There's a good number of former and current Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) fighters who penned really interesting books about the sport of mixed martial arts. These books range from autobiographies (the most common), to MMA manuals, to comedic tomes (Forrest Griffin's forte). Below is a quick overview of the very best of these books. If you want to learn more about mixed martial arts through the perspective of the sport's biggest athletes, these are the books you should dig your fingers into.
1. The Way of the Fight by Georges St. Pierre
There's no denying the fact that Georges St. Pierre (GSP) is one of the greatest MMA fighters of all time. Since making his professional debut in 2002, St. Pierre tore through the competition and quickly established himself as a bonafide MMA star. He became a three-time welterweight champion in the UFC with wins over the likes of Johny Hendricks, Nick Diaz, Carlos Condit, Jake Shields, Dan Hardy, and B.J. Penn. He only lost twice - to Matt Serra and Matt Hughes. He got over these losses by dominating Serra and Hughes in the rematch bouts.
In The Way of the Fight, St. Pierre chronicles his journey from an unknown to an internationally recognized athlete and champion. If anything, his ride to the top was never easy. He was bullied as a kid. He went through injuries that threatened to derail his career. He suffered painful losses both inside and outside of the UFC cage.
From the publisher: "In The Way of the Fight, Canadian championship fighter St. Pierre invites fans into the circle of his life, sharing his most closely guarded memories. A compelling memoir that offers an intimate, gritty look at a fighter’s journey, told through inspiring vignettes, GSP is a moving account of commitment and power, achievement and pain, dedication and conviction from one of the world's greatest champions."
2. Why I Fight: The Belt is Just an Accessory by B.J. Penn and Dave Weintraub
Back in July 2015, Penn was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame. It was a well-deserved recognition and the ceremony was presided over by no other than Matt Hughes, Penn's long-time cage rival. The two men shared the cage three times during their storied careers with Penn winning two of the encounters via submission and knockout.
Penn was one of the pioneers of mixed martial arts. He's faced a lineup of who's who in the sport (Frankie Edgar, Nick Diaz, Rory MacDonald, Jon Fitch, Diego Sanchez, Kenny Florian, Georges St. Pierre, Jens Pulver, and Takanori Gomi). One of the most amazing things about Penn was his unbelievable venture into multiple divisions. He's fought as a featherweight, lightweight, welterweight, and middleweight. At one time, he jumped to light heavyweight and fought a bloated Lyoto Machida.
In Why I Fight, Penn provides fans an inside look on how he transformed from a scrawny kid in Hilo, Hawaii into a feared fighter in the biggest stage in all of mixed martial arts. He is never one to back down from a fight. In this book, Penn goes into detail about his most well-known ring encounters.
From the publisher: "Why I Fight is the answer that everyone—critics, fans, commentators, pundits, and perhaps even Dana White, current president of the UFC—has been waiting for. In his own words, Penn tells the story of his life spent fighting, explaining what led a scrappy teenager from the rough streets of Hilo, Hawaii, onto the biggest stage in all of mixed martial arts (MMA). From his earliest days, becoming one of the preeminent practitioners of Brazilian jujitsu in the world, to his first MMA fights and his battles with UFC champions like Matt Hughes and Georges St-Pierre, Penn shows that in life, just like in the Octagon, he is never one to back down from a fight.
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Anderson Silva
Fighters Only
BJ Penn, Erich Krauss, and Glen Cordoza
Mixed Martial Arts: The Book of Knowledge
Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman
Death Clutch: My Story of Determination, Domination, and Survival
Chael Sonnen
The Voice of Reason: A VIP Pass to Enlightenment
Forrest Griffin and Erich Krauss
Be Ready When The Shit Goes Down: Forrest Griffin's Survival Guide To The Apocalypse
Got Fight?: The 50 Zen Principles of Hand-to-Face Combat
Brian Stann and John R. Bruning
Heart for the Fight: A Marine Hero's Journey from the Battlefields of Iraq to Mixed Martial Arts Champion
Chuck Liddell and Chad Millman
Iceman: My Fighting Life
Ken Shamrock, Richard Hanner, and Clixtro Romias
Inside the Lion's den
Matt Lindland
Dirty Boxing for Mixed Martial Arts: From Wrestling to Mixed Martial Arts
Pat Miletich
Blood in the Cage
Ronda Rousey
My Fight, Your Fight
Sean O'Connell
Hellbound/Heavensent (The Angel War Book 1)
Tito Ortiz and Marc Shapiro
This Is Gonna Hurt: The Life of a Mixed Martial Arts Champion
Randy Couture
Becoming the Natural: My Life In and Out of the Cage
Matt Hughes and Michael Malice
Made in America: The Most Dominant Champion in UFC History
Jens Pulver and Erich Krauss
Little Evil: One Ultimate Fighter's Rise to the Top
Urijah Faber
The Laws of the Ring