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.