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 noholdsbarred 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 mixedmartial arts ban in the nation Tough Guys chronicles the inception of Caliguri and Violas 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