UFC 116 is over, but if you still have the UFC itch, here’s a book that every MMA fans should get.
All I can say is…..Wow! This book is amazing. I was first introduced to this book while visiting the Xtreme Couture Gym in Las Vegas. They had the ultimate collector’s edition laying towards the back of their store. The book was huge, 20.5 x 26 inches in size. Immediately, the photos and the layout of the pages caught my attention. The giant book that Randy Couture has is a limited edition, worth over $1,000. You don’t have that kind of money? Don’t sweat it, you can get a “smaller – 12 x 10.2 in.” version on Amazon for $15, used.
This is a photography book, and it records a certain time span of UFC history. The time span from which Zuffa purchased the company. Zuffa is owned by the Fertitta brothers, both are art collectors. They commissioned photographer, Kevin Lynch, to document everything about the UFC; the Octagon, the crowd, the fighters, the ring girls, and even the referees.
This is not a straight sports photography book. This is more documented from a photo-journalistic point of view. The photos aren’t your typical action frames; it’s more raw, and honest than your average MMA photographs. The pictures in the cage are great, but the photos behind the stage are more interesting, especially, the portraits of the fighters before and after their fights. “One can usually tell whether a certain fighter is going to win by looking at their eyes,” says the photographer. He claims that the hardest part of his job was photographing defeated fighters. Former UFC fighter, Pat Militech, called Lynch a vulture for harassing the fighters after their fights. In the end, I am sure that the fighters appreciate the honest opinion of this book. Win or lose, the fighters themselves will have to find ways to move on, to better themselves, and to give themselves another chance.
The Deluxe version.
I highly recommend this book for photographers, and MMA enthusiasts alike. For photographers, it’s a great reference material on how to take photo-journalistic style pictures; how to tell a story using one’s camera. For MMA fans, what else can I say? get this book ASAP!
Grade: A
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