finally finished L. Jon Wertheim's book "Blood in the Cage: Mixed Martial Arts, Pat Miletich and the Furious Rise of the UFC". It's a decent read - and prose-wise, it's one of the better books written about MMA. As the title implies, Miletich is the lens through which the sport is seen and chronicled, and the timeline stretches from some bully kicking his ass in kindergarten to about four days ago. Did you know that Pat cut so much weight for his UFC 32 bout against Shonie Carter that he needed teammate Tom Sauer to hook him up with some IV fluids snagged from a local emergency room? I did because I was the dude who drove them to that emergency room, but it was interesting to read about these events from someone else's perspective. Which is what Blood in Cage provides. Want more insight from a Sports Illustrated writer's fresh perspective? Get the book. It's worth it.

Observations From My Couch: WEC 39

  • "Are you having trouble sleeping? Are you tired of sleepless nights? Try new 'Rob McCullough and Marcus Hicks', a non-narcotic sleep-aid guaranteed to induce slumber. You'll be snoring within minutes. Note: do not drive or operate heavy machinery."
  • Was Chris Mickle really the best the WEC could do? Really?
  • What happened to the Bart Palaszewski who was a stud in the IFL? Where did he go? I don't recognize this guy in the cage now. I want the old Bartimus back.
  • Damacio Page - powerful enough to knock you out, small enough for your child to keep with the rest of her dolls and stuffed animals.
  • Leonard Garcia is a beast. Mike Brown is beaster. Or beastier. Or beastiest. Something like that.

Rory Markham Fights with Collapsed Excuse

Miletich-trained fighter Rory Markham, who was felled by British striker Dan Hardy at UFC 95, fought with a collapsed excuse according to statements made by his camp last week. The excuse, which centered around a deflated lung caused by an over 30-pound weight cut, was rendered completely ineffectual when Hardy delivered a knockout punch at a mere minute and nine seconds into the first round. "Rory is a warrior," said a spokesperson from Markham's camp. "And if, in that UFC 95 co-main event, he had needed to inhale and exhale more than eight times, that whole lung thing would've made for a great excuse. Maybe next time."