Tattoos in Professional Sports

Tattoos have always been a symbol of self expression and sport celebrities aren't segregated from this in anyway. So tattoos amongst professional sports athletes continue to grow exponentially. Where some sports may simply include examples of the current day celebrities with quality ink, other sports such as Mixed Martial Arts exemplify more traditional "warrior" markings.

Now of course there is the occasional Johnny Cash memorial tat or a fraternity marking of some sort, but many tattoos on many of these fighters carry a significant symbolism of strength, power, courage, intelligence, or honor among warriors. These traditional meanings carry over from thousands of years of Chinese and Japanese tattooing history. Images of Samurai, dragons, tigers, koi, the phoenix, and many other traditional symbols can all be found in the ring on any given fightcard.

In addition to Chinese or Japanese tattoos, many other religious toned tattoos can be found. Buddhist symbols are also popular, especially the now infamous display on the back of top contender in the light heavyweight division, Brandon Vera. His back tattoo carries significant meaning surely giving him all the motivation he needs to ready himself for a battle of strength and wits.

If you are considering a tattoo symbolizing strength or any of the other descriptors previously detailed, take a televised step into the octagon and see what it means to live up to any of those symbols. You will also see numerous examples of what you might consider for your next tattoo. Whether it be a back piece, a full sleeve or just a single symbol Mixed Martial Arts fighters are more heavily tattooed than any other professional sport due to their warrior status as they step up to fight against another warrior.

For information on MMA Fighters you can visit MMA Full Contact. Their fight results, news, twitters, and wikis can all be found there.

For information on other celebrities with tattoos, visit Celebrity Tattoo.