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In her Loveswept debut, Sidney Halston turns up the heat as a sexy cage fighter shows a former bookworm how delicious a few rounds between the sheets can be.
For Chrissy Martin, returning to her Florida hometown always seems to bring bad luck. The day starts with a breakup text, followed by a jailhouse phone call from her troublemaker brother. Now a routine traffic stop has ended with her accidentally punching an officer . . . in a delicate place. Then Chrissy realizes that the hot cop on the receiving end of her right hook is none other than the man from her teenage fantasies.
Jack Daniels knows how to take a hit. After all, when he’s not chasing reckless drivers, he’s kicking ass in a mixed martial arts ring. So what takes his breath away isn’t the low blow, but the woman who dealt it: a gorgeous knockout with legs Jack wouldn’t mind being pinned under—who just so happens to be his best friend’s nerdy little sister, all grown up. Soon their instant chemistry leads to a sizzling affair, but Jack and Chrissy are fighting an uphill battle if they want to make love last beyond the final bell.
Brief intro to MMA:
Worth the Fight Academy, the gym where Jack and Slade, two
characters from Against the Cage train, is an MMA Academy. In the last ten
years, MMA has become a very popular sport, but most people only know what
they’ve seen in the reality television shows or in romance novels. So, here’s a
quick history lesson on MMA.
Let’s start with the basics. MMA stands for Mixed Martial
Arts, it is sometimes also called cage fighting. It is a full contact combat
sport. The reason that it is fought in a cage, unlike boxing which is fought in
a ring, is that MMA involves various disciplines of martial arts and
techniques. Whereas boxing is just punching and the fighters are normally on
their feet, MMA fighters, although they know how to box, also train in
different techniques such as Brazilian Jiu-jitsu, Kickboxing, and wrestling. Many
times, fighters are on the floor, and when the two fighters are on the floor
grappling or wrestling, they need something to hold them inside the ‘ring’ and
the ropes aren’t enough…they’d fall right off. Thus the need for a cage. It
keeps them inside. Plus, it has evolved into being a part of a fighters’ unique
strategy and can be used to pin their opponents, for example.
MMA has been around for a long time but was known as Vale Tudo; the term MMA wasn’t really
coined until the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) began in 1993 and even
then it really wasn’t formally referred to as MMA until the late 90s when
fighters began to mix a variety of disciplines into their training. But, it was
very different back then, and much grittier, if you can believe it. Until 1997
after a lot of injuries and criticism from politicians, government agencies and
spectators, some States began to regulate it; they regulated it to the point
that it became an actual recognized sport. Before 1997, there were barely any
rules, which meant a fighter could hit his opponent almost anywhere and as
often as the fighter wanted. Some went as far as referring to it as “human
cock-fighting”. Also, they didn’t wear gloves. It usually ended in a blood
bath. And, it didn’t end with a bell, it was a fight to finish brawl. This
means that it ended when one of the fighter taped out or was knocked out. Now, fighters are required to wear small and
light open fingered gloves to protect the fighter’s fists and lessen cuts on
the opponents face. Most fights are now three, five minute rounds. Even with
all the precautions, it is not uncommon to see a dislocated shoulder cause the
end of a bout, or a broken bone protruding from an arm. In other words, it is
still gritty but at least there are rules now.
If you think MMA has become popular in the United States,
you should meet some Brazilian or Japanese fans. In Japan, MMA is one of the
most popular sports and in Brazil, it may very well be the most popular sport,
aside from Soccer. Some of the best MMA
fighters are Brazilian. The reason being
that Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is very prevalent in MMA training. In fact, Royce Gracie
is synonymous with MMA because he is credited for being the pioneer of
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in the UFC. However, the two fighters that really brought
the sport into the lime light were Tito Ortiz and Chuck Liddell. The same way
boxers and wrestlers had, for years, marketed fights by talking ‘smack’ to
their opponents for months before fights, these two men, for years were on
television and on the internet promoting the sport, to the point they became
household names in a sport that most people weren’t even familiar with.
Where MMA was at one time fought in dangerous and
unsanctioned backyard brawls, as you will see Slade do in Against the Cage, now
you can see professional MMA fights in the UFC or Bellator Championships on PPV,
cable television, or even on network television. Hell, even the US Army uses MMA in their
combat schools as training for their recruits. If you want to know if MMA has
become mainstream—watch one of the five reality shows about MMA. Because if
there is a reality show on it, it must be real.
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