#000210
How I Became the Irish Hand Grenade
Marcus Paul Davis, with Ronald Lee Messervey
*How I Became the Irish Hand Grenade* is the memoir of the professional fighter Marcus Paul Davis, written with Ronald Lee Messervey. "The Irish Hand Grenade" was Davis's ring name in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, and this first volume tells the story before the fame: a childhood shadowed by domestic violence, poverty, and street fights, and the discovery of boxing as a way to turn fear and anger into something he could master. Written plainly and from the inside, it is a fighter's coming-of-age story rather than a polished literary memoir, and its power lies in the rawness of the material. For readers drawn to combat sports, or to hard-luck stories of grit and self-invention, it offers an unguarded, personal account of how a rough start became a fighting life.
more…less ▴
The author
Marcus Davis is an American mixed martial artist and former professional boxer who competed in the UFC, where he fought under the nickname "The Irish Hand Grenade." This memoir, co-written with Ronald Lee Messervey, is his own telling of his origins.
The book
Published as the first part of a two-book series, it follows Davis from a difficult childhood - marked by his father's abuse, economic hardship, and neighborhood fights - to the boxing gym that gave him direction. A planned second part carries the story into his UFC career.
How to read it
Approach it as a candid sports memoir rather than literary autobiography: its appeal is authenticity and the arc of a life reshaped through fighting, told without polish.
For more context
For readers drawn to the genre, it sits alongside other fighters' memoirs charting the path from hard beginnings to the professional ring.
Sources
- Type
- Book
- Author / Maker
- Marcus Paul Davis, with Ronald Lee Messervey
- ISBN
- None
- Shelf
- Biography & Memoir
- Location
- Colorado