Tough Guys (2017)

10 years before the debut of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. In 1979, Bill Viola and Frank Caliguri dreamed up a contest pitting barroom bigmouths against wrestlers, martial artists, boxers, bouncers and brawlers, billed as no-holds-barred new type of competitive fighting. When the fights succeeded beyond their wildest expectations, they were swept up in a chain of events that ended in the first mixed-martial arts ban in the nation. “Tough Guys” chronicles the inception of Caliguri and Viola’s first bouts and the colorful, crazy cast of fighters who made them a hit as well as the politicians who brought it all crashing down. The film brings to life a moment when the national martial arts craze was building to a crescendo as the economies of Pennsylvania steel towns were plummeting to levels of unemployment never seen, breeding desperate men looking for a chance to prove their worth and make some money in the ring.

Released Sept. 15, 2017 76 min None+

Genres: Action, Documentary, Sport

Keywords: tmdb.competition, tmdb.karate, tmdb.wrestling, tmdb.sports, tmdb.bouncer, tmdb.fighting, tmdb.pittsburgh-pennsylvania + 10 more, tmdb.boxing, tmdb.tough-man, tmdb.brawlers, mdblist.has-trailer, imdb.martial-arts, imdb.martial-arts-action, imdb.karate, imdb.mixed-martial-arts, imdb.boxing, tmdb.mixed-martial-arts-mma