The 12 Worst Tattoos in MMA
12. Rich Clementi

Ignore the unfortunately placed head in this picture and focus on the tat on Rich’s right pec. Cartoony tattoos are never cool. Ever. I don’t care how tough you are, there should be laws against this sort of thing. Write your Congressman.
11. Tim Sylvia

Tim Sylvia: “Dude, I’m gonna’ get a tattoo that covers 30% of my arm and shoulder!”
Friend: “Really? What’s it going to be?”
Tim Sylvia: “I don’t know, just the first design I see in the parlor’s portfolio. It’ll make me look like one of the cool kids.”
10. Joe Riggs

Tattoo Rule #1: Never get your name - or nickname - tattooed on yourself.
Tattoo Rule #2: If you ignore Rule #1, don’t use giant block letters when getting said tattoo.
9. Cub Swanson

I saw a cool postcard in Malibu once, but never did I consider tattooing it all over me. Appears Cub Swanson doesn’t share the same restraint as I do.
8. Robert “Buzz” Berry

You know that unwritten tattoo rule of “Don’t tattoo your chick’s name anywhere on your body?” That also applies to places you work for and your age. Season’s change is the reasoning, but in Buzz Berry’s mind: Cage Rage 4-eva!
7. Jeff Monson

His entrance song placed him at the top of one worst list already. And now his tats have him on another worst list. It appears a tattoo parlor exploded and Monson was the lone victim. Another star would really complete the design, though - don’t you think?
6. Mike Nickels

Mike Nickels never met a tattoo he didn’t like. And we don’t like any of them - especially the sleeve, which is basically just ink minus the design. “Less is more” comes to mind. So does ink poisoning.
5. Alessio Sakara

We’re thinking plastic surgery would have been quicker and less painful to fix the ugly nipple affliction. Sakara went for the not-so-popular second option: cover them up with a mutant moth/butterfly thing with people’s faces protruding out.
4. Brock Lesnar

If he wanted something ’subtly phallic’, he failed. This is in-your-face phallic and it runs smack down the middle of his torso. It’s annoying enough that he’s riding so much hype, but now we have to deal with seeing this thing everytime he’s in the cage.
3. Gray Maynard

Mottos, credos, even pithy sayings to live by - all fine. Provided they are cool or even inspirational sayings. And you don’t tattoo them on yourself so you can read them in the mirror every morning. Although in a mirror it’d be backwards, making it even dorkier to have it printed on you.
2. Melvin Costa
It’s a Neo-Nazi hate symbol. Need we say more?
1. Melvin Costa

His Nazi tattoo just isn’t enough for this list. Inking “I Have a Small Penis” on your person - even if it was a joke - is just not socially acceptable. Besides, we already know Nazis have small penises.
(Props to CagePotato reader Than for the list idea.)












