Mixed Martial Arts
I got into shooting Mixed Martial Arts several years ago. I had a passion for photography and previously had trained martial arts. I had to find a way to mix the two mostly because there was no better way to watch these events than by sitting ringside.
I found a photojournalist with a budding website dedicated to the sport of MMA. His name is Arnold "Sushiboy" Lim and the website is http://www.mmaringreport.com/. He posted that he was looking for photographers that could write. I replied and he put me to a test. I wrote a couple stories geared to his audience and he liked it enough to send me out on the road to represent him.
I spent the next few years traveling the upper midwest from Council Bluffs, IA to Hammond, IN and from Minneapolis, MN to St. Louis, MO. I had the time of my life. The high point for me was being published in a Japanese fight magazine and meeting legends of the sport like Maurice Smith, Renzo Gracie, Pedro Rizzo, Pat Miletich, and the Godfather of MMA managers Monte Cox. Eventually, my full time work took me away from dedicating anymore time to covering the sport. Arnold spent less time on the website to pursue an education in photojournalism. I stood to learn a lot from him. He graduated and now teaches photojournalism in Canada. His work can be found at www.arnoldlimphotography.com.
The images below are from various events help by the now defunct International Fight League.
I found a photojournalist with a budding website dedicated to the sport of MMA. His name is Arnold "Sushiboy" Lim and the website is http://www.mmaringreport.com/. He posted that he was looking for photographers that could write. I replied and he put me to a test. I wrote a couple stories geared to his audience and he liked it enough to send me out on the road to represent him.
I spent the next few years traveling the upper midwest from Council Bluffs, IA to Hammond, IN and from Minneapolis, MN to St. Louis, MO. I had the time of my life. The high point for me was being published in a Japanese fight magazine and meeting legends of the sport like Maurice Smith, Renzo Gracie, Pedro Rizzo, Pat Miletich, and the Godfather of MMA managers Monte Cox. Eventually, my full time work took me away from dedicating anymore time to covering the sport. Arnold spent less time on the website to pursue an education in photojournalism. I stood to learn a lot from him. He graduated and now teaches photojournalism in Canada. His work can be found at www.arnoldlimphotography.com.
The images below are from various events help by the now defunct International Fight League.