Fight week was busy for me as usual, starting with a day long portrait shoot in Macau with the fighters. On the day of the event, I grabbed some environment shots of the arena a few hours early to document some of the behind-the-scenes and setup. Then, minutes before the fight it was on to our on-location studio to photograph the ring girls (tough job!), and then of course the 9-fight card itself. After the final bell we did some quick edits for press and media photos before catching our late night ferry back to HK. Hard work for me and my assistant but exciting and well worth it when I think from the perspective of documenting an evolving sport in one of the most rapidly growing regions of the world.

Here are some highlights from Legend 5:

Ring Girls Cupid, Gloria, Tiffany and Shannie

The ring a few hours before going live

Behind-the-scenes production

Hong Kong’s Vincent Siu

NZ’s Gareth Ealey throws a nasty elbow to Korea’s “Hungry” Yang

Knee from Yusuke Kawanago just misses Mark Striegl, but lands on the ground

Legend veteran Li Jingliang utilizing the jab versus Alex Niu

Ground and pound between South Korean Jo Nam Jin and Chinese Yao Honggang

Last week I photographed the highly anticipated Legend Fighting Championship 4 event at Hong Kong’s AsiaWorld-Expo. It was a night of solid fights put together by Legend, but I particularly appreciated the attention to smaller details (commonly overlooked by many event promoters in the region, IMHO): professionalism from the fighters, efficient refereeing and judging, proper beer and concessions, a MMA-savvy crowd – stuff like that. On top of all that, the venue was at near capacity which I think bodes very well for the sport’s growth in Hong Kong.

During the fights itself, as a photographer, I’ve realized its pretty near impossible to pay complete attention with your face buried into the back of a huge camera. Nevertheless, here are some thoughts on some of the matchups that night.

Mark Eddiva, Philippines vs. Alex Lee, Hong Kong
Lee clearly had the hometown crowd behind him, and he nearly ended the fight in the first round when he dropped Eddiva with knees. But Eddiva recovered and secured a crucifix which allowed him to pound away at Lee’s face (a la Hughes-BJ Penn). Lee escaped, but right into a rear-naked choke. Would’ve been great to see the HK native win, but it was great to see the fans support him anyways.

Wang Sai, China vs. Alex Niu, China
Possibly the most exciting fight of the night, Wang and Niu traded precision striking as both fighters showcased their entire muay-thai repertoire. But Niu got the better of the exchanges and landed full mount several times, on his way to an unanimous decision.

Li Jingliang, China vs. Tony Rossini, Australia
Most of the first round was spent on the ground with Li tucking his chin from Rossini’s rear-naked choke. In the second round, Rossini grabbed another takedown but gave up his neck to a guillotine that Li eventually choked him out with. Although he didn’t tap, I remember catching a glimpse of Rossini’s eyes looking towards the ref before he eventually went out. Thats heart right there.

Yao Honggang, China vs. Mick Mortimer, Australia
Although Mortimer dropped him early, Yao quickly recovered to fight what would be a back and forth battle. This was one of those fights where as a photographer it was hard to keep track of scoring, but judges gave the unanimous decision to Yao.

Yohan Mulia Legowo, Indonesia vs. Jo Nam Jin, South Korea
Jo fought this like his opponent had stole something. Seemingly upset at Legowo for grabbing the tape on his gloves, Jo pranced and taunted before dishing out some serious ground and pound, leading to a rear naked choke in Round 2.

Kim Hoon, South Korea vs. Rod MacSwain, New Zealand
With the Welterweight Belt on the line, Kim dropped MacSwain early, but allowed the Kiwi to come back and dominate the remainder of the fight. The fight was a story of heavy hands coupled with strong defense on the ground. MacSwain won the unanimous decision and the Welterweight Title.

Nam Yui Chul, South Korea vs. Adrian Pang, Australia
A rematch of Legend 1′s main event (involving a controversial point deduction and draw decision), Nam and Pang promised to be a good one. The bad intentions were written all over each fighter’s demeanor before the fight even started. Somewhat surprisingly though, both fighters maintained discipline with their strikes from what was clear respect for each other. As the fight went on Pang seemed to be getting the better of the standing exchanges and growing in confidence. Nam, sensing he might have been behind in the score cards, began to flurry with more desperation, but in the end Pang won the split decision and held on to his Lightweight Title.

