(Tom Lawlor by Flaskpost.)

We’ve seen some bad, bad MMA fan art in our time. (Like, really bad.) So it came as a relief when we recently stumbled upon MMAFanMade, a tumblr account that showcases the best MMA-themed art and artists on the Internet. We decided to cherry-pick some of the site’s highlights, mix in a few old classics, and put ‘em all together in the gallery after the jump. Check it out below, and if you’ve done any MMA-themed artwork yourself, please share links in the comments section. We promise that our criticism will be mostly constructive.

(H-Bomb vs. The Last Emperor — who ya got? Illustration courtesy of Maor Tzadoc at Lowkick)

By Anton Gurevich

This Saturday, Mixed Martial Arts fans around the world will hold their breath, as MMA legends Fedor Emelianenko and Dan Henderson go toe-to-toe inside the Strikeforce cage.

Fedor and Hendo share 12 Championship and Tournament titles between them. Both men fought for the now-defunct Japanese RINGS promotion, with Fedor winning the Openweight Championship, Absolute and Heavyweight Tournaments. Henderson won the 1999 Kings of Kings Tournament, by defeating the likes of Gilbert Yvel and Minotauro Nogueira en route to his triumph over Renato Sobral in the final.

Their journey continued in the mythological PRIDE Fighting Championship, where both men made their mark as some of the best Mixed Martial Artists on the planet. Emelianenko continued his reign of terror by winning 14 consecutive fights in PRIDE, which resulted in the prestigious World Heavyweight and 2004 PRIDE Heavyweight GP titles. Henderson won 13 fights in PRIDE, but lost five. Nevertheless, “All-American” managed to become the only fighter to hold titles in two different weight classes — the PRIDE Welterweight Title and PRIDE Middleweight Title.

After PRIDE went out of business, Fedor and Henderson went in different directions…

CONTINUE READING THIS ARTICLE ON LOWKICK.BLITZCORNER.COM…

He really manages to capture almost *all* of Diego’s crazy. And bodily fluid. ArtProps: “Reflex” by Jorg R. Dubin

We’ve shared before with you our opinion on the state of artwork involving MMA, and we’ve showcased everything from scribblings to a double handful of caricatures by some guy on the internet, to a gallery exhibition by a “serious artist” featuring MMA fighters.

(You can tell he’s a serious artist because he has boobies in his paintings he’s examining sports combat themes and how they relate to the struggles in the lives of the average joe. Or something like that — look, he paints on linen and people pay 15 grand for his work, guy must be legit, right?)

We’re pleased to pass along the report that MMA-themed artwork continues to flourish, as evidenced by the increasing level of skill and creativity put into some of our favorites. Check out the updated collection of MMA Artwork That Doesn’t Suck after the jump.

(Put on the shoes and hat. Stuff the rest into the gym bag. Tell your wife that you don’t need her anymore. Get in the car. Drive.)

Because you guys brought it so hard in our MMA poster contest and t-shirt design contest, we thought we’d give you another shot to flex your creative muscles. Leading MMA gear supplier Throwdown has hooked us up with a very generous prize package (shown above) that consists of the following…

– an All Over Print Duffle Bag
– a Logo Flexfit Hat
– a pair of On Top Remix Shoes
– a Throwdown Hoodie or Thermal of your choice
– 2 Throwdown by Affliction "T"s of your choice
– 2 Large Throwdown Stickers

Total street value of this prize package: About $250. You want it, and it’s yours if you’re willing to work. Here’s how to win…

We feel just awful that we don’t do this every week, but you guys deserve some CagePotato t-shirts for all the hard work you’ve been putting in lately. The first honoree is Brooklyn-based artist Patrick Francisco, who e-mailed us some MMA-themed highlights from his body of work, including the above interpretation of Chuck Liddell painted onto a vinyl toy. We thought it was worth sharing, so thanks Patrick.

As for the rest of the winners, we’ll just pick a few of the recent comments about how boring Jake Shields is. (Ed. Note: CagePotato.com doesn’t necessarily agree that Jake Shields is a boring fighter, but we can appreciate a good one-liner.) Here we go…

   
(Images courtesy of JorgDubin.com)

Art galleries don’t usually draw the TapouT-clad juicehead crowd — but thanks to an upcoming exhibition at the Peter Blake Gallery in Laguna Beach, that’s about to change. From May 6-29, painter Jorg Dubin will be showing nine of his MMA-themed works at the space, which feature such MMA legends as Chuck Liddell, Tito Ortiz, Brock Lesnar, and Fedor Emelianenko. Cage-fighters and naked chicks, huh? Sounds like something we can get behind. (Even if the one with Keith Jardine and the redheaded Mariska Hargitay-lookalike gives us the creeps for some reason.) But there’s deep meaning behind these bizarre and unique works. From the press release:

CagePotato.com is proud to introduce MMA Mythology, a new comic collaboration with illustrator/highlight video editor Kahleem "KahL-One" Poole in which urban legends from MMA’s history are brought to life. In the first installment, Wanderlei Silva and Mauricio "Shogun" Rua do battle over a pitbull puppy; yes, this really happened. Click the images for full-size versions, check out the rest after the jump, and let us know what you think!