November 5th, 2022 - “The Man in the Arena”

My brother and I were very excited to go watch amateur fights in Bentonville this weekend. The week before I tried to get a photo pass to shoot the event but was told that they already had a photographer and unfortunately I wouldn’t be able to get one.

When we got there I noticed a guy with a camera that was taking photos of the crowd while they came in from the hallway. I walked up to talk about his kit and after some time he introduced me to his brother who owns a company called “BacklandsUSA” that was sponsoring the fights. Something told me to ask him if I could shoot the event with his company and surprisingly he said yes.

This was one of the most fun shoots I’ve ever done. I’m a huge combat sports fan and have wanted to get into the scene for a couple years now. The below photos are my favorite from the event and I feel they really help to portray fighters as not just brutes trying to kill each other in a cage…they’re human beings testing themselves and their skillsets against another person in a high pressure situation. Or as Joe Rogan would say, “It’s a high stakes game a chess with dire physical consequences.”

I hope you enjoy.