UFC 304

A few weeks ago I was fortunate enough to have been given the opportunity to be cage-side to cover the first UFC PPV of my career to date. It was a special moment for me personally, being able to cover an event of this scale, and work my second UFC event in less than a year. Taking place in the brand new Co-Op Live arena, in front of nearly eighteen-thousand people, it was certainly an event and a moment in my career I will remember for a long time.

It was a bit of a crazy few days, between travelling and the event running through the night. But despite the lack of sleep, the madness of covering an event of that scale, one thing I honestly kept thinking to myself over the course of the weekend was how genuinely lucky I am to to get to do what I do. Being able to photograph the UFC is something I have dreamed of doing from I was just a kid with a camera. So to have had the opportunity to do it, on a number of occasions now, really is something special.

For over ten years I’ve been lucky enough to have covered the sport of MMA. Everything from local amateur events to the biggest shows in the world. From shooting in small local sports halls, to some of the biggest arenas in Europe. I have never, and will never, take these opportunities for granted. No matter how long I’ve been doing this, I still feel so genuinely privileged, grateful, nervous, yet excited, every single time I stand beside that cage wall at these big events. I have worked so hard for so long to earn my place there, and I can only hope that my work is worthy of the opportunities that I’m given.

I don’t often share things like this, but there are times I have to pinch myself at the positions I find myself in. It feels at times that stuff like this isn’t supposed to happen to people like me. It may not mean much, or anything to anyone else. But to me, being able to do this, honestly means so much. People talk about living their dreams. Well, at UFC 304 I got to live out one of mine again. I can only hope that my work can justify my place around that iconic cage.