Words by James Nye
Pictures by Sam Ruttyn / Barcroft Pacific 

These brutally honest pictures of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) display the
notorious violence that it has become known across Australia for.

Photographed over a period of seven months by Sydney based photo-
journalist Sam Ruttyn, nine fighters are caught at various moments
during their furious grudge matches.

For full story and pictures:

A mix of boxing, kickboxing, wrestling and simple street brawling, MMA
is a cage match fought for a maximum of three five-minute rounds.

It is the world’s fastest growing sport, with an estimated 300 million
fans worldwide, all watching to see which man will tap out first or be
stretchered from the ring.

“I began my project in October last year,” says 28-year old Sam.

“I was inspired by some of the great boxing images of Muhammad Ali.

“I wanted to capture with a full studio set up these fearsome bouts.

“I wanted to bring an element of pathos and aesthetics to an otherwise
grisly sport.”

Photographing over 45 MMA fighters during the months he spent
attending the legal fights in Sydney, Sam only chose nine he snapped
from outside the locked wire octagon cage.

“I wanted to catch the moment of defeat or even victory for these
men,” explains Sam.

“Sometimes, even after they had won their fight the adrenaline
revealed a look that you would not expect from a victorious fighter.

“The emotional transparency of the subjects invites viewers to
question the motivation behind each man’s primitive thirst for
physical dominance and what that means to them.”

Having seen men with broken bones, concussions, dislocations and even
suspected spinal injuries, Sam is under no illusion as to comparisons
with other ring bound fights.

“I have done a bit of boxing and I see some of these fighters move
onto the Ultimate Fighting Championships (UFC), so I have some
understanding of what is going though their minds,” says Sam.

“I admire the training and strength of these men.

Likened to human cock fighting MMA has been compared to the death
matches of ancient Roman gladiators

“I see their suffering and what they put into each fight and despite
all reservations I am impressed,” says Sam.

Currently part of an exhibition run by Australia’s National Portrait
Prize, Sam’s work is touring the country.

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