Review: Should 'UFC: A Visual History' be on your holiday shopping list?

The first thing you’ll notice about “UFC: A Visual History” is it’s a hefty tome. The book, published by Dorling Kindersley, is 400 pages and comes in at about five pounds.

The second thing you’ll notice is the book is visually arresting. It’s chock full of photos, laid out in chronological order from the birth of the UFC in 1993 through June’s UFC 188 event.

The next thing you may notice is that it bears a striking resemblance to “UFC Encyclopedia,” which was released in 2011.

In the foreword, UFC President Dana writes, “It’s almost mind-blowing to see how much has changed since 2011.” In particular, White references the promotion’s deals with FOX and Reebok, as well as the introduction of women to the UFC roster.

“UFC: A Visual History” does cover the past four years, but not in any great detail, and it fails to offer readers any new information on the years between 1993 and 2011.

The first short fighter biography to appear in the book is that of UFC 1 competitor Gerard Gordeau, and it’s almost word for word the same biography that appears in “UFC Encyclopedia.” The same goes for the in-depth profile of UFC 1 winner Royce Gracie. This is a recurring theme throughout the book.

The book has countless photos of the fighters and the bouts they competed in, and as a visual journey through the history of the UFC, it is something to behold. That fact can’t be stressed enough; it is a great book to look at. However, if you want to follow the narrative of that history, it’s difficult.

If you’re reading the history of a particular year, it can be cumbersome to page past fighter biographies and photo-spreads to find the rest of the text you’re attempting to follow.

Another thing that falls short in “UFC: A Visual History” when compared to “UFC Encyclopedia” is that in the new book, an entire year’s worth of fights is compressed into a few pages.

In “UFC Encyclopedia,” each fight card received a summary that was at least one full page and sometimes two. Those reviews provided far greater detail than “UFC: A Visual History.” This is especially noticeable in recent years when the UFC ramped up the number of events it held over the course of a year.

Attempting to cram information about 40 fight cards into 10 pages – ones dominated by photos – does not allow for a full and comprehensive history.

Mauricio Rua and Dan Henderson

Excellent fights of the recent past are glossed over, as well. These fights, such as Mark Hunt vs. Antonio Silva or Dan Henderson vs. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, don’t receive the recognition they deserve as great moments in the promotion’s history. New UFC fans reading this book may not be able to grasp just how memorable they were.

It’s also debatable how complete the history is in “UFC: A Visual History.” Some recent events that receive little or no mention include testosterone-replacement therapy, the reason Chael Sonnen no longer fights in the UFC, and Jon Jones being stripped of his light-heavyweight title. Jones’ issues are only mentioned as “(the) title vacated by the suspension of Jon Jones.” Sonnen’s drug test failures are not mentioned at all. In a comprehensive history, these items would all be discussed in detail.

There are positives to “UFC: A Visual History.” The sections at the conclusion of each year in which “Fights of the Year,” “Knockouts of the Year,” “Submissions of the Year” and “UFC debuts” are listed are a nice touch.

The interludes in which moments like “Greatest Upsets,” “Bizarre Moments,” “Greatest Fights,” “One Hit Wonders” and “Greatest Submissions” are reviewed are also memorable.

None of the complaints with this book should be viewed as a reflection on the author. Thomas Gerbasi has always been one of the better chroniclers of the sport and the UFC in particular. Gerbasi’s writing in this book is up to par with his usual top-notch work; it’s just that he already wrote the bulk of this book in 2011.

If you’re a completist who has to have everything UFC-related, this book will be nice to have around to occasionally glance at or to use as a quick reference. If you’re a new fan who has come to the UFC since 2011, then this may be a useful bit history. If you own “UFC Encyclopedia” or are fully immersed in the UFC, “UFC: A Visual History” is a book that you’ll have to think long and hard about purchasing.

For more on the UFC’s upcoming schedule, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.