ShoXC Elite Challenger Series: Fight Night

It was another wild night of MMA mayhem at the Chumash Casino Resort. I arrived at about 3:00 pm ... I always get to events at least an hour early and for fight nights a couple of hours early. Sometimes there are issues that need resolution or people who need help or opportunities for additional work. On Friday night I wanted to make sure that Tom Casino, one of my boxing mentors and a prize-winning boxing photographer, was ready. He has to travel out from New Jersey for these fights which leaves him open to equipment failures. Since he and I shoot with interchangeable Canon equipment I could loan batteries, lenses or even bodies. But, Tom is an old hand and rarely had problems beyond remembering which pocket has the spare CF cards. I also wanted check on Esther Lin, who also shoots with the same equipment I do, but is also a traveler albeit a bit closer. Everyone seemed to have equipment and the only issue was finding spots on the pad where everyone could shoot. Tom gets to stimulate his acrophobia by standing on a small platform just big enough for his feet so that he can shoot over the cage but the rest of us have to shoot through the chain link. Much of the platform around the cage is taken up by Showtime, the Boxing Commission, EliteXC and various other media and support types: sound & video.

With that done, I put a 70-200mm f/2.8L IS on one 1DMIII and 24-70mm f/2.8L on another 1DMIII and got my place on the cage. I always try to sit next to a judge who always have spots in the middle of three sides of the layout. All the boxing commission guys are very friendly and helpful and the judges are happy to explain what is happening in the cage. Usually the bouts end with two guys on the mat and I have no idea what happened ... it is hard for me to see if there was an arm bar or rear naked choke tapout ... sometimes even the judges can't see exactly what happened ... but, as I say, they love to explain what happened and why and it vastly improves my understanding.

After getting my spot "reserved", Dave Mandel, photographer for Sherdog showed up. Last time he was here we had problems with having room for photographers and he had to sit in the lap of one of the corners ... well, not literally, but it was close. This time we got him a decent spot, comfortable chair just on the other side of the judge I had staked out. He shoots the same lenses on two 1DMIIN bodies. Dave is a very mellow and knowledgeable 'tog who knows just about everyone and points them out. He is a pleasure to work with.

There were ten bouts scheduled. The first five, the undercard, are sent out over Internet TV and the last five are broadcast by Showtime as ShoXC Elite Challenger Series. The fighters collect in two draped off areas setup on the stage at one end of the Samala Room: red corner and blue corner. There they get their hands wrapped and whatever other treatments their trainers/corner men deem necessary. There are lots of boxing commission guys keeping an eye on everything ... mostly to be sure there aren't any drugs or equipment that aren't permitted I think. I always wander up there to see what's going on. It's usually crowded so I don't hang around, although again, everyone is very friendly and when I stop to ask questions or chat with a fighter I have shot before, everyone makes time for me.

Then I attended to my last "To Do" item: check in with Nikki and Nadia, two of the Ring Card Girls this night. I am going to be working with them on their portfolios over the next few months and needed to setup a dinner meeting at my house to map out a plan. I found them in their dressing room getting instructions from Monica Petty who is with Gary Shaw Productions. Once that was done, it was back to the cage.

Unlike boxing where I shoot with my elbows on the mat right under the ropes, the apron around the cage is about three or four feet wide, keeping us away from the chain link and making the autofocus very difficult. Friday it was particularly difficult because the lighting director had put bright lights right onto the cage so each link had a bright reflection that the sensors loved to focus on. Half my images were clear crisp shots of fencing!

Then the first bout started and was over shortly, stopped by the ref "due to unreturned strikes" which basically means one guy is pounding the snot out of the other guy who is simply crumpled on the mat and unable to do anything. If they are both just laying there doing nothing much the ref will separate them, stand them up and restart the action, but when one guy is actively striking the other who just lays there, that pretty much ends it.

The undercard was filled with guys with nicknames like "Tiger", "The Poet", "Vicious", "Fancy Pants" and "The Punk". I have no clue for most of the names but Fancy Pants was pretty obvious. Most of the fighters have tattoos and some have pretty extensive artwork. Some color their hair or have patterns or words shaved into it. Pretty much anything to draw attention to themselves.

The fights, usually three 5-minute rounds, go pretty quickly. A couple of hours of pretty constant shooting and then it's over. The earlier fighters have changed and are milling around with their buddies and folks they haven't seen for a while. Many are off to the bar across the street along with fans. People are pretty happy and glad to put another fight night behind them. I was!

Be Safe!

Dwight