Almost as enjoyable as watching the world's top athletes in their respective sports engage in brutal, tactical, gladiatorial combat, is waiting to see what badass tattoos they will be dawning when they enter the ring.
Fighters seem to have a knack for choosing really cool tattoos, which makes perfect sense, because just like the warriors of old, they understand tattoos play an important role in combat. From tattoos designed to intimidate your enemies, to tattoos that commemorate great victories of yourself and ancestors. Fighter tattoos come in all shapes, sizes, and meanings. But, one thing remains the same then and now, these tattoos they all represent the true heart of a Fighter that has them.
So, take a seat in your corner, wait for the bell to ring, take a sip of cold water, and enjoy our list of the Top 10 Best Tattooed Fighters.
#10:Israel Adesanya's Tattoos
It's nice to see a highly tattooed UFC champion. And, that is what we get with UFC middle weight champ Israel Adesanya. His tattoos are well placed, and they cover a significant amount of is body. Plus, with winning usually comes more tattoos, meaning he could continue to increase his ranking on the Best Fighters Tattoo list.
#9:Max Holloway's Tattoos
UFC Featherweight Champion Max Holloway's iconic tattoos are a mix of tribal and script. Tribal tattoos have been popular with fighters and warriors from present and the past, making Max's tattoos fighters tattoos that will stand the test of time.
#8:Martyn Ford's Tattoos
Matyn "The Nightmare" Ford's sheer size (6' 8' 300 + pounds) makes him a scary guy. Add to that some head tattoos with a ton of body tats, and you have a fighter that will live up to his name and give you nightmares. Not the most prolific fighter when it comes to number of fights, but when it comes to number of fighter tattoos he ranks quite high.
#7:Cris Cyborg's Tattoos
Former UFC, Strikeforce and Invicta FC World Featherweight Champion, Cris Cyborg has some amazing fighter tattoos. The highlight of these tattoos is dragon tattoo on her back. Dragons have always been a popular fighter tattoo, they can symbolizefearlessness, rage, passion, wisdom, among other things.
#6: Alessio Sakara's Tattoos
This Italian MMA fighter Alessio Sakara isliterally covered in tattoos. Born in Rome all his tattoos take inspiration from the cities historic past. To honor the fighters of his country’s past he has a tattoo on his forearm that reads "Senatus Populusque Romanus" a common marking of soldiers of the Roman Empire.
#5:Jake Paul's Tattoos
Love him, hate him, or maybe you are indifferent , there is no denying the Jake Paul has some of the best tattoos of any fighter. Below you can see some of these tattoos including the hand grenade heart, the skull octopus, the snake, and of course, in true Jake Paul style, a skeleton hand flipping whoever he's looking at off.
#4:Connor McGregor's Tattoos
Again, the next fighter on our tattoo list has love/hate relationship with the public, Connor McGregor. His iconic traditional style fighter tattoos look great, and they should stand the test of time because of their classic tattoo style. The silverback gorilla tattoo on his chest is just a throwback to his old gym, he just said "I love the way it looks." A good reason for any tattoo in my opinion .
#3:Chuck Liddell's Tattoos
The "Iceman" Chuck Liddell comes in 3rd on our 10 Best Fighter Tattoos list and it's easy to see why. With maybe the most iconic tattoos on our list, the 3 Japanese letters. the tattoo means "Koei-Kan", his karate style, which means House of Peace and Prosperity. He got this fighter tattoo while getting ready to go to a Slayer concert, he said he just wanted to do something crazy.
#2:Ashlee Evans Smith's Tattoos
She may not be the most famous fighter on our list, but Ashlee Evans Smith's tattoos can make a claim for the top spot. Her tattoos are too numerous to list, but as you can see from the photo below, they are all stunning. From the tattoo placement and the style, each one of these tattoos is amazing to the last detail. Giving this fighter an easy number 2 spot on our Best Fighter Tattoos list.
#1:Mike Tyson's Tattoos
Easily the most famous fighter tattoo, arguably one of the most famous tattoos of all time, the Mike Tyson face tattoo. This tattoo was one of the first mainstream face tattoos, and turned into a kind of culture phenomenon. I mean, The Hangover movie and it's sequels were basically designed around this tattoo. Plus, when you see this particular fighter tattoo on this particular fighters face, you are going to want to run away quicker than Stu did from the tiger in the hotel room.
We hope you enjoyed our list of the 10 Best Fighter Tattoos. Were there any fighters you think we should have included? Which fighter do you think has the best tattoo game? Let us know in the comments below.
If this list inspired you to step in the ring with a tattoo artist, and get a fighter tattoo of your own, make sure to book your tattoo at Mr. Inkwells tattoo shop. Where you can get a fighter tattoo that is sure to be a “knock out”.
See you soon!
