David T. Mayeda Fighting for Acceptance

Annotation

In recent years, mixed martial arts, also known as "ultimate fighting", has become thefastest-growing sport in American society, but it is also considered the mostcontroversial. Based on interviews conducted with forty mixed martial arts athletes,Fighting for Acceptance answers these questions:Who are the ultimate fighters?How did they become involved in the sport? What goes on in their heads while competing?Do the fighters feel a social responsibility to preach nonviolence out of thesport? How do they see themselves fitting into today's society?Authors David Mayeda, a mixed martial arts fan and occasional fighter, and DavidChing explore these political and sociological issues through in-depth interviews withfighters such as Randy "The Natural" Couture, Quinton "Rampage" Jackson,"Dangerous" Dan Henderson, Jason "MayheM" Miller, Antonio McKee, Frank Trigg,Travis Lutter, Chris "The Crippler" Leben, and Guy Mezger.Fighting for Acceptance is for the sport's fans and its critics alike as it delves into theramifications of the athletic event. This growing phenomenon is so controversial thatmany still question if it should even be considered a sport.