Fight night!! Some MMA action from UT.

I haven't posted in a while. I thought I would share these.
Another great event put on by showdown. This time I had a new weapon. A D700 has taken the place of my D300s alongside the D3s. It is about perfect. 24-70 on one 70-200 on the other. The only thing better would be another D3s.
Great fights and a sold out arena with 4500 people. The light guys sucked. The light setup is HUGE. I started out at ISO 4000 at 1/1250. Ended the night at ISO 8000 and 6400 and down around 1/500. Not sure what the hell the deal was with that. And I am sure the video suffered as well. Just push the sliders all back to the same fricken place each fight please. And leave them there!

#1 Owwwwwweeeeeeeeee Arm lock from hell here. This guy eventually figured out how to get out and won the fight. I am sure his arm will hurt for a while from this.
http://www.theinfinitymachine.com/Ev.../RAN8484-L.jpg

#2 This was one of the best battles of the night.
http://www.theinfinitymachine.com/Ev.../7003021-L.jpg

#3 Yes bearded dude is 100% asleep here
http://www.theinfinitymachine.com/Ev.../7003297-L.jpg


#4 The good stuff
http://www.theinfinitymachine.com/Ev.../RAN0152-L.jpg


#5 I love this one.
http://www.theinfinitymachine.com/Ev.../RAN9339-L.jpg

#6 This knee to the nose ended this dudes night. Dropped to his knees and was finished with bunches of punches and a quick TKO.
http://www.theinfinitymachine.com/Ev.../RAN9880-L.jpg


#7 These guys kicked the crap out of each other for 3 rounds and got the fight of the night. This one shows the effects of the slower shutter speeds.
http://www.theinfinitymachine.com/Ev.../RAN0970-L.jpg

#8 Another one
http://www.theinfinitymachine.com/Ev.../RAN1112-L.jpg

#9 And 1 more
http://www.theinfinitymachine.com/Ev.../RAN1128-L.jpg

#10 Main event. These dudes are both excellent fighters I have never been so excited for a match up and I have trained with both of them.
http://www.theinfinitymachine.com/Ev.../RAN1495-L.jpg

#11
http://www.theinfinitymachine.com/Ev.../7004609-L.jpg

#12
http://www.theinfinitymachine.com/Ev.../RAN1610-L.jpg

#13 In the end I think these little sneaky elbows won this fight. So many attempted and landed in the 3 rounds these guys went.
http://www.theinfinitymachine.com/Ev.../7004683-L.jpg

This is a sport? I find these images offensive and demeaning. It's hard to believe that 4,500 people would pay to see a trash event like this. Bloodlust of this sort gives new meaning to the term "Animal House."

I wonder if the moderator feels comfortable having these images posted on this respectable forum. I hope not!

Bob

Bob are you serious?? Joking right? MMA is a sport. These guys are trained athletes. It is no longer a tough man contest. Do you have a problem with boxing? Probably not. It is the same. If not worse. This is just a mix of boxing, wrestling, jiu jitsu, muay thai, karate, you name it. It doesn't count to just be some tough guy anymore. You have to have some skills and some serious fitness. The reason the sport has become so popular is that it is exciting to watch. You never know who will win because of the skill sets involved. A guy could get worked over for 2.5 rounds and be loosing and the catch the other guy in a submission and then take the win. People love that stuff not the blood. Most of the fights do not involve blood at all.

Bob, you bummed me out this morning. But I guess my pics were good enough to make you upset. So maybe that is good.

Sorry if I spoiled your day, but I am serious. I wouldn't be caught dead at a so-called sport like this. This looks more like an alley fight than a legitimate sport. I have no idea what MMA stands for but Murder, Mayhem, and Agony come to mind. I wonder how many of these fighters are going to end up punch-drunk like Muhammad Ali.

Obviously not everybody feels the same way about an event like this. As a senior citizen I probably have a different perspective than do members of the younger set.

Bob

It is Mixed Martial Arts. That is what it is too. You better be proficient at more than one or you are not competitive. These guys take a lot less of the straight shots and head pounding blows that boxers do. So, time will tell if it is better or worse to the brain.

What sports do you like Bob? I guess football, basketball? Lots of other sports are ultra violent too, just not as in your face. The crashes sustained in most racing sports are brutal to the body, sometimes even fatal.

Great shots! I have to admit I'm not a big MMA fan either but I do appreciate the athleticism involved (I've caught a little on TV).
As for being punch drunk like Ali, I think a MMA fighter is probably less likely to end up that way because the entire sport isn't based on pounding the other guys face nearly as much as boxing (because of all the wrestling and martial arts moves/holds). I would certainly be terrified to step into the ring with any of these guys - I'd rather make it a sprint competition (as in me running away).

