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Why I Fight: The Belt Is Just an Accessory
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Product Description
Product Description
From its humble beginnings twenty years ago, mixed martial arts has grown into a multi-billion dollar industry. Chief among the world's leading mixed martial arts organizations is the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) which is making its way to the top of the sports food chain, dwarfing boxing and nipping at the heels of the NFL. And fighter-turned-author B.J. 'The Prodigy' Penn has been one of the few chosen to lead the greatest fighting generation. Every website and magazine, which ranks the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world, regularly places Penn in the top 5, demonstrating how much respect the MMA community has for him. And there is no one more loved among the purists than Penn.
About the Author
B.J. Penn is the undisputed Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) lighweight champion and considered by many, the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world. In 2000, he became the first American-born winner of the World Jiu-Jitsu Championships in the black belt category. Penn is also the former UFC welterweight champion and was a coach on the The Ultimate Fighter 5 reality show. After winning the lightweight title at UFC 80, he became the second fighter (after Randy Couture) to win UFC titles in two different weight classes. He is currently ranked by MMAWeekly and Sherdog as the #1 Lightweight fighter in the world. He lives in Hilo, Hawaii. Dave Weintraub is the lead interviewer for the UFC, political blogger, and regular contributor to mmarated.com.
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7 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
The first thing to say about Why I Fight: The Belt is Just an Accessory is that its just as well that he views the belt as just an accessory as at ufc 112 BJ no longer has his prized accessory after losing it to Frankie Edgar, however when you read this book you will find out exactly why he only views it as an accessory and find out how he becomes one of the true greats in the world of mma and how he is one of only two men in the ufc to hold belts at two different weight categories(Randy Couture being the other).
The book starts out with us finding out that his birth name is Jay Dee Penn a name he shares with his father and two of his brothers as well! So to avoid confusion he became to be known as "Baby Jay" in other words BJ Penn. We learn about his life growing up in Hilo, Hawaii and that it was a lot rougher than we think, it's a place where fighting was an everyday occurrence which would lead BJ into his love of Jiu-Jitsu and would see him competing all over the world and training with Ralph Gracie of the famous Gracie family as well as former ufc light heavyweight champion Frank Shamrock. It takes quite a while for BJ to even think about entering the world of mma despite an early meeting with future ufc president Dana White.
It is when he finally enters the ufc that the book gets interesting and get Penn's most revealing thoughts, such as when he becomes ufc welterweight champion by beating Matt Hughes who BJ viewed as one of Dana Whites poster boys, BJ wanted to take the belt all over the world and defend it against the best, however Dana would never allow that so BJ was stripped of the title and what would begin would be a long court battle with Zuffa which own's the ufc.
While away BJ would go to Japan and often fight guys much bigger in different weigh classes just to show he had no interest in taking easy fights just to improve his record(currently stands at 15-6 and 1 draw). However as BJ was away ufc was really taking off and he had a burning desire to return to face the best.
He eventually would return but it wouldn't be the easy way as he would suffer two back to back losses against George St. Pierre and Matt Hughes, but BJ would eventually go on to capture the ufc lightweight title and keep it for over 2 years. BJ is also very outspoken in the book about drug cheats and how he has no time for them, he also covers in detail his second fight with George St. Pierre and the greasing scandal that followed as it could be clearly seeing on camera GSP's corner applying Vaseline to his body to make him slippery which would help escape Penn's strong Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu game, he feels that his complaints were all brushed under the carpet very quickly and that fighters who had backed him in private wouldn't do so in public. BJ is also very critical of ufc president Dana White and feels he has his favourites, so its fair to say BJ does not have a lot of respect for White.
Why I Fight: The Belt is Just an Accessory is a great book very honest and never far from controversy and shows all the obstacles BJ has had to over come in his mma career to be now ranked in most peoples top 5 pound for pound lists. So if you want to read a book that has someone not afraid to call it as he see's it this is the book for you. It wouldn't surprise me to see BJ with his most prized accessory back around his waist sooner rather than later.
The book starts out with us finding out that his birth name is Jay Dee Penn a name he shares with his father and two of his brothers as well! So to avoid confusion he became to be known as "Baby Jay" in other words BJ Penn. We learn about his life growing up in Hilo, Hawaii and that it was a lot rougher than we think, it's a place where fighting was an everyday occurrence which would lead BJ into his love of Jiu-Jitsu and would see him competing all over the world and training with Ralph Gracie of the famous Gracie family as well as former ufc light heavyweight champion Frank Shamrock. It takes quite a while for BJ to even think about entering the world of mma despite an early meeting with future ufc president Dana White.
