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By Elias Cepeda

If you ask a movie reviewer what sets great movies apart from good ones, many would tell you that great movies are the ones that manage to transcend their premises. The Rocky series wasn’t about boxing; it was a story of an underdog who succeeded through hard work and determination in the face of impossible odds. Fight Club wasn’t about dudes beating each other up in basements; it was a dirge for our lost masculinity and the rise of anonymous consumerism.

And the new MMA documentary Fightville isn’t about the fighting; it’s about the struggle.

Directed by Petra Epperlein and Michael Tucker — who have previously collaborated on four other full-length features, including the Iraq war documentary Gunner Palace — Fightville is a gritty and thought-provoking glimpse into the human condition that should appeal to fight fans as well as fans of good filmmaking. Simply put, it’s the best MMA documentary since The Smashing Machine.

(Photo courtesy of Amazon.com)

This is both a very good and very difficult time to write a book about mixed martial arts.  Good, because interest in the sport is at an all-time high.  Difficult, because you can’t assume your audience already knows anything about the sport, including basic terminology and modern origins.  The hardcore fan doesn’t want to hear the same familiar back story about the Gracie family again, but the new fan (or the simply curious, book-buying non-fan) needs that info just to understand the conversation.  

This is a problem.  With Blood in the Cage, L. Jon Wertheim has solved it in a way that should appeal to the masses without boring or condescending to the aficionados.  That alone is an accomplishment. 

The way Wertheim manages it is by weaving together two stories: Pat Miletich’s and MMA’s.  The book is essentially a biography of both, using one as a jumping off point for the other.  

To that end, Miletich might be the perfect choice.  His rise from local Iowa ass-kicker to martial arts enthusiast to UFC champ to trail-blazing trainer is not only interesting enough to keep you turning pages, it’s also a story that largely mirrors the rise of MMA in America.