The 6 Best Photos From The Ultimate Fighter: Live Finale

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 Ultimate Fighter: Live Finale”.

6. Sam Sicilia’s Punch
On the preliminary portion of “The Ultimate Fighter: Live Finale” fight card, Sam Sicilia put a whooping on Crstiano Marcello en route to a second round TKO. One of the significant blows that Sicilia landed over the course of the fight was a beautiful right hand that sent ripples through Marcello’s cheek.

5. Max Holloway’s Kick
20-year-old Max Holloway put a beating on Pat Schilling to earn the first victory of his young career. Holloway attack with kick, punches and knees to all areas and even went airborne for a couple of flying strikes.

4. John Alberts’ Reaction
After a back-and-forth first round between John Albert and Erik Perez, the fight was ruined by referee Kim Winslow when she prematurely stopped the bout while Albert had his arm tied up in an armbar. Needless to say, “The Prince” was very unhappy with the decision. Everyone disagreed with Winslow’s decision to stop the fight and UFC president Dana White even paid Albert his win bonus even though he was technically on the losing end.

3. Cristiano Marcello’s Head
Shortly after Sam Sicilia landed the rippling punch to Cristiano Marcello’s face that was seen in photo six, Sicilia landed another face-morphing shot to the dome of Marcello that led to the eventual finish of the Brazilian. Marcello won’t be framing and hanging this photo on his wall anytime soon.

2. Mike Chiesa’s Celebration
The 13-week roller coaster of training, fighting and dealing with the recent death of his father culminated into one emotional moment for Mike Chiesa after he put Al Iaquinta to sleep in the first round of their tournament final bout to win title of “The Ultimate Fighter: Live” champion . At this point Chiesa’s story is well-known to mixed martial arts fans and a tip of the cap it needed for this warrior.

1. Martin Kampmann’s Face
For the second fight in a row, Martin “The Hitman” Kampmann came from behind to defeat his opponent. Last March it was Thiago Alves who had a mental slip in the third round and was submitted by Kampmann, last Friday night the Danish fighter did it again as he came from behind to knock out Jake Ellenberger in the second round of their main event welterweight contest. He may have won the fight, but Kampmann face was certainly worse for ware. As he said in the post-fight press conference, his wife won’t be happy with his new look.

Honorable Mentions