The 6 Best Photos From The First Half Of 2012

As the old saying goes “a picture is worth a thousand words”. The saying applies to this day and without a doubt, applies to mixed martial arts as some of the sports most historic moments are relived through the images that captured them.

There is nothing better than a snapshot of a fighter dealing with tragedy or triumph, or a picture of a perfectly timed strike, every microscopic fragment of impact relived as limbs and jaws collide. A photo can display a range of emotions, happiness and sadness, victory and defeat. Every picture is different, each having a unique distinction and personal story.

That being said, lets look back at the 6 best photos from the first half of the year 2012.

6. Reza Madadi’s Awkward Slam Of Yoislandy Izquierdo
Reza Madadi was the only Swedish fighter to win inside the distance at UFC on FUEL TV 2 back in April. Madadi came back from a tough first round to submit Izquierdo, but before that, Madadi scored a big slam to that mat that resulted in Izquierdo landing devastating knee…to his own face. Oops.

5. IT’S NOT SUPPOSED TO BEND THAT WAY!
The headline says it all. Ronda Rousey made a mess of Miesha Tate’s arm in their main event bout for the Strikeforce bantamweight championship at “Strikefoce: Tate vs. Rousey” on March 3. Rousey contorted Tate’s arm in ways you would only see in a horror film to pick up her fifth submission win in five professional fights. Amazingly, Tate walked out of the fight without any broken bones, but it was Rousey who walked away with the championship belt.

4. Rich Franklin’s Face
Former PRIDE champion Wanderlei Silva sent ripples through the cheeks of Rich Franklin with a hard left hand to the chin of the former UFC middleweight champion during their main event catchweight affair at UFC 147. Silva is notorious for having some of the most devastating strikes in the history of the sport, which makes Franklin’s ability to eat the shots and earn a decision victory all the more impressive.

3. “Siyar The Killer” Kills Paulo Thiago
Siyar Bahadurzada lived up to his nickname “Siyar The Killer” with a stunning 42-second knockout of UFC veteran Paulo Thiago at UFC on FUEL TV 2. Bahadurzada landed a devastating counter right punch that landed flush on Thiago’s chin that knocked the Brazilian out cold. Bahadurzada competes next at “UFC 149: Faber vs. Barao” on July 21. Every 170-pound fighter should fear the knockout power of the first Afghan-born fighter in UFC history.

2. Antonio Silva’s Face
Cain Velasquez made a horror movie out of Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva’s face en route to a brutal TKO stoppage in the co-main event at UFC 146. Silva began pouring blood after the former heavyweight champion landed a slashing elbow to the forehead in the opening seconds of the first round. From that moment on, it was just a matter of time until the fight was stopped as Silva lost more blood than any human being rightfully should.

1. Maximo Blanco’s Flying Knee
The much-hyped Maximo Blanco may have disappointed many of his fans when he lost his UFC debut to Marcus Brimage at “UFC 145: Jones vs. Evans”, but the Venezuelan did earn the best photo from from the first 6-months of 2012 when he landed a face-morphing flying knee to Marcus Brimage’s dome. What a beautiful image.

Honorable Mentions

Mike Bohn, founder and lead writer of FightCove.com, wrote this article. You can follow Mike on Twitter at @FightCoveMike. Also, follow @FightCove on Twitter and “Like” Fight Cove on Facebook.