SB Nation User Blog: VikingPhotography

UFC 105 fight week blog

VikingPhotography — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 01:07:21 -0000

The first of my UFC 105 fight week blogs is up at http://bit.ly/31Y4xv - I'll be posting regular updates as the week progresses, sometimes at my blog, sometimes via my Twitter account (just follow @TheMadScot to find me)

It should be an interesting week if all the advance planning I've done pays off - stay tuned to find out more as and when it happens.

Oh, and if you're in town - give me a shout!

Houston Alexander vs. Kimbo Slice?

VikingPhotography — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 01:32:30 -0000

Hopefully I'm not re-hashing old news but, from the depths of twitter, it looks like Kimbo Slice is being lined up to face Houston Alexander at either UFC 107 or the TUF 10 finalé

First, Mr. Ferguson tweeted His first mistake was saying "I Accept" and then just about half an hour ago, we see HOUSTON WE HAVE A PROBLEM posted as a ReTweet on Kimbo's twitter feed.

If true, Houston is no joke for Kimbo, and we'll get to see what Mr. Ferguson's time in ATT has provided him in the way of new skills.

Conversely this is also a dangerous match for Houston; he's 0 - 3 in his last three fights so a loss to Kimbo might see him handed his hat as he leaves the octagon.

Machida-Rua called as it was seen (ESPN / Franklin McNeil)

VikingPhotography — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 23:54:00 -0000

Over on the MMA section of ESPN.com, reporter Franklin McNeil (no relation) lays out a piece about the judges who scored the Machida - Rua bout at UFC 104 doing their jobs to the best of their ability. Here's a notable pullout from the article

"Where a judge is seated at a particular time during the action must be taken into account. Judges have the best seats in the house, but they don't always have a clear line of vision"

Now I've been sat next to judges whilst shooting UFC events - literally elbow-to-elbow with them - and have first hand experience of the issues that they face when trying to read a fight.

There have been a few occasions where I've thought a fight went in favour of one guy (based on my vantage point) only to be surprised when the scores came in.

If I've simply shooting a fight and thinking "Hey, this guy's got in it the bag" based on what I saw... well the same must hold true of the judges. How else to you explain split decisions or differences in how many rounds are scored for which fighter?

I'll tell you what it's not: it's not incompetence, it's not fight-fixing and it's not corruption.

Read the article, think a little and then hopefully it might clear up some of the trash talk that's been going on about the judges in the Machida - Rua fight.

Try doing their job from their vantage point. It ain't easy.

Self-promotion: finally got me a blog, twitter etc.

VikingPhotography — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 19:04:55 -0000

It's kinda hard to type this without sounding conceited but I've finally gotten a blog off the ground; I'll be talking about all my shooting, especially my upcoming assignment to UFC 105. Catch it at http://martinmcneil.blogspot.com

For those of you more into the casual following thing, add me to your twitter feed by following @TheMadScot - expect lots of tweets when I'm down in Manchester for 105.

/self promotion ends

UFC Lands Network TV Deal in the UK

VikingPhotography — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 21:02:37 -0000

Promoted to the front page from the FanPosts by Luke Thomas.

Yes, it's real - the UFC will now be on network TV... in the United Kingdom.

Gareth Davies broke the exclusive news on his Telegraph Blog and it's been confirmed by UK UFC VP Marshall Zelaznik via Facebook.

The shows will be called UFC: Main Event and will be shown regularly at midnight Sunday/Monday

Each show will be one hour long, and kicks off with fights from UFC 102, showcasing Nogueira vs. Couture, Marquardt vs. Maia and Jardine vs. Silva to start.

Personally as a UK resident this is great news - whilst it's not a primetime spot, it's still a development that will expand the reach of the sport into the mainstream without stepping on the toes of the deal that has been done with ESPN UK.

Update [from Luke Thomas]: The channel now scheduled to run this programming is channel FIVE. Wiki background here.

My Top 10 Photos From UFC 100 "Making History"

VikingPhotography — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 19:37:33 -0000

And so with over a week past, and the jet-lag behind me (I think!) I'm ready to share my own top ten shots from UFC 100 last week.

First off I'd like to say it was an absolute honour to have my editors choose me from all the photographers they could have sent... I live in a small(ish) town of less than 80,000 folk south of Glasgow, Scotland - so to get asked to do the job for ESPN was a wake-up call for me insofar that I finally realised that they must trust me to deliver the goods; I guess this post will see if you agree with them.

Starting off, we have Frank Mir stalking towards Brock Lesnar at the start of their match

More after the jump...

Now we have GSP's perfect timing slipping the right hand of Alves and landing a left of his own

Michael Bisping reels from the thunderous right hand of Dan Henderson

"Sexyama" rocks the jaw of Alan Belcher

Jon Fitch has Paulo Thiago on the retreat

Stephan Bonnar feels the pressure of Mark Coleman's trademark ground and pound...

Jim Miller relentlessly pursued a bloodied Mac Danzig

Jon Jones kept Jake O'Brien guessing as to where the next strike was coming from...

Dong Hyun Kim took TJ Grant down at will - repeatedly...

And lastly, Tom Lawlor can't contain his excitement at his submission win over CB Dolloway

That's all from UFC 100 - I'll be sitting it out until November rolls around when I'll be back in the thick of things in Manchester, England for UFC 105. :)

It's a tough life running around the UFC Fan Expo and sitting in on the search for the new Octagon...

VikingPhotography — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 19:30:31 -0000

It's a tough life running around the UFC Fan Expo and sitting in on the search for the new Octagon Girl.... tougher yet snaring two minutes with her after she won to get a quick portrait of her - but it would be selfish not to share.

The other shot (full length) is at this link - enjoy!

Greetings from Las Vegas and UFC 100

VikingPhotography — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 13:12:01 -0000

Eighteen hours and five and a half thousand miles later, I stumbled into my room at the Luxor last night at 8pm Pacific time, ready for nothing but a shower and then sleep in advance of what will be a very busy working weekend for me.

Jet lag has me awake at Early O'Clock to post this (it's just after 6am) and in a little over six hours the pre-fight presser for UFC 100 will kick off. If anything juicy comes out of it I'll try to make a follow up post.

Oh, and if there are any fans staying in the Luxor, give me a shout!

The Nod - who from BE is heading to UFC 100 & the Fan Expo?

VikingPhotography — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 19:34:03 -0000

Okay, here's the deal; my editors at ESPN have approved me as the photographer in the slot for UFC 100; I'm also covering the fan expo for a European magazine and they're particularly interested in capturing the vibrance and atmosphere of the show.

Soooooo - in the finest tradition of european photojournalism, I'll be hunting around for those unique fans with stories to tell about their passion for all things UFC - and should there be anyone here on the BE community that is "larger than life" well, make yourself known to me in this post :)

<EDIT / UPDATE> I think there's been a general misinterpretation of what I meant by "Larger than Life"; I was meaning something like an Uberfan... you know - UFC and MMA being a core part of your daily life and everyone knows it from the way you look, dress, talk about it, style yourself (hair / tatts etc.) and so on... :)

My and Tracey Lee of Combat Lifestyles hamming it up for the camera in the lobby of the Hyatt Hotel...

VikingPhotography — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 19:35:30 -0000

My and Tracey Lee of Combat Lifestyles hamming it up for the camera in the lobby of the Hyatt Hotel after UFC 99 in Cologne, Germany :)