Why do people compete in MMA? That is the premise of the book. In the book blurb it says “Unlocking the Cage takes readers into the gyms and into the minds of the fighters” and it was that line that drew me to this book.

I have been a UFC fan for years, before it became mainstream, and now with UFC stars like GSP, Anderson Silva, Ronda Rousey and of course Conor McGregor, MMA has got the world talking and tuning in to watch these fights.

If you have only just started watching or trying MMA this would be a great book for you.

And I think this book would be great for sociology students as well as it certainly gives you a great in-depth look into why people want to make

as MMA fighters, how they came to the sport and the stigma of the violence in the sport.

It is full of interviews that are interesting, some more than others but it does leave you with a slightly higher knowledge of a fighters lives and the sacrifices they make in-order to excel in this sport.

MMA fans will definitely want to read this and anyone that is curious about the sport, this would be a good place to start. And if you are the few that still think this isn’t a real sport, just pure violence then this book will go a long way to dispelling that myth.

I really enjoyed it, and reading as a fan of the sport it was nice to see behind the scenes.

With the UFC being in the news quite recently for equal parts great for the sport and some that could cast a dark cloud over it, this is the perfect time to pick up this book!

A big thank you to the author Mark Tullius, publishers The Independent Book Publishers Association and NetGalley for my copy in exchange for an honest, independent review.

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Unlocking the Cage had a good premise, looking at the motivations of people who fight at a high level as a way for the author to do some self analysis as to why he fought years ago.
What I liked: The people we meet and the author's tenacity. He did a good job showing a wide range of motivations, beliefs, and backgrounds.
What I didn't like: It was very long, and seemed like the same thing repeated over and over. Also, I wish he had focused in on a few examples, by the end I couldn't keep track of all the fighters he had mentioned when some of them made repeat appearances. I understand you need a large number of Ns for research, but perhaps a research study with all the info and then using this to go in depth on one or two examples of each motivation he found would have made it more interesting to me.
Overall it was interesting. It did present some new ideas about why people do what they do, and how the sport is changing.

Mark Tullius appears to be a restless soul searching for his calling, his sense of place, and the creation of a thorough study of mixed martial arts, the latter an enterprise he indulged in for a few years. Eventually the headshots, body twisting, and brutal training transformed him into a spectator rather than a participant. “Unlocking the Cage” is his effort at paying tribute to a sport that he reveres and one from which he cannot separate himself.

For this book Tullius visited 95 gyms in 22 states, interviewed 320 fighters, 28 of which were women. The fighters he interviewed had 3,500 fights with a combined average record of 7 wins and 3 losses. Only a small number made enough money fighting to support themselves and most supplemented their incomes by instructing at gyms. Two thirds had been competitive in high school sports, mostly in football and wrestling, but nearly every other sport was engaged in before getting involved with MMA.

Okay, that’s an impressive sampling that should reveal much information for help in determining these athletes’ motivations and impressions. Surprisingly, that’s not apparent. Most had the same story: early bullying, the desire to be more aggressive in life, a search for stabilizing a life of turmoil, and a conduit for personal recognition. The author’s interviews and reporting carry the same messages over and over. In fact, I got somewhat bored as I wended my way through his sonorous reporting, although one thing kept me plunging along. I was desperate to discover his personal motivation.

Why would a man of his age and physical condition consent to getting into the ring to improve his credibility? Did he really think that getting his neck severely cranked, getting more brain concussions attached to symptoms he already carried, or being confined to bed for several days to recover from the beatings would improve his standing as an interviewer? Those of us who regularly conduct interviews with people in many professions might want to consider jumping in to assist a police officer during a gun fight, a firefighter during a high rise fire, or help wildlife officers subdue a raging grizzly. I’ve already seen intrepid reporters wading in waist-high floodwaters, crawling through ruins during the height of battle with enemy bullets buzzing above their helmets, or scrambling around on a mountainside that has already claimed the lives of veteran climbers. No thanks. A quiet office or woodland park environment serves as an interview location nicely.

This is an interesting if overdone study. If you are a rapid fan of MMA action then go for it. It will likely be a pleasurable read. For you

I decided to read this books in hopes of getting a better understanding of my estranged brother who was a MMA fighter.

The core question posed by Mark Tullius is why do people compete in MMA?

I found that the best answer was given by Bill Mahoney very early in the book: "Some guys fight for supplemental income; others are chasing unrealistic goals of fame and fortune. Too many guys do it to get girls, look cool, and impress; a rare few are sociopaths who enjoy hurting others. The ones doing it for personal reasons, such as testing oneself, he described as generally the coolest people I know".

Nevertheless, the author goes on an exhaustive journey interviewing 340 people. While I appreciated the insight into the lives of some of these individuals, I couldn't help but feel that this was reading more like a passionate pet sociology project, rather than a bona fide book into the subject matter at hand.

The many, many interviews were interesting at times, but for a book length it became tedious. Written with passion, but not an illuminating or insightful examination that I was hoping for.