(Props: 2000dwrecked, via IronForgesIron and MiddleEasy)

Look, we appreciate this guy’s passion. And sure, we’ve seen worse MMA-fan tattoos. I’m just saying, think of how this ink-piece might appear to the vast majority of humanity who isn’t aware of Nick Diaz’s legendary gogoplata victory over Takanori Gomi at PRIDE 33. To them, it just looks like one dude in shorts blowing another dude on his back, and it’s right there on your chest, forever. Wouldn’t a cool t-shirt have been a wiser choice? At least that way you can take it off when you discover someone else to idolize in five years.

Have I just grown too cynical? Is this Nick Diaz tattoo not the most regrettable thing you’ve seen all week?

(Seven pounds over, and dropping his shorts just in case. Positivity’s a great thing, James, but sometimes you have to meet it halfway. Props: mmanewspl)

Just two weeks after it was announced that he blew a steroid test back in California, cursed UFC veteran James Irvin was back in action last night in the main event of KSW 15 in Warsaw. And if you thought this would a redemptive performance for the Sandman, then buddy, you don’t know James Irvin. The bout was held at a catchweight after Irvin came in juuuuuust a bit heavy for his scheduled middleweight title fight against Mamed Khalidov. His initial weigh-in tipped the scales at 197 pounds — 12 over the limit — but after four hours in the sauna, Irvin managed to get down to 192, and the match went on at a catchweight — with the middleweight belt still on the line, for some reason.

Anyway, the numbers don’t really matter. Khalidov opened the bout with a spinning back kick (as he tends to do), then dropped to his back when it didn’t connect. Irvin dived on for some ground-and-pound, and was immediately caught in an armbar. The fight was over in 33 seconds. On the bright side, Irvin didn’t leave the fight badly injured, as we assumed he would. Hopefully that’s the last time that Irvin accepts a fight at middleweight…on short notice…overseas…against a really tough opponent…when he has a drug suspension hanging over his head.

(Considering the mostly-negative response to our “MMAshed Potato” host candidates, we figured we’d bring in a professional. Excellent use of the green-screen, buddy. /// Update: Having problems with the embed at the moment…click the image to watch the video.)

UFC 127: Penn vs. Fitch Weigh-In Results, Streamed and Updated Live Beginning at 10 p.m. ET (Lowkick)

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(Photos courtesy of RichFranklin.com)

Remember when Forrest Griffin and Rich Franklin tried to add some heat to their UFC 126 meeting by suggesting that the loser would have to get an embarrassing tattoo? As Griffin suggested, “I think the loser should have to get like a big, flaming dragon tattoo, or something just hideous.”

Franklin lost the fight by unanimous decision, and we quickly forgot about this silly business — except Franklin didn’t. An MMAFighting report came out Friday claiming that Ace had actually visited a tattoo shop to honor the bet that nobody thought was real. Responding to the news, Griffin said:

(Props: Strikeforce. For a larger version, go here.)

Junie Browning has a grenade tattooed on his hand because he could go off at any time. War Machine has an anarchy symbol on his hand because fuck a government. Waachiim Spiritwolf has a bear’s head tattooed on his hand because he’s a Native American warrior with excellent taste in body art. Marius Zaromskis is a strong favorite in their meeting at Strikeforce Challengers tonight — but you should never count out a man whose power-hand embodies the soul of an angry grizzly. That’s all I’m saying.

(Photo courtesy of travisthehurricane.com)

Bellator announced yesterday that they have signed 14-2 prospect Travis "The Hurricane" Reddinger for their upcoming bantamweight tournament. You can’t miss him — he’s the guy with the enormous "BELLATOR" tattoo on his stomach. So did Reddinger get the piece done in a fit of excitement after he learned of his signing? Nope. It turns out it was just a strange coincidence. As Travis explained, he got the tat four-and-a-half years ago, long before Bellator Fighting Championships even existed: 

"For me it just symbolizes perseverance and the never-say-die mentality that I strive for. I know that Bellator stands for the warrior mentality as well, so it’s a great honor for me to be a part of the organization.”

Makes sense to us, though it’s still going to to look strange when he gets picked up by the WEC. Reddinger’s Bellator-ink earns him a spot in MMA’s Weird-Stomach-Tattoo Hall of Fame. You can check out the other members after the jump…

(Images courtesy of twitter.com/Randy_Couture and twitter.com/JayHieron.)

Judging from the typos in his Twitter update, he might have been drunk when it happened. But at least Randy didn’t get the name of some chick branded on his arm, which would have to be covered up by a half-assed tribal design in about six months. For the uneducated, "Ferrum Ferro Acuitur" is a Latin phrase meaning "iron sharpens iron." It’s a reference to Proverbs 27 ("…so one man sharpens another"), and when included in an MMA fighter’s tattoo, it basically means that if you surround yourself with strong people, you will become stronger yourself. As for the Fleur-de-Lis, it’s either a symbol of Couture’s French lineage, or a tribute to GSP’s calf.

Sherdog has a new set of photos of Paulo Filho training for his DREAM 10 bout against Melvin Manhoef, and while Filho looks to be in solid physical shape, we can’t help but wonder if his head’s back to normal yet. How else would you explain his tattoo of a million-dollar bill with a pitbull’s head on it? Also, his chest now says "Reward Hunter." Wow. This even surpasses Matt Horwich’s musical pencil in terms of sheer what-the-fuckness. Paulo, don’t you know those things last forever? And what are you going to do when Crazyland switches its currency to the billion-dollar hammerhead shark coin? Manhoef’s body-count tattoo is not impressed…