Tag: MMA photos

Caption Contest: Win an Official Kazushi Sakuraba T-Shirt From Scramble!


(Image courtesy of Scramble. Buy the shirt for $44.99 right here, or £29.99 for our Euro-homies.)

Even today, the name “Saku” can induce feelings of euphoria in old-school MMA fans. Arguably the most important Japanese fighter in the sport’s history, Kazushi Sakuraba‘s fight career embodied the twin virtues of virtuosic creativity and never-say-die gameness. He is, was, and forever will be a legend. And now, you can buy his t-shirt.

Our friends at Scramble have kicked off an official collaboration with Sakuraba, beginning with the t-shirt you see above. Made with Saku’s full cooperation and blessing, the super soft 100% washed cotton shirts feature his stylized “KS” logo on the front — which he’s been rocking on his shorts since his PRIDE days — and the back of the shirt also sports several references to Sakuraba’s nicknames, including IQ Wrestler, Gracie Hunter, and 39. It’s pretty frickin’ sweet to be honest. If you want one for yourself, buy it here…or, take your chances with this week’s caption contest.

After the jump is a Photo of the Year candidate from this weekend’s Alvarez/Chandler rematch that reminded me of Saku just for its sheer bloodiness. Come up with a clever caption and submit it to the comments section of this post by Thursday night at midnight PT. The three best captions will all win a Sakuraba t-shirt, courtesy of Scramble. We’ll announce the results on Friday. Let us know if you have any questions, and good luck!


(Image courtesy of Scramble. Buy the shirt for $44.99 right here, or £29.99 for our Euro-homies.)

Even today, the name “Saku” can induce feelings of euphoria in old-school MMA fans. Arguably the most important Japanese fighter in the sport’s history, Kazushi Sakuraba‘s fight career embodied the twin virtues of virtuosic creativity and never-say-die gameness. He is, was, and forever will be a legend. And now, you can buy his t-shirt.

Our friends at Scramble have kicked off an official collaboration with Sakuraba, beginning with the t-shirt you see above. Made with Saku’s full cooperation and blessing, the super soft 100% washed cotton shirts feature his stylized “KS” logo on the front — which he’s been rocking on his shorts since his PRIDE days — and the back of the shirt also sports several references to Sakuraba’s nicknames, including IQ Wrestler, Gracie Hunter, and 39. It’s pretty frickin’ sweet to be honest. If you want one for yourself, buy it here…or, take your chances with this week’s caption contest.

After the jump is a Photo of the Year candidate from this weekend’s Alvarez/Chandler rematch that reminded me of Saku just for its sheer bloodiness. Come up with a clever caption and submit it to the comments section of this post by Thursday night at midnight PT. The three best captions will all win a Sakuraba t-shirt, courtesy of Scramble. We’ll announce the results on Friday. Let us know if you have any questions, and good luck!


(Photo via Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports)

Summer of Love: The 15 Greatest Photos From Miesha Tate’s UFC Press Tour


(Click all images for full-size versions. Photos via Getty unless otherwise noted.)

Between her appearance in this year’s ESPN Body Issue and her role in the UFC’s recent “World Tour” publicity extravaganza, Miesha Tate has spent a good chunk of this summer on the road, hustling. Much of that time has been spent in close proximity with her arch-enemy, UFC bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey. It’s a tense balance that Tate has needed to strike on a near-daily basis — keeping up the appearance of marketable hostility, while not crossing the line into outright strangling the broad who flipped her the bird.

I was browsing through the latest UFC photos in our Getty Images account the other day, and I came across this rather amazing photo of Tate and Rousey on set at SportsCenter, doing their best not to make eye-contact, as Miesha does her best impression of McKayla Maroney. And so, we decided to gather a few more of the recent photo highlights from Tate’s summer tour. Some are candid and revealing. Some are just nice to look at. Enjoy.


(Q&A session before UFC on FOX 8 in Seattle, July 26th.)


(Click all images for full-size versions. Photos via Getty unless otherwise noted.)

