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if you’re a fan of mixed martial arts, chances are you’ll see all these high level ufc fighter tattoos and think ‘damn that looks tight’ about some of the sleeves, back and chest pieces that a large proportion of fighters have written on their skin.
Some of the best mma tattoo ideas can be found by looking at your favorite fighters and choosing styles to replicate. Whether it’s the animal kingdom on your chest and stomach like Conor McGregor or the symbols of your heritage hanging around your neck like Israel Adesanya.
In this article, I’m going to talk about some of the best ufc tattoos I’ve seen in the fighting game to inspire you for your next piece of ink.
conor macgregor
the notorious conor mcgregor has a collection of ink that largely projects a certain image he has of himself outward. most of the time, to appear as a “king of the jungle”.
Being a fan of animal movement and studying movement practice from all sorts of places, like the one in Ido Portal, it seems that Conor has a strong connection to his animal nature and enjoys expressing it in tattoos on his body and in his styles. fighting. .
what does conor mcgregor’s chest tattoo mean?
after training mixed martial arts (mma) at a direct blast gym in ireland, conor decided to focus on his chest tattoo which is also a gorilla. Conor has said that he considers himself the “gorilla king” and therefore a gorilla, wearing a crown, while eating a heart seemed perfect for him.
what does conor mcgregor’s tiger tattoo mean?
Conor has a tattoo of a tiger on his belly. Above the tiger is his last name, McGregor. and below, his notorious nickname. Conor has said that he thinks of the tiger as a very “brave” animal just like himself.
swan cub
cub swanson is well known for the number of tattoos he has on his back, arms and even an entire leg. I would say here are some great wrestler tattoo ideas to inspire you with a mix of religious and gothic themes.
On the upper part of his left forearm, he has his lion tattoo which is carefully drawn and has great detail. she wanted an animal tattoo and started there. At the bottom of her left forearm is a knight in armor and a castle in the background.
cub has said that his left arm is an issue as a warrior. he goes further on the inside of his left forearm which says “victory is reserved for those who are willing to pay its price”. cub got this tattoo because he broke his jaw and had his mouth wired shut, so he wanted something inspiring that would keep him motivated during a tough time to get back on his feet and get back to the fighting sport he loves.
On the puppy’s stomach, it has palm trees to represent where Palm Springs, a city in California, comes from. he also has “so cal” tattooed on his chest, because he’s from southern california. When Cub started fighting on the big screens, he wanted everyone to see him and know where he came from and that it’s part of his story.
swanson also grew up with a lot of religion in his life and spent much of his childhood in church. in light of that, the most significant piece of it is a full back murial tattoo depicting many religious themes. he has a giant cross in the middle of his back, with “swanson” on his upper back.
The back piece was put together by his friend, nicknamed “alabama”, who copies many of the religious illustrations from french artist gustavo dore’s dore bible illustrations.
the tattoos that cub chose for his back are all included in the theme of the battle of good against evil. that plays a unique role in his story and particularly his childhood.
The puppy’s right leg is what he refers to as his “death leg.” he broke his leg in high school and has been tough ever since, so he likes to use his right leg a lot to deal damage to his opponents and give them some of his own pain. the leg is covered in deadly themes such as spiders, cobwebs, snakes, roses, and skulls.
andré fili
andre is becoming a better known fighter in the ufc. at the beginning of his career, he had an incredible record of 13 wins and only 1 loss. That is until he fought Max Holloway (also on this list) at UFC 172 in his second UFC appearance. Since then, he has faced challenges to stay on a winning streak. All that being said, I think he is a very entertaining fighter to watch and constantly trying to evolve his game.
andre “touchy” fili is easily recognizable by the more than 30 unique tattoos that extend all over his body and up to his neck. His UFC tattoos are highly varied in design and meaning, but often represent a salute to the meanings of life and death, among other gothic symbolism. in addition to direct characters that she likes, similar to many wrestler tattoos.
Starting from the head down, Andre has written quotation marks on both sides of his head. one says “pray for peace”. and on the other side he says “prepare for war”. The two pairings suggest Fili’s troubled childhood, where she grew up in a broken home with violence and riots. I imagine that although he expected peace in his life, he always felt that he had to be prepared to defend himself and fight.
