Tough Guys

A decade before the Ultimate Fighting Championship made its debut, in 1979, Bill Viola and Frank Caliguri envisioned a competition that would pit barroom braggarts against wrestlers, martial artists, boxers, bouncers, and street fighters. This was promoted as a no-holds-barred, innovative form of competitive fighting. When these matches exceeded their wildest dreams, they found themselves caught in a series of events that led to the first nationwide ban on mixed martial arts. “Tough Guys” narrates the origin of Caliguri and Viola’s initial matches and the vibrant, eccentric fighters who turned them into a sensation, as well as the politicians who ultimately shut them down. The film captures a time when the national martial arts craze was reaching its peak, while the economies of Pennsylvania’s steel towns were collapsing, leading to unprecedented unemployment and driving desperate men to seek validation and income in the ring.