Between her appearance in this year’s ESPN Body Issue and her role in the UFC’s recent “World Tour” publicity extravaganza, Miesha Tate has spent a good chunk of this summer on the road, hustling. Much of that time has been spent in close proximity with her arch-enemy, UFC bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey. It’s a tense balance that Tate has needed to strike on a near-daily basis — keeping up the appearance of marketable hostility, while not crossing the line into outright strangling the broad who flipped her the bird.

I was browsing through the latest UFC photos in our Getty Images account the other day, and I came across this rather amazing photo of Tate and Rousey on set at SportsCenter, doing their best not to make eye-contact, as Miesha does her best impression of McKayla Maroney. And so, we decided to gather a few more of the recent photo highlights from Tate’s summer tour. Some are candid and revealing. Some are just nice to look at. Enjoy.


(Q&A session before UFC on FOX 8 in Seattle, July 26th.)


(Slappin’ five with her homeboy Joseph Benavidez.)


(Preparing for her SportsCenter appearance, as boyfriend Bryan Caraway provides moral support.)


(The enemy appears.)


(At the UFC World Tour stop in New York City, July 31st.)


(Props: @EricHolden)


(Props: facebook.com/mieshatatefanpage)


(Arriving at ESPN The Magazine’s 5th Annual “Body Issue” Party on July 16th.)


(Props: facebook.com/mieshatatefanpage)


(Miesha Tate tells us how she really feels about Ronda Rousey. Props: Visalia’s MMA Gear)

Gruesome Photo of the Day: Yes, These Bruises Are From Fighting


(Yes, he’s comfortable with that. He, is enlightened. / Photo via Reddit_MMA)

That messed-up sumbitch you see above is Mike Barreras, who had the utter misfortune of facing 2011 NCAA Division I Wrestling Champion Bubba Jenkins during the prelims of Bellator 97 last night. The fight ended by TKO early in round 2, but looking at Barreras afterwards, you’d think he’d been gang-stomped for hours. I can’t even tell where the eyeball ends and the swollen mess begins. Poor bastard probably doesn’t even know that his hat isn’t on straight.

The loss dropped Barreras’s MMA record to 5-6. His previous career highlights include losing a decision to Isaac Vallie-Flagg, and being falsely accused of raping a 16-year-old. Yeesh. Things will turn around, Mike. We just know they will.


(Yes, he’s comfortable with that. He, is enlightened. / Photo via Reddit_MMA)

That messed-up sumbitch you see above is Mike Barreras, who had the utter misfortune of facing 2011 NCAA Division I Wrestling Champion Bubba Jenkins during the prelims of Bellator 97 last night. The fight ended by TKO early in round 2, but looking at Barreras afterwards, you’d think he’d been gang-stomped for hours. I can’t even tell where the eyeball ends and the swollen mess begins. Poor bastard probably doesn’t even know that his hat isn’t on straight.

The loss dropped Barreras’s MMA record to 5-6. His previous career highlights include losing a decision to Isaac Vallie-Flagg, and being falsely accused of raping a 16-year-old. Yeesh. Things will turn around, Mike. We just know they will.

Happy 26th Birthday to Jon Jones, UFC Light-Heavyweight Champion, Destroyer of Men


(Jones’s epic walk-off-sub of Lyoto Machida at UFC 140, 12/10/11.)

Newly christened as the #1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world, UFC light-heavyweight champion Jon Jones turns 26 years old today. Over on the recently re-designed CombatLifestyle.com, our pal Tracy Lee has posted a gallery of her best Bones-pics in a birthday tribute gallery which you can check out here. We’ve posted a few of our favorites below. Send Jones some birthday love on Twitter @jonnybones, and watch his transformation from flab to fab when he defends his belt against Alexander Gustafsson at UFC 165, September 21st in Toronto.


(The Azerbaijani judge gives this celebration a 7.6.)


(Jones’s epic walk-off-sub of Lyoto Machida at UFC 140, 12/10/11.)