One of Andre’s most noticeable inks is the one on his throat. features a lantern with a lit candle inside. its meaning of her as “there is a light that never goes out”. I think it means that she has it as a reminder of his burning light within him that, despite all the challenges he has faced, continues to burn to inspire him to strive for something better.
On each side of his neck are images of a black dog and a black cat. the cat to his left noted him down as “lucky lefty” which might have to do with cats being lucky and the dog to his right has the world in his jaws which might suggest chewing up the world and not letting it their little problems devour you. .
On his chest, he has designs of a Hindu goddess and on his stomach he has gruffalo characters from the children’s book “where the wild things are”. below these and closer to her waist and pelvis are the words “heartthrob” in a unique fragmented design that could be suggestive as a nickname people have given her.
Just above the groin he also has a tombstone with a sunset on the beach inside it. he seems to have been inspired by a quote from yamamoto tsunetomo, a samurai whose musings on the failure of the samurai caste were published in 1716 as Hagakure: The Secret Wisdom of the Samurai.
Andre also has many more left and leg tattoos of different characters from his favorite movies and more, like:
- star wars
- the grinch
- a classic boxer
- bill the butcher (from new york movie gangs)
- a scarier version of mario’s carnivorous plants
- a souvenir from the hand of a monkey
- the devil
- a melting skull
- a spider with a face
- a tribal baby crying
- a frog in muay thai fighting stance with bandages on his hands
- angels
- skulls
- skeletons
- faces
- the sun and the moon
- horned warriors
- writing
- valkyries
- Viking ships
- the devil
- and other Norse & viking mythology
- “god only” and “can judge me” on his biceps, visible when he flexes
- “float like a butterfly, sting like a bee” on her right ribcage and waist
- “family” on his right forearm
He even has a photorealistic tattoo of one of his idols, alpha male team wrestler and coach urijah faber. There are probably even more than those listed here and who knows what is going to be inked next.
alexander volkov
alexander, also known as “drago”, has one of the most distinctive tattoos I’ve ever seen. it spans her entire back and features a metallic face with a red flower design coming out of the face. It reminds me of a samurai face mask called mempo. they were designed to protect the face but also send fear into their enemies with their daunting gaze.
originally alexander only had a giant stingray emblazoned on his upper back. but then he decided to improve it and even replace it with a completely new design of the samurai’s mempo.
In interviews, he told the story he put on the table for two weeks straight to fully finish the design. he spoke of his shrieks of pain in the process of finishing such a large tattoo in such a short amount of time. With a time as short as that, he doesn’t leave time to rest between sessions, so skin pain, bruising, and sometimes even bleeding can be constant.
but in the end, he has one of the scariest flashback tattoos in the ufc. You won’t miss that giant samurai face staring back at you. If you want to strike fear into your enemies, this could be one of those great mma tattoo ideas that gets the job done.
israel adesanya
The latest master of the style has a collection of tattoos on his upper body that have different meanings for him. some are about his heritage and life and some are just about some of his favorite anime and comic characters.
one of israel’s earliest tattoos is the “broken native” which hangs from his chest like an african necklace. As a native of Nigeria, he has always considered himself different from the pack, including that of his heritage. uses the term “broken” as different from the rest and “native”. the phrase actually comes from the dance group he was a part of in his youth, but he kept it tattooed on his chest because of its meaning to him.
israel also has a tattoo of africa in the center of his chest, with nigeria highlighted where he was born. it seems he doesn’t want to forget where he came from and what that means to him.
He has a wolf on his right shoulder, for his passion for dogs and canines.
In keeping with his passion for comics and anime, Israel’s fighting nickname, “The Last Stylebender”, comes from the anime “Avatar: The Last Airbender”, along with multiple tattoos on his body. He has a tattoo of Toph Beifong on his forearm, as well as avatar-inspired ocean and moon spirits around his stomach lined with Naruto’s nine-tailed sea fox.
not only that, he has deadpool, the antihero, on his ribcage, and tattoos of calvin and hobbes, one of his favorite comics as a child.
megan anderson
megan is an australian mixed martial artist who competes in the ufc featherweight division. she is easily recognizable by her considerable height of 6 feet tall and her collection of ink sleeves on both arms and even almost an entire leg.
all of megan’s tattoos have a style similar to what you might call grunge. each tattoo appears to be done primarily with a fine needle to create a detailed look against her light-colored skin.