But since this forum is about photography, I have to say the photos do a great job capturing the action and brutality of the matches. Looks like you overcame the difficult changing lighting conditions really well!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by zerodog

It is Mixed Martial Arts. That is what it is too. You better be proficient at more than one or you are not competitive. These guys take a lot less of the straight shots and head pounding blows that boxers do. So, time will tell if it is better or worse to the brain.

What sports do you like Bob? I guess football, basketball? Lots of other sports are ultra violent too, just not as in your face. The crashes sustained in most racing sports are brutal to the body, sometimes even fatal.

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Basketball and volleyball are the sports that I shoot most often.To a lesser extent I also shoot football, rugby, and track meets.

It’s true that serious injury and even death can be experienced in other sports, but those sad events are incidental to the sports and not the intention of the sports. “Sports” like the MMA event you have pictured, where the intention is to inflict direct bodily injury upon your opponent, is, in my opinion, lacking in the humanity that would qualify it as a legitimate sport. This MMA event looks like something dreamed up to cater to the baser instincts of the human race. It’s amazing what some people will do to turn a profit!

Bob

3 rounds of a back and forth battle. I have not seen many sports that display this sort of sportsmanship on a regular basis. This is the typical end of a fight. Hand out, pat on the back or a hug.
http://www.theinfinitymachine.com/Ev.../7004830-L.jpg

http://www.theinfinitymachine.com/Ev.../RAN9463-L.jpg

Sorry, but these sweetheart photos don't change my mind one bit that this MMA event is a barbaric spectacle. In initial photo #6 that bit about the guy dropping to his knees after receiving a knee to the nose and then being finished off with bunches of punches and a quick TKO was especially hard to digest. Ugh! Who needs to be exposed to distasteful brutal stuff like this?

Bob

Well, don't they call chess a sport, too?

Apparently I don't know what sport is:D

Great shots !

Most are ok. #7 is definitely a keeper. Have you tried shooting through the fence, I wonder if the angle would be better? I have never shot MMA.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bob32

Basketball and volleyball are the sports that I shoot most often.To a lesser extent I also shoot football, rugby, and track meets. Bob

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Are you kidding me, Rugby is as brutal as it is beautiful.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by jacobovs

Most are ok. #7 is definitely a keeper. Have you tried shooting through the fence, I wonder if the angle would be better? I have never shot MMA.

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I am surprised #7? It is sort of OF and has some bad motion blur effects. I still like it though. I think #13 might be my favorite of the night. Yes I have tried shooting through the fence many times it is a blessing and a curse. But for this show, I have the coveted position over the top of the fence. True through the fence it is possible to get some more dramatic angles, but your hit rate goes down significantly and you get the fence too. Unless that is you are shooting with the subjects far enough away. Anything wider than about 100mm and you are getting fence like crazy. So when they are up close and you are shooting with a 24-70, not so hot. The other issue with this show is that the cage has a sidewalk sized walkway around it. This is cool, but at the same time, you can't get close enough to the fence. Ideally for the perfect through the fence shot you need the lens hood pressed to the fence. This isn't possible here. So even at 200mm you get little halos from the highlights on the gloss black fence.


Yeah there is blood and broken bones all the time in rugby. Fights too!! But that sport has a ball, that makes it all OK....... It is civilized when a ball is involved:D

Quote:

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Originally Posted by AgingEyes

Well, don't they call chess a sport, too?

Apparently I don't know what sport is:D

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And poker now, too! I believe some athleticism should be required to consider something a sport. And whether or not you like MMA fighting, these guys are super fit. Back when MMA began, it really was silly. But it's a very disciplined sport now.

Wow. That looks like it hurts. :)

do you stay at one spot or you can move around?

For most events room around the cage is not freely available. Generally you pick a spot and keep that spot. There are tons of officials, corner guys, media, ring girls, "special" people, medics. So you don't get free reign to move where you want when you want. The other consideration is you are just there to take pictures. The #1 purpose of the event is for spectators. I always try to keep that in mind when I position myself and when I move around.

For this event I get a speaker box to stand on. This is a huge UFC style cage with a sidewalk sized apron around it. During the walk out I generally move over to where the fighters are getting checked out by the officials and prepped by their coach. After the fight I go in the ring to get the winner shots and some stuff after with the teams. I always kneel next to a corner post so I am not in the way of spectators.

Good sharp shots but that sport really does look brutal, thats if it is classed as a sport, I will stick with queensbury rules where the referee can stop the fight before the boxer gets seriously damaged.

The guys that do this live for it and even if they get there rear ends kicked still live for it. It is brutal and I like boxing better. But these are highly trained athletes.