Anyone that knows me probably knows that I am MMA superfan, and I watch the UFC religiously. It always makes me laugh a little when I think about it, because those that know me also know that I couldn’t wouldn’t hurt a fly. Anyways, the reason for the blog post is that Legend Fighting Championship is returning to Hong Kong with Legend 4 on January 27. You may have seen posters around the MTR featuring photos by yours truly =)

So as a photographer, of course this is great because I get to shoot another awesome event that I love to watch. As a fan, its great because to me its an indication of consistent mixed-martial arts promotion here in Hong Kong. Although Hong Kong seems to have a long history of muay-thai and kickboxing events, I’ve recently noticed more and more MMA events in areas outside of Japan, like Singapore, Macao and Hong Kong. Unfortunately, these events has been plagued with cancellations – most infamously the Fury event last October and most recently the Deep event earlier this month.

Legend on the other hand seem to be doing a good job at attracting a bigger and bigger crowd in each subsequent event. I also look at their deals struck with Affliction Clothing and US pay-per-view as notable milestones. They however have not been impervious to fighter injury, with welterweight belt contender Rod MacSwain, replacing Bae Myung Ho who hurt his shoulder in training. Nevertheless, very much looking forward to shooting Legend 4 at AsiaWorld-Expo!
 
Here are some shots from Legend 3, held last September 2010.

Helloooooo ring girls

Last week was all about Legend Fighting Championship, Hong Kong’s first professional mixed martial arts competition, leading up to Fight Night last Thursday June 24th at HITEC’s Star Hall in Kowloon Bay. Earlier in the week, I had the opportunity meet with some of the fighters who were still getting over jetlag and cutting weight. Among them were new and returning fighters that were in good spirits and overall were really nice dudes.

Last January, Legend 1 had the tall task of becoming the first MMA production in HK. This time around, I felt Legend 2 raised the bar even higher for fight promotion in Hong Kong, drawing what I thought was the biggest, most excited and most MMA-savvy crowd I’ve seen here. The fights did not disappoint either – showcasing brutal knockout power, advanced grappling and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, paired with fair officiating and judging. As a huge fan of MMA anticipating big things for the sport in HK, I’m very excited =) And oh yeah, did I mention Legend 3 in September?

Here are shots of the excitement from the Legend 2 fight card.

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Vivek Mahbubani aka HK’s Bruce Buffer

Takuma flattens Wang Zhen for a rear naked choke

Jo Nam Jin eats a headkick from Kevin Belingon

China’s Zhang Tiequan guillotine submission over Daniel Digby, 0:30 in Round 1

Rob Hill lands a superman punch on the chin of Kwon A Sol

Taiwanese Justin Lee shocks the Hong Kong crowd with a first round KO of Kenny Yeung

Adrian Pang knees Yu Woo Sung on his way to the lightweight belt

To be honest, I genuinely would’ve really enjoyed putting down the camera and just being a fan in the stands. But shooting a sport that I have grown to absolutely love in what I considered to be a historical event for HK was way too good to pass up. So when the night began the pressure was on. I claimed my ringside corner and my client took his seat at the judges table behind me (with clear view of my camera LCD display the whole night, yikes).

Overall production was great. Music that matched the brand, dramatic walk-ins (can never go wrong with a smoke machine), great announcer,  a few knockouts etc. so there was plenty for me to shoot and it was incredibly fun. Despite that it was physically draining as the event lasted about 4 hours, and I had to worry about blocking fans’ view of the ring all while trying to keep my focus points locked on through my viewfinder. Simultaneously, I was importing CF cards and generating previews on the laptop because I knew I’d have to get some media shots to the PR guys immediately afterwards. I got water (well, maybe some spit too since it came from a fighter’s mouth) sprayed accidentally on my face, and blood nearly got on my camera, but I consider that part of the fun =)

Special thanks to Ralph Berrett for his great shooting MMA tips. He’s got a great podcast that I hope comes back online soon.  Here are some of my favorite shots from the night.

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The multi-talented Vivek Mahbubani

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Jo Nam Jin checks the clock

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Matt Cain gets the heel hook

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Kenny Yeung entering the ring

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Khuukhenkhuu Amartuvshin near rear-naked choke before the end of the round

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Bae Myung Ho walks in then proceeds to ground and pound

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Zhao Zilong wins by referee stoppage

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Nam Yui Chul vs. Adrian Pang: don’t leave it in the hands of the judges

Yesterday the weigh-ins took place at the Holiday Inn Golden Mile in Tsim Sha Tsui. The event was not without its share of weight-cutting drama and crazy mean square-offs. Adrian Pang actually raised his arms in victory while staring down his opponent. Thats some bad blood right there!

Here are some shots from the profile shot sessions and the weigh-ins itself.