One nice thing to see was the fact that there was no attempt smooth over the rough edges of the UFC. There are shots of John Matua receiving oxygen after getting crushed by Tank. The people who watched the UFC never got to see this. I remember watching the auditorium ceiling for 15 minutes. There is another sequence of shots showing Scott Morris looking completely lost gushing blood after a quick beating by Pat Smith. There is a large close-up of Royce's completely closed bulging and bruised eye from his second fight with Ken Shamrock. There is even one shot of the just the blood stained floor of the Octagon.
If not for the gore then buy this book for the artistry. Nagao and Yumemakura catch every detail. You can feel the pre-fight tension and taste the punches. Some photos capture a moment of frozen fury while others allow you experience the fury with a blur of a fist and recoil of jawbone. This is truly the ultimate photo album. I have never seen any of these photos before in any American magazine. In the back of the book is a mugshot gallery of every fighter in the first 13 UFCs.
There is one draw back to the book. It is completely in Japanese. Every word. While I strongly recommend that you buy this book, you should buy it for the same reasons you might buy Playboy Magazine . . . for the pictures.