In general, megan’s tattoos include images of many things that are good inspiration for mma tattoo ideas:
seems to combine many styles in adjoining full limb tattoos with inspiration from mythology mixed with ideas of life and death.
dustin poirier
dustin’s first tattoo was a ‘d’ with flames and dice around his shoulder at just 14 years old with a homemade tattoo gun. Eventually, his mother decided to let a professional do real tattoos on him to help him stop risking bloodborne disease from street needles.
dustin’s right hand has symbols for “inspire” and a crown. in her left hand she features a fleur-de-lis, which is a lily symbol used by the French monarchy in many types of design. dustin has a french background which inspires this tattoo.
On each doll, Dustin has his grandmother’s name and his wife’s name. and on the upper part of his right arm, there is the name of his mother. he also has his daughter’s name on his chest, which was the only tattoo he got outside of louisana; Instead, it was in Florida when his son was born.
He also has symbols of louisana, animals like a tiger and a phoenix in his arms. the tiger effect also runs across his left chest with tiger stripes and the bushido in the middle, which is a warrior’s moral code.
poirier even has a large cross on his right thigh that most never get to see due to the long shorts he wears during fights. He did poorly on the streets of Louisiana, but has since tried to make it better with a cover-up job that makes him bigger. he has commented on it as his least favorite, but it is still part of his story.
max holloway
max was one of the first tattooed wrestlers as he got his last name, “holloway”, tattooed on his stomach at the age of 17.
the tattoos that max has on his chest are a mix of representing his polynesian heritage with customizations for him and his son, represented as little birds. and the characteristics of the small trees are to bless his health. they are also separated stylistically, suggesting that his story is not yet complete and when he will be able to finish the piece.
“blessed” holloway also has a sleeve on his right arm that features the nickname “blessed” and a mix of artfully woven designs such as light and dark images like different colored doves.
On the inside of his right arm, Max has his son’s name on the inside of his bicep. and on his left bicep, he has his street name.
max is also known for his back tattoo. He has giant wings tucked into either side of his back, making him look like an angel or bird of prey ready to take flight. the left wing is that of an angel, and the right wing is more like a gargoyle or devil’s wing.
max has said that those wings are a representation of balance. it’s one of those tattoo ideas to make a big statement as an mma fighter: that there is light and dark within and you will see it all come to light in the fight.
This was Holloway’s second ink session, so it’s quite a jump to go straight to the wings with his second visit under the needle.
cody garbrandt
Cody is another wrestler on this list, like Dustin Poirier, who got his first tattoo when he was just 14 years old. he and his brother made an agreement with their mother that if they won national titles that year, she had to allow them to get their first tattoos, to which she agreed, and they both won titles and cody took his first ink of a cross with a tape on the upper part of the back.
cody had over a dozen tattoos at the age of just 15.
He has true love tattooed on his knuckles to signify his love for the sport of fighting and a grenade on the back of his right hand as a running joke for the bombs he throws through his right hand.
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cody’s arms feature a traditional colored Japanese style sleeve on his right arm and counteracts the symmetry by having a left sleeve entirely in black ink.
many of cody’s tattoos include references to god and the church. she has the word “blessed” on her stomach on a banner. At the top of her left hand are the words “Only God can judge me.” she also has st michael and the devil inked.
nick duel was a teammate of cody’s whom he admired and decided to replicate one of his tattoos by getting a 9mm pistol tattooed on the back of his waist.
Cody’s left bicep features the word “relentless” inspired by his activity in fighting and never backing down.
one of cody’s most notable tattoos is the one on his neck. he features a diamond with wings and a banner that says “self-made”. the diamond represents the perfection that likes to be under pressure, the wings to show that there are no levels and the sky is the limit.