It is when he finally enters the ufc that the book gets interesting and get Penn's most revealing thoughts, such as when he becomes ufc welterweight champion by beating Matt Hughes who BJ viewed as one of Dana Whites poster boys, BJ wanted to take the belt all over the world and defend it against the best, however Dana would never allow that so BJ was stripped of the title and what would begin would be a long court battle with Zuffa which own's the ufc.
While away BJ would go to Japan and often fight guys much bigger in different weigh classes just to show he had no interest in taking easy fights just to improve his record(currently stands at 15-6 and 1 draw). However as BJ was away ufc was really taking off and he had a burning desire to return to face the best.
He eventually would return but it wouldn't be the easy way as he would suffer two back to back losses against George St. Pierre and Matt Hughes, but BJ would eventually go on to capture the ufc lightweight title and keep it for over 2 years. BJ is also very outspoken in the book about drug cheats and how he has no time for them, he also covers in detail his second fight with George St. Pierre and the greasing scandal that followed as it could be clearly seeing on camera GSP's corner applying Vaseline to his body to make him slippery which would help escape Penn's strong Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu game, he feels that his complaints were all brushed under the carpet very quickly and that fighters who had backed him in private wouldn't do so in public. BJ is also very critical of ufc president Dana White and feels he has his favourites, so its fair to say BJ does not have a lot of respect for White.
Why I Fight: The Belt is Just an Accessory is a great book very honest and never far from controversy and shows all the obstacles BJ has had to over come in his mma career to be now ranked in most peoples top 5 pound for pound lists. So if you want to read a book that has someone not afraid to call it as he see's it this is the book for you. It wouldn't surprise me to see BJ with his most prized accessory back around his waist sooner rather than later.
Format:Hardcover
Really enjoyable reading. Fascinating to hear how BJP fell into the sport and ended up finding his calling. He talks about his experiences in a way that was more genuine then the other books by fighters that I have read. He details his training in a way that even non-martial artists could appreciate (i.e. not too techincal), he admits many mistakes, defends some of his more controversial moves and he generally won me over as a fan.
He comes across as a proud father and proud Hawaiin. Highly recommend this book. Non UFC fans may not follow everything that is going on but with Google/YouTube near by, you will still get a lot out of it.
He comes across as a proud father and proud Hawaiin. Highly recommend this book. Non UFC fans may not follow everything that is going on but with Google/YouTube near by, you will still get a lot out of it.
Format:Hardcover
This was the first time that I have read a book by a BJJ or MMA fighter where they provided a detailed look into how they achieved greatness. Most of the books I have bought (mostly instructionals) offer a few pages in the front with a quick bio on the fighter.
BJ Penn discusses his initial inspiration to become a fighter, his childhood days and scraps and his BJJ beginnings all the way until his world championship. Then he gives an in-depth look into his early MMA days all the way until the present.
I read this book in two days on my iphone and I don't like reading on it because of the small screen. Sometimes you feel as if you are right there along with Penn as he describes some of the events of his life. It also gives you unexpected insights into the BJJ and MMA universe.
Posted by Bakari Akil II, Ph.D., author of TThe Lazy Man's Guide to Grappling
Grappling for Newbies: What every new BJJ and Submission Grappler should know!
Pop Psychology: The psychology of pop culture and everyday life!
BJ Penn discusses his initial inspiration to become a fighter, his childhood days and scraps and his BJJ beginnings all the way until his world championship. Then he gives an in-depth look into his early MMA days all the way until the present.
I read this book in two days on my iphone and I don't like reading on it because of the small screen. Sometimes you feel as if you are right there along with Penn as he describes some of the events of his life. It also gives you unexpected insights into the BJJ and MMA universe.
Posted by Bakari Akil II, Ph.D., author of TThe Lazy Man's Guide to Grappling
Grappling for Newbies: What every new BJJ and Submission Grappler should know!
Pop Psychology: The psychology of pop culture and everyday life!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Fine for Fans
If you are a fan of BJ Pen then I dont think you will be dissapointed too much by the book. It is certainly not going to win any litarary prizes but is an entertaining read for... Read more
Published 22 months ago by A. Davenport
Great read
A great book about the life of the greatest 155 pound fighter in the history of mma, bj Penn is the best fighter of his generation and this book is really entertaing I couldn't... Read more
Published on 15 May 2010 by Mary Mccallig
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