Newly christened as the #1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world, UFC light-heavyweight champion Jon Jones turns 26 years old today. Over on the recently re-designed CombatLifestyle.com, our pal Tracy Lee has posted a gallery of her best Bones-pics in a birthday tribute gallery which you can check out here. We’ve posted a few of our favorites below. Send Jones some birthday love on Twitter @jonnybones, and watch his transformation from flab to fab when he defends his belt against Alexander Gustafsson at UFC 165, September 21st in Toronto.


(The Azerbaijani judge gives this celebration a 7.6.)


(Jones warms-up with Mark Coleman before UFC 100, 7/11/09. It was Jones’s third UFC appearance and first finish — a guillotine choke submission of Jake O’Brien on the prelims.)


(The real star of this photo is John Danaher’s comb-over.)


(Jones knuckles up with Cheick Kongo during his first trip to the Octagon at UFC 87, 8/9/08.)


(Come on, Jonny…hasn’t he suffered enough?)


(Showing no regard for Machida’s elusiveness at UFC 140.)


(Jones hangin’ loose with Mike Goldberg...)


(…and with his brother/arch-rival Arthur Jones, back in March 2010.)


(Jones and Carlos Condit endure a savage photobombing after UFC 162 earlier this month. GET OUT OF THE FRAME, STEVEN.)


(And finally, Jon Jones with the photographer, Ms. Tracy Lee, 10/6/11.)

MMA Photo Tribute: Wanderlei Silva, Loving Life

For a man who made his reputation by striking fear into the hearts of his opponents, few people on Earth can express pure joy as well as Wanderlei Silva. Whether it’s the result of a well-earned victory, time spent with his loving family, a room full of bikini models, or a simple clove of garlic, Silva has found plenty of reasons to smile during his enviable life and career. So, in honor of his fight against Brian Stann tomorrow in the main event of UFC on FUEL 8, we decided to round up 21 photos of the Axe Murderer just being a happy-go-lucky son-of-a-gun. All of his violent curb-stompings are nice and all, but this is the way we’d really like to remember him.

For a man who made his reputation by striking fear into the hearts of his opponents, few people on Earth can express pure joy as well as Wanderlei Silva. Whether it’s the result of a well-earned victory, time spent with his loving family, a room full of bikini models, or a simple clove of garlic, Silva has found plenty of reasons to smile during his enviable life and career. So, in honor of his fight against Brian Stann tomorrow in the main event of UFC on FUEL 8, we decided to round up 21 photos of the Axe Murderer just being a happy-go-lucky son-of-a-gun. All of his violent curb-stompings are nice and all, but this is the way we’d really like to remember him.


(Photo via Getty Images)


(Photo via J. Ludwig/Night Visions)


(Photo via MMAWeekly)


(Photo via Tracy Lee)


(Photo via CombatLifestyle)


(Photo via FightersOnly)


(Photo via MMAFix)

Photo of the Day: Junior Dos Santos and Tim Boetsch Grin Through the Agony


(Props: CagedInsider on Facebook)

Junior Dos Santos‘s five-round thrashing at the hands of Cain Velasquez last night resulted in photographs both horrific and comically horrific. But as the above photo proves, Junior walked away from his beating with his faculties somewhat intact, and was healthy enough to fist-pose afterwards with middleweight Tim Boetsch, who gave Cigano a run for his money in the “most gruesomely misshapen fighter of the night” category. Throw a slashed-up Joe Lauzon in there, and you’d have the most depressing/inspiring MMA photo of the year. It hurts to look at these guys so soon after suffering through unimaginable physical agony, but it’s hard not to give it up for you-know-what.


(Props: CagedInsider on Facebook)

Junior Dos Santos‘s five-round thrashing at the hands of Cain Velasquez last night resulted in photographs both horrific and comically horrific. But as the above photo proves, Junior walked away from his beating with his faculties somewhat intact, and was healthy enough to fist-pose afterwards with middleweight Tim Boetsch, who gave Cigano a run for his money in the “most gruesomely misshapen fighter of the night” category. Throw a slashed-up Joe Lauzon in there, and you’d have the most depressing/inspiring MMA photo of the year. It hurts to look at these guys so soon after suffering through unimaginable physical agony, but it’s hard not to give it up for you-know-what.