January 23rd, 2008 at 2:03 pm
Great job. I love your “Top Ten’ lists. This is becoming one of my favorite sites. Keep up the good work. You cant fail with “top ten” lists.
January 23rd, 2008 at 2:11 pm
Some pretty bad tattoo’s there but I think Alessio’s is a little unjust as I think it doesn’t look too bad!
What about a list of coolest tattoo’s in MMA?
January 23rd, 2008 at 2:15 pm
@ fightfan: Thanks, brotha! Spread the word…
@ Olie: We could do a top ten list of coolest tattoos, but all ten would be on Aleksander Emelianenko.
January 23rd, 2008 at 2:22 pm
CP; I think Aleksander’s tattoos are awful! Haha. I like Huerta’s but maybe a bit too common…. also quite like Babalu’s. James Irvin has a couple of awful tattoo’s IIRC - an anchor! I mean wtf.
January 23rd, 2008 at 2:26 pm
Oh god…. just seen Kimo’s…. how did he not get on this list!?
January 23rd, 2008 at 3:12 pm
Hey CagePotato, speaking of top ten lists, why don’t you do one of grossest looking fighters? You just posted something about Corey Hill, maybe it should be a top ten list of fighters who should keep their shirt on during the fight. May I suggest Tank Abbott be on the list?
January 23rd, 2008 at 3:16 pm
Olie, I don’t think Kimo should be on the list. He got that inked before getting a tribal tattoo was something that everyone did. Now it’s totally lame, but because of the time frame, I think it should be forgiven.
January 23rd, 2008 at 4:23 pm
Keep it up with the lists and everything else man. Love the site.
January 23rd, 2008 at 5:10 pm
What tattoo are you referring to Noah? The blobby mess on his abdomen, the word “JESUS” across the front of him or the totally gay symmetrical tribal tattoo? The bloke has an awesome physique but looks like an idiot because of his stupid ink.
I’m debating a tattoo currently. Seeing this list and other tattoo’s I’m so god damn glad I’m thinking long and hard about this. Just keep me away from the flaming sambuca’s whilst pondering body art.
January 23rd, 2008 at 6:49 pm
Keep up the good work potato. You are throwing together a fine site here.
January 23rd, 2008 at 8:32 pm
what’s it say on gray maynard? “one life…roll one” ? guess not but something like that…?
January 23rd, 2008 at 11:22 pm
After wataching UFC Fight Night tonight, I think Josh Burkman’s tramp stamp deserves some honourable mention.
January 23rd, 2008 at 11:54 pm
The solid black arm tattoo had been around for thousands of years, I take it you don’t have a huge background on tattoos….but the rest are fugly as hell.
January 24th, 2008 at 9:57 am
this is a great site and this list is an example of what makes it so much fun. informative and witty, keep it going dude
January 24th, 2008 at 11:02 am
Hey Olie, I was just thinking about the tribal tattoo, which I’ve already talked about. I forgot about the other tattoos, you’re right, they’re terrible! I’ve got what I think is a pretty sweet tattoo, I’ll have to get the ol’ digital camera out and post something.
January 26th, 2008 at 1:05 pm
hahaha sweet now all we need is best tattoos.
January 27th, 2008 at 5:02 am
Kimo looked pretty badass in his day. Now that shit’s played. I used to think tatts were cool until everybody had ‘em, now I’m glad I didn’t.
Alessio is on some other shit entirely, his back actually looks cool with the letters he chose. Disagree entirely. His designs work. They fit him. Mike Nickels looks like some chopper-riding retired Z-Boy punker. Some of his ink is wild, his back ink like Sakara’s, is also cool, at least to me. I woulda taken both of those dudes off the list. I notice Renato Sobral is nowhere on your list, his thorns, like Kimos, just kept getting bigger and bigger. He got some shit written on his back too that’s kinda cool. Chuck Liddell’s kempo dude who is doing chuck’s victory pose always kinda irked me.
January 27th, 2008 at 6:38 am
In response to the first post: This list has 12
January 27th, 2008 at 3:09 pm
dude. aleksander emelianenko’s tats are cool. russian mafia tattoos? why not.
January 28th, 2008 at 8:18 am
Im not gonna have you talking shitt about Cub Swanson
January 29th, 2008 at 11:07 am
ooh harsh choices there for some fighters. As bizarre as it is I like Swanson’s, and Sakara’s tattoos rock!
January 30th, 2008 at 6:00 am
Dude, Lesnar’s tats are awesome. But great job with the other guys.
February 1st, 2008 at 9:26 am
Don’t really care about other people’s tattoos…but it sounds like you don’t agree with the Brock Lesnar “hype”…none the less, he will dominate the octagon like no other before! Here comes the pain… oh yes, here comes the pain Mir!
February 3rd, 2008 at 5:05 am
Brock Lesnar looks like he’s about to swallow a giant penis on his chest.
February 8th, 2008 at 9:36 pm
Your missing that Hispanic guy that fights on King of the Cage. He has King of the Cage tattooed all over his face/head.
February 12th, 2008 at 10:27 am
How the hell did you forget Renato Babalu’s ugly ass tribal the covers his entire arm?!
February 15th, 2008 at 11:32 am
coll pics
February 22nd, 2008 at 3:59 pm
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.mmablog.pl/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/popek-wywiad-3.jpg&imgrefurl=http://mmablog.pl/nasze-wywiady/popek-w-miesiacu-przed-grudniem/&h=416&w=500&sz=41&hl=pl&start=19&um=1&tbnid=7c6DmXmkpUCzsM:&tbnh=108&tbnw=130&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dpopek%26um%3D1%26hl%3Dpl%26sa%3DG
Polish fighter Popek Rak
February 26th, 2008 at 6:57 pm
Haha, Nickels and Sakara’s tats aren’t bad at all, you obviously know nothing about tattoos.
February 26th, 2008 at 7:41 pm
There is alot of people who dont belong on there. your rules are stupid and whats wrond with getting your name or a credo on you. whats cooler then a superman tattoo trible arm band barb wire flames penis’s peoples names on your butt or free tattoos from a first timer.
March 1st, 2008 at 12:04 pm
a bit harsh on Sakara, i think they look good at least they suit him
“a mutant moth/butterfly thing”
first thing i thought was a roman eagle which im sure its supposed to be.
March 2nd, 2008 at 2:56 pm
whoever wrote the criticism on fighter’s tattoos was an asshole! sakara has awesome meaningful tats.
March 10th, 2008 at 5:28 pm
Take Sakara off that list, his tattoos are awesome.
Poor Tim just wants to take the attention of his face.
March 10th, 2008 at 6:11 pm
Heeey ……..WHAT IS THE SONG OF RICH CLEMENTII¿?¿?
ENTRANCE SONG¿?¿? RICH CLEMENTI UFC………79…?¿?¿??
March 16th, 2008 at 9:48 am
theres nothing wrong with name tattoos…
March 26th, 2008 at 4:30 pm
Why the fuck is Sakara on this list?
March 27th, 2008 at 5:13 am
yea too bad mike nickels is just about the sickest tattoo artist in denver and owns the best shop in denver
April 8th, 2008 at 10:23 am
Nike and Melvin’s gave me an idea, black ink and NAZI.