More Title Fight Tattoos – UFC 259

Saturday, March 6th, is the night of Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) 259. We have already highlighted the tattoos of the main contender for the light heavyweight title against Jan Blachowicz, Israel Adesanya. However, as International Women’s Day on March 8th is coming up, it would be amiss of us not to turn the spotlight on the women taking place in the octagon. 

The second title fight of the night is between Brazil’s Amanda Nunes and Australia’s Megan Anderson for the women’s Featherweight belt. And they are not lacking in ink. Both fighters have a significant amount of tattoos adorning their bodies. 

Amanda ‘The Lioness’ Nunes

Reigning champion ‘the Lioness’ Nunes has a full sleeve done in armour style, emulating a shield with buckled belts on the inside of the arm. The sleeve is partly a cover-up of an earlier ninja band that used to wrap around her right bicep.

Nunes also has an owl on her left upper arm, with the name of her niece ‘Anna Lara’ right above. Meanwhile, her left lower arm features a key. The matching lock sits on the right forearm of her wife, Nina Ansaroff, who is also a UFC fighter in the women’s strawweight division.

On the back of the body, Amanda Nunes has a tattoo of Super Mario on her left calf and a badge on her right shoulder blade. The back tattoo depicts half of her face along with half of that of a lioness, referring to her chosen fighting nickname. 

Megan Anderson

On the other side of the octagon, the woman hoping to take the belt from Nunes has already beaten her in terms of skin coverage. Megan Anderson has no less than two full sleeves on her arms – and one whole leg sleeve. With the exception of a small blue dot behind her ear, the entire collection is done in Black and grey. Her sleeves complement each other, with the gates of Heaven and the gates of Hell on each, with accompnaying angels and demons.

Keeping with the celestial theme, her full leg piece is topped with what looks like a Valkyrie – the warrior women caste that brought dead fighters to Valhalla in Norse Mythology. Anderson also has the face of the devil emerging from the darkness beneath a full moon and a ship with full sails on her back and front thigh, respectively. On her shin and down over her left foot, again inspired by Nordic design, are the gates of a castle. 

For those who think that getting into the octagon offering yourself up to be pummelled by fists, knees and shins, Anderson says that the experience is easier than getting under a tattoo artist’s needle. 

“Getting tattooed is way worse. One hundred percent,” Anderson told Inked Magazine in 2020. “The only thing I’ve had in my fights is a broken nose, and I’ve broken my hand, but I didn’t realize they were broken until after the fight. Even then, it wasn’t too bad. It is, for sure, way worse getting tattooed than any fight that I’ve ever been in.”

And yet, she both fights and gets new tattoos again and again… By tomorrow, which may be over by the time you read this, we will know who walks out of the octagon with that belt – and maybe gets a new tattoo to celebrate.