“ My book began as a passion piece to provide information and morphed into the most comprehensive book on early MMA history.”
Norwin resident Bill Viola, Jr. was determined to set the record straight. He wanted the world to know that it was his father, Bill Viola, Sr., who, in 1979, co-created the sport of mixed martial arts along with business partner Frank Caliguri, and wrote the first legitimate rule book. To accomplish this goal, he authored a book with his cousin, Fred Adams, called“ Godfathers of MMA.” The book was published in 2014.
“ The real story of who invented the sport of MMA in America was in jeopardy of being lost forever to the Ultimate Fighting Championship( UFC), which has been taking credit for creation of the sport since a decade after my father originated it,” Viola, Jr. says.“ My father and his business partner deserved credit, and I was shocked that all of the history books available were clueless. My book began as a passion piece to provide information and morphed into the most comprehensive book on early MMA history.”
Mixed martial arts is a sport that combines all disciplines of combat sports fighting, including boxing, karate, wrestling and judo, into regulated competition. The UFC, the sport’ s largest franchise, sold for $ 4 billion in 2016. If Pennsylvania hadn’ t outlawed the sport in 1983 with the Tough Guy Law, Viola, Sr. and Caliguri would be at the helm of that empire.
Viola, Jr.’ s passion, however, is what ultimately sparked the interest of some of Hollywood’ s award-winning filmmakers, who took notice and decided to make a movie.
Viola, Jr. explains that in 2015, shortly after the exclusive preview run of his book, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reporter Robert Zullo stumbled upon an exhibit in the Heinz History Center called“ Tough Guys,” which recognized Pittsburgh as the birthplace of MMA. The exhibit’ s location, right next to one that featured Franco Harris’ Immaculate Reception, received a lot of attention. Upon seeing this exhibit, Zullo knew he had to reach out to his brother Will and childhood friend Craig DiBiase, a producer, and Henry Roosevelt, a director in New York City. He also got his Academy Award-winning cousin, Ross Kaufmann, on board, and then, later, Academy Award-nominated documentarian Morgan Spurlock(“ Supersize Me”) signed on. Two years later, the movie“ Tough Guys” was born.
Production began in the summer of 2015 and heavily featured Allegheny Shotokan Karate in North Huntingdon.“ We had 18 locations from Florida to New York, but the bulk of the footage and interviews were from western Pennsylvania, between North Huntingdon, New Kensington and Pittsburgh,” Viola, Jr. recalls.
The name for the movie was an easy decision. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Pittsburgh was the epitome of a blue collar,“ tough” city. And, the sport of mixed martial arts would prove to be an open call for the“ toughest” guys on the planet to fight, so“ Tough Guys” was especially fitting for the era.
The movie featured the men who lived it.“ We were fortunate to film
“ My book began as a passion piece to provide information and morphed into the most comprehensive book on early MMA history.”
the original fighters and pioneers,” Viola, Jr. notes.“ One of the stars was Dave Jones, who trained at my father’ s dojo and actually worked for North Huntingdon Township as part of the‘ road gang’ and a laborer. Dave fought in the first fight and won by TKO. He was fearless; I looked up to him as a kid.”
Viola, Jr. played many roles during the filming and production of“ Tough Guys.” He worked in production, consulting, and even played a 1979 version of his father during a famous scene that takes place in Denny’ s restaurant.
The world premiere of“ Tough Guys” took place at the American Film Institute( AFI) on June 15, 2017, at the Landmark Theatre in Washington, DC. Coincidentally, it was featured the day after the Mayweather / McGregor announcement. The film was sold out.
It then premiered on Showtime on September 15 and aired throughout all of September and October before being distributed internationally.
“ After the Showtime debut, the commemorative edition of my book, which I retitled‘ Tough Guys,’ hit the number-one spot on the Amazon Best Sellers list for sports,” Viola, Jr. notes.“ It also has received critical acclaim, and we have been getting offers for a screenplay to turn the journey into a major motion picture. That is my ultimate goal. With the right team, I know this could be an Oscar-worthy drama.”
Viola, Jr. says that although he hopes people recognize his passion for MMA through his book and work on the movie, he is most passionate about teaching and sharing his knowledge.“ It’ s a family legacy. All of my siblings are black belts, and now I am mentoring my daughter, Gabby. I also hope to have my son, William Viola IV, who was just born in September, on the mat soon.”
The“ Tough Guys” book is available for sale on Amazon or visit ToughGuyContest. com. ■
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