Broken Before Battle: Changing Lives Outside the Octagon (Broken Before Battle Trilogy)

They walk into the octagon to the sound of roaring crowds. But the battles that truly shaped them happened long before anyone was watching. In Broken Before Battle: Changing Lives Outside the Octagon, author Suzette Howe invites you behind the scenes of professional Mixed Martial Arts — not to witness violence, but to witness something far more powerful: the human capacity to heal, grow, and give back.

With unprecedented access to elite fighters and coaches around the world — access earned through years of trust as a fellow martial artist, and as the mother of two-time UFC Bantamweight Champion Dominick Cruz — Suzette profiles eight remarkable individuals whose journeys through bullying, gang life, addiction, trauma, and loss became the foundation for something extraordinary.

These fighters didn't just survive. They became mentors, community leaders, fathers, and beacons of hope for the next generation. And in these pages, they tell their stories with a rawness and sincerity that no highlight reel ever could. You'll come away with a radically different understanding of what martial arts truly is — discipline over destruction, purpose over pain, and the quiet courage it takes to change a life, starting with your own.

Broken Before Battle is for anyone who has ever faced their own version of the octagon — and needed proof that people really do come out the other side.

This is Book 1 of the Broken Before Battle Trilogy.