He also has a large chest piece that has references to god and spirituality saying that several different artists have tried to make improvements to it but he’s still not happy with it. The problem is that he is so inked at this point that he even considered laser surgery to remove the ink so he could start over.
amanda nunes
Amanda is one of the best mma fighters of all time. Not only is she a winning force in the UFC, but she also has some cool tattoos.
On his left forearm, he has a medium-sized key. she says it is the key to the heart of her partner, nina. Nina has the locket tattooed on her arm so the two pieces fit together.
On his right arm, he has a sleeve designed as armor, which has different sections that change its appearance, such as just above the elbow, it looks like chain mail or mail that connects a shoulder armor to the rest of the arm. At the top of her right shoulder is a fleur-de-lis that ends her arm.
He also has other unique parts like a lion eye on the inner arm and a small wrist piece that is one half of a piece that is completed with the other one on his partner’s wrist. If you have a partner you love, then maybe these will give you some mma tattoo ideas for your own mma love relationship.
Around her right upper arm and on the shoulder blades on her back, she has her iconic octagon ring that inside includes half of her face and the other half of a lion with the words “amanda nunes” and ” The lioness”. around you.
on amanda’s left arm she has the number of ufc events in which she achieved great achievements, such as ufc 200 and ufc 232. on her upper left arm, she has the features of an owl. she has the owl there because her grandmother had one of hers when she was a child and it was such a meaningful memory for her that she wanted it on her body. just above her owl is the name of her niece written in hyphenation.
On his left calf, he has the character from the video game, Mario. As a child, the first big gift she remembered from her was receiving a Nintendo with Mario on it, so it’s a strong memory for her. every birthday or holiday, she never knew if she would actually receive a gift because of the hardships her single mother went through. She commented that it was the most painful tattoo she’s ever gotten, probably because it’s all muscle next to her skin.
sean o’malley
Sean “Suga Show” O’Malley is quickly becoming one of the most popular newcomers to the UFC. His performances on the latest fighter television show earned him a direct ticket to the UFC and, since his arrival, he has delivered a combination of impeccable performances and knockouts.
“suga” is not only well known for his performances, but also for his unique sense of style, swagger, and mma tattoo ideas inked on his body. It seems that we are only at the beginning of Sean’s discovery of his mma tattoo ideas. For starters, he has his nickname “suga” tattooed above his right eyebrow.
On the left side of his head, just below his hairline, he has the word “breathe” tattooed backwards, so every time he looks in the mirror he reads the reminder to breathe. Sean is a big fan of meditation, ice baths, and breathwork and talks about it often on his podcast as a great help in keeping a positive mindset for life and fighting for him.
Many other wrestlers on this list often get a large chest tattoo and many with wings usually on their backs. Sean has a similar combination with extended owl wings placed on his chest. It is colored using two of the three main colors of his that you will see in almost all his tattoos, in green and red.
Sean often uses green, red/pink and yellow colors in his personal style with hair coloring, fashion sense and that seems to have extended to his tattoo work.
Moving to Sean’s back, he has a large ridge over his left shoulder blade area that is very striking in green and yellow. the crest is from the coat of arms of the o’malley family name which includes a knight’s helmet and a boar in the middle representing the warrior. the colors of this shield play an important role as red means military strength and yellow means generosity. perhaps this crest alone inspires many of his colors used amongst his other tattoos.
Across his back, it looks like a green shamrock with the last name o’malley inside. this, along with his crest, shows the lineage of his Irish roots.
Another notable tattoo is on the left upper arm, which is covered in a large green design that extends down to the forearm. it seems to show dna coming out of his guts and cherries around him. it’s a bit hard to understand the concept, but i guess it has something to do with your dna being special in some way, like a perfect sour cherry.
sean also has various words around his body, such as:
He has some smaller tattoos, such as a rose and baby steps, the meaning of which is unclear.
final thoughts
By now, hopefully, you’ll have a great mix of mma tattoo ideas for your own ink project. There are often many similarities between the fighters, such as gothic and warrior themes, along with religious and family messages.
as max holloway has said about tattoos, “don’t overthink it, just do it.”
