| Tough Guys | |
| Author: | Bill Viola Jr, Dr. Fred Adams[1] [2] |
| Country: | United States |
| Language: | English |
| Genre: | Mixed Martial Arts |
| Publisher: | Kumite Classic Entertainment[3] |
| Published: | 2017 |
| Media Type: | Print, Kindle[4] |
| Pages: | 447 |
| Isbn: | 978-0-9961633-0-9 |
Tough Guys is non-fiction mixed martial arts book inspired by CV Productions Inc., and the Tough Guy Contest.[1] [2] [5] The book was written by Bill Viola Jr., and Dr. Fred Adams and published by Kumite Classic Entertainment in 2017.[6] [7] [8] [9] It was the basis for the 2017 film Tough Guys which made its network television debut on Showtime.[10] [11] [12] [13] [14]
Tough Guys was originally published under the title Godfathers of MMA (2014).[1] [2] [15] The Heinz History Center, an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, discovered the book and subsequently established a permanent exhibit to recognize Pittsburgh as the birthplace of modern sport of MMA in the Western Pennsylvania Sports Museum.[3] [16] [17] [18]
New York based MinusL Productions secured the rights to produce a documentary film about the history of MMA and used the book as the basis for the film named Tough Guys co-starring Bill Viola Sr., the author's father.[12] Tough Guys made its world premiere June 15, 2017 at the AFI Docs Film Festival in Washington, D.C.[19] [20]
The book was updated and rebranded as Tough Guys (2017) and published the same day as the network television debut of Tough Guys on Showtime.[2] [21] The re-released commemorative edition peaked at No. 1 on the Amazon individual sports charts September, 2017.[5] [6] [22] [17] [18]
The book is a noted MMA resource and historical reference for early competition.[5] [23] [24] [25] Tough Guys documents mixed martial arts in the late 1970s-1980s.[26] [27] In 1979, Bill Viola Sr. and Frank Caliguri established CV Productions Inc. and created a new sport that combined martial arts, boxing, wrestling, jujutsu and various forms of combat sports. The “anything goes” Tough Guy Contest[12] [20] [8] introduced regulated mixed martial arts competition to America and launched the first MMA league, later rebranded as “Super Fighters.”[27] [28] [15]
Tough Guys chronicles mixed martial arts a decade before the term became popular or the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) was created.[12] [23] [29] It details the Toughman (boxing) vs Tough Guy (MMA) controversy, the death of Ronald Miller and the Tough Guy Law which outlawed mixed martial arts in 1983.[24] [30] Tough Guys documents the sports early history and legal issues with the Pennsylvania State Legislature and Pennsylvania State Athletic Commission.[27] [24] It concludes with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania outlawing mixed martial arts.[24] [31]