Frank Caliguri and Bill Viola were two friends that had a vision. What they did has been forgotten by many but Bill Viola Jr, Bill's son, wanted to get the record clear as to their part in the history of MMA and wrote a book which grew into the documentary that Morgan Spurlock has produced. The book is titled "Godfathers of MMA: The Birth of an American Sport".
The documentary explains how they both got started in martial arts and why and how they came up with the concept in 1979. How they started Karate matches initially but many didn't take it seriously. So they upped the ante. What if it was a mix of styles? They decided it had to be a combination of fighting styles for there to be an ultimate winner.
Bill Viola created the rules for the matches which are still largely used today as well. For referees the choose Jacquet Bazemore and Jack Bodell. They went through a series of names and selected "Tough Man" with the first fight in March 1980 in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania.
It quickly started growing and they had a series of matches scheduled in Pennsylvania leading up to the big event.
They then discovered there is another promoter Art Dore who has a "Toughman" fight scheduled the same day and the same place. Small world, right?
It turns out Art Dore is a boxing promoter from Bay City, Michigan, and he had started "Toughman" fights there a year and 2 months before Bill and Frank had.
As a result, they changed the name to the "Tough Guy" competition with the main event titled the "Battle of the Brawlers". The fight was a big hit, pun intended.
As they are going into the next year of matches a death occurs and the big twist starts. I won't say what it was. Watch the show and be amazed!
The documentary explains how they both got started in martial arts and why and how they came up with the concept in 1979. How they started Karate matches initially but many didn't take it seriously. So they upped the ante. What if it was a mix of styles? They decided it had to be a combination of fighting styles for there to be an ultimate winner.
Bill Viola created the rules for the matches which are still largely used today as well. For referees the choose Jacquet Bazemore and Jack Bodell. They went through a series of names and selected "Tough Man" with the first fight in March 1980 in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania.
It quickly started growing and they had a series of matches scheduled in Pennsylvania leading up to the big event.
They then discovered there is another promoter Art Dore who has a "Toughman" fight scheduled the same day and the same place. Small world, right?
It turns out Art Dore is a boxing promoter from Bay City, Michigan, and he had started "Toughman" fights there a year and 2 months before Bill and Frank had.
As a result, they changed the name to the "Tough Guy" competition with the main event titled the "Battle of the Brawlers". The fight was a big hit, pun intended.
As they are going into the next year of matches a death occurs and the big twist starts. I won't say what it was. Watch the show and be amazed!
