Combat Sports Hall of Fame

#CSHOF Honoring Excellence in Martial Arts

We are excited that the book Godfathers of MMA has been accepted as an official work into the Combat Sports Hall of Fame.  Its historical significance and contribution to the sport of mixed martial arts is groundbreaking. Dr. Fred Adams and Bill Viola Jr. spent years documenting the rare details, figures and facts about the sport a decade before the UFC and chronicalled the rise and fall of CV Production’s signature creation, The Tough Guy Contest.

The Combat Sports Hall of Fame is a non-profit institution that chronicles the progression of combat sports in an innovative manner. Everyone has a fight be it in a ring/cage or in everyday life. The mission of the Combat Sports Hall of Fame is to celebrate the achievements of elite practitioners, training camps, and organizations in mixed martial arts and all other combat sports; document the history and progression of all martial art forms; and to educate visitors, researchers, and combat sports enthusiast. The activities of the Combat Sports Hall of fame include induction ceremonies, exhibitions, archiving records and statistics of various combat sport and its fighters, and producing educational events and programs. Individual martial arts systems will be featured as well.

A full exhibit to showcase the pioneers of the sport and preserve the historical integrity of mixed martial arts is already underway.

The book is currently featured at the Heinz History Center

Godfather’s of MMA is an exciting read that outlines the early no holds barred fighting scene before it gained popularity and eventually went mainstream. Ownership of the concept of mixed martial arts is not something that any one person possess, but this text highlights how early, 1979, that Bill Viola and Frank Caliguri started innovating America’s conception of combat sports in America.

Alvin is the founder of the Combat Sports Hall of Fame.  He was also  the Website and Multimedia Coordinator at Harvard Art Museums from January 2014 – June 2015, and is currently the Innovation Director at Hiphop Archive and Research Institute (HARI) at the Hutchins Center at Harvard University, SBA Vice Chair of Social Activities, and an independent museum and gallery consultant.