This Doc About Fighting For Money Has My Brain In A Chokehold
As logged-on, unapologetic enjoyers of the Web, we at Digg will fully admit to frequently falling into obsessions over weird things we find on the internet. On this blog, we plan to explain those obsessions in a healthy, non-crazy way so that maybe you can become obsessed with a cool thing too.
Today: A YouTube short doc series about fighting for money, the UFC and the odd bloodsport sport that has amassed millions of fans around the world over the last three decades.
On Monday, SB Nation writer and producer Jon Bois and Chapo Trap House host Felix Biederman released part one of "Fighting In The Age Of Loneliness," a five-part documentary series about, well, modern combat sports. It is 24 minutes and 28 seconds. It is riveting. Watch it here:
So thorough, so entertaining. So worthy of four more episodes. Right out the gate, Bois (who directed and produced the series) and Biederman (who wrote and narrated it) make a point to thoroughly explain the roots of the martial arts that make up modern MMA. They take you on a trip Japan to study under Kano Jigoro and then to Brazil to get to know every member the country's famous Gracie family.
And the rest of the series is just as thorough. You can watch it all here. In total, the entire series stretches just over 119 minutes. It's like a true feature-length work. And it's far more worthy of your time than anything I could say here.
However! If you want to continue falling down the wild hole that is the wide world of combat sport culture, you should consult these stories after finishing the series:
- As Bois and Biederman do, it would be wise of you to start by combing through the history of the Gracie family, and there is no better way than David Samuel's and Grantland's One Hundred Years Of Arm Bars
- Our duo paints the Pride Fighting Championship as an interesting counterpart to the UFC from across the Pacific pond. For another take on the league and its Yakuza ties, consult Jonathan Snowden's and Bleacher Report's 2017 feature, Sex, Drugs, Gangsters and MMA: Remembering Pride, UFC's Wild Predecessor
- They touch on this in the tail end of part 2, but it's important to remember that MMA was banned in a lot of places for a long time. Here's a thorough account from when MMA was legalized in New York state in 2016 from Matt Connolly and Forbes, Why It Took So Long, And What It Means Going Forward
- Part 2 also reminded us that UFC President Dana White and US Donald Trump are longtime buds. Here's White talking about that on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!"
- Bois and Biederman give him plenty of screentime in part 5, but if you're still curious about the enigma that is Jon "Bones" Jones, take a look at Greg Howard and Deadspin's 2014 profile on the man, How Jon Jones Became The Baddest Motherfucker On Earth, or Mike Bohn's and Rolling Stone's 2016 profile, Jon Jones Vs. Jon Jones
- Finally, women's MMA gets its brief moment in the spotlight at the very end of "Fighting In The Age Of Loneliness." But to get the full story on one of the most interesting characters in the history of sports, you absolutely must read Ramona Shelburne's ESPNW feature on the fighter from 2015: Rousey Says She's Down But Not Out
Alright, it's time to tap gloves and get to it. Remember: no eye gouging, no biting; everything else is fair game.
