I'm writing a book
I signed a deal with Simon & Schuster to publish my first book, tentatively titled In the Shadow of the Cage.
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I’ve wanted to write a book for as long as I can remember.
As a kid, I penned short stories and fantasized about being a bestselling novelist like Stephen King, my favourite author at the time. I even tried my hand at a novel, which lays unfinished in my desk drawer. Journalism, I decided, was the most realistic path towards achieving my dream. I started a blog in university and scored my first paying gig before graduation. The rest, as they say, is history.
Still, the desire to write a book has trailed me like a shadow, quiet yet unrelenting. If you’re among the people who know me outside of my work, you know just how long I’ve dreamt of becoming an author.
On that note, I am delighted to announce that I have signed a deal with Simon & Schuster’s One Signal (
) imprint to publish my first book, tentatively titled In the Shadow of the Cage.Here’s how S&S puts it:
IN THE SHADOW OF THE CAGE tells the story of how political operators have captured mixed martial arts and turned it into a tool to radicalize young people toward a mindset that centers individualism and survival of the fittest while shirking empathy. Investigative journalist and author Karim Zidan saw this all carried out through MMA first as a reporter in Eastern Europe and now in motion here in the United States.
Part memoir, part investigative excavation of the underbelly of MMA, the book will expand upon much of my reporting over the past decade—reporting that earned me death threats for exposing how Chechen dictator Ramzan Kadyrov used state-sponsored MMA gyms to train soldiers for combat; reporting that uncovered the rise of an international network of neo-Nazi MMA fight clubs preying on disaffected young men; reporting that revealed the growing influence of Gulf state autocrats within the sport, tracing how MMA has become a powerful tool for political agendas, propaganda, and control.
Then there is the Donald Trump-UFC alliance, and how that reshaped American politics and culture. Trump didn’t just adopt the aesthetics of the UFC—he weaponized them to reshape political discourse, rally a new base, and redefine what it means to be a “strong” leader. Even for those who don’t care about sports, this shift matters.
While I didn’t know it at the time, there was always a common denominator between these stories—a thread linking my reporting in Russia and the Middle East to my work in the United States. MMA, especially through the UFC, has evolved into ground zero for a new wave of right-wing, hyper-masculine counterculture. It is no longer a haven for amateurs and misfits but a gateway to far-right extremism and authoritarian spectacle.
This book will not only reveal how this happened—but, more critically, why it had to be MMA.
It’s no exaggeration to say there has never been a book like this in the world of MMA. This isn’t a definitive history—it's something far more urgent: an autopsy of a sport that has long since lost its way.
Buckle up—it’s going to be quite a ride.
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It’s about time! 👏👏👏
Good luck, mate. Look forward to reading.