The 2024 Substack supporter collection - The Fine Art of Violence

This promises to be a massive year for independent reporting, we're going to make a masterpiece of it.

Hello all, and welcome back to the FAOV. I’ve often lamented the loss of good MMA stories. The books I’ve read like Thrown by Kerry Howley and Beast: Blood, Struggle and Dreams at the Heart of Mixed Martial Arts by Doug Merlino are some of the better ones but even they can only dig deep into an individual fighter’s story. With my own books I wanted to capture the spirit of MMA overall in a particular moment, and I’ve been fairly successful at doing so regarding what happened inside the cage.

Outside, it’s been more challenging. I’m opinionated but not necessarily a writer and even less of a journalist. I’m smart enough to know what I don’t know and read or listen to others, like John Nash, Anton Tabuena, and the analysis & editorials crew here at BE. This year the UFC antitrust lawsuit will take place and while the corporate goliath might win, we’re going to cover the story and it will be a historic moment in the sport.

I’ve asked Kid Nate to compile the biggest stories of each month into an essay that will kick off each chapter of the 2024 Fine Art of Violence, setting the scene and accompanying the artwork. If you’re not familiar with my work, I use three primary mediums: pen & ink, charcoal on paper, and the digital app procreate to catalog the most relevant and exciting fights each year. I also choose an art style for each year so today is a preview of the style and tone we’ll explore in 2024. I’ve asked Kid Nate if we can give a digital copy of this year’s book to each Substack subscriber, and hope you enjoy the result.

Fight Night: Ankalaev vs Walker 2

I’m working in a very small format with the intention of being able to mail these drawings to supporters to either BE or my Patreon page. We kicked off the year with something old and something new. Magomed Ankalaev smashed his way back into the light heavyweight title picture by slamming a vicious coffin nail into Johnny Walker to end their headlining bout.