the fighters from the first lightweight tournament. they were all backstage after the even and I asked them to group up for a photo. all god vibes. good memories from that time. everyone was just happy to be there.
Loved Ultimate Athlete Mag. Didnt they do a show or 3 ?
Jump Kick -
in the mind of normal sane people, this is awesome.
now, in the mind of American liberals:
good pics
TTT.
How is it that you can take a picture and not see the cage fencing that you are looking through?
crowbar -How is it that you can take a picture and not see the cage fencing that you are looking through?
If youāre close enough to the cage and have a lens that blurs the foreground, it looks like itās gone or just a hint.Ā
Hong Kong Phooey -Loved Ultimate Athlete Mag. Didnt they do a show or 3 ?
Yes! It was hectic. One show got taken over by biker gangs when a biker was on the card, I think Rick Slayton or something like that and it ended in a riot. Then the ufc sued UA because their show name Ultimate Athlete Fighting was too close for the UFCās comfort. This happened days prior to ufc 35 that I was credentialed for to shoot cageside. I was so upset because the UA credentials all got revoked. That night I went to a meet and greet in Manhattan at a hooters and met Tito and Dana white. I explained my predicament to Dana and he couldnāt have been nicer. I promised to withhold photos from UA if he let me shoot the event and he gave me his card with his cellphone written on the back and said heād take care of me. I ended up getting an auxiliary position in the skybox, so no cageside, but he totally hooked me up and I appreciate it to this day. Soni shot ufc 35 front and center in the skybox with virtually nobody else there until the main event. I was able to set up dead center and got some cool shots from that event. The guys at UA were good to work with, Clyde gentry, Dave Davis etc. back then it felt like I won the lotto, they paid for all of my film development costs per show which were sometimes over $200 and then paid me for the event.Ā
Are you sure about the UFC suing? Because I went to Ultimate Athlete 4.
crowbar -Are you sure about the UFC suing? Because I went to Ultimate Athlete 4.
Yes. UFC shut down their fight promotion days before ufc 35. They file for an injunction and filed suit. Maybe UAF4 was the last straw check the timing of the events.
Edit: I just looked at the timing and the lawsuit seems to coincide with around when UA hadĀ itās first event, which makes sense. Credentials were pulled and ties cut and it seems UA put on a few more shows regardless of the threats. Not long after, the shows and magazine folded.
Ultimate Athlete 4 was in 2002.
crowbar -Ultimate Athlete 4 was in 2002.
Yes, UA1 was 1/27/2002
UFC 35 was 1/11/2002
so when UA1 was announced, ufc got wind of it and the ufc filed papers around 1/7/2002 roughly and my credentials were pulled a day or two before ufc 35.
i was at that ua show
Joker was on that Slayton card too
Nice. Got any good pics or stories from it?
Great thread - really feeling the nostalgia here 
Thanks for sharing the photos and the memories 
love this one
