Blunt Force Trauma

Lee Whitehead

A global sports phenomenon, Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) has taken the world of full-contact sport by storm. In these high-octane clashes, highly trained and conditioned fighters go head-to-head, using a combination of boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, wrestling, Ju-Jitsu and Judo, to overcome their opponent in the cage.

Despite only becoming recognized a sport in the last 15 years, MMA has now eclipsed boxing and WWE (wrestling) in the United States - and is currently second only to the NFL as the most popular sport in the US. Drawing average crowds of 20,000 fans, with 6 million+ pay-per-view subscribers to premiere events, this isn't just a US phenomenon either; in the UK, audiences of 15,000+ attend the largest events, while Japan has seen audiences in excess of 70,000 fans attending bouts that see fighters travelling from all parts of the globe.

Blunt Force Trauma is the unique story of Mixed Martial Arts as seen through the lens of fighter/photographer Lee Whitehead, who has followed the meteoric rise of the sport. His knowledge and experience put him in an unrivalled position to capture both the savagery and ferocity they exhibit in the cage, as well as a side of MMA that the public rarely sees - the humanity and humility of these modern-day gladiators.