UFC teams up with DC Comics for special poster promoting UFC 181
Look up in the sky - it's a bird - it's a plane - no, it's Anthony Pettis!
As the UFC puts the finishing touches on one of the biggest shows of the year that will help close the door on 2014, UFC 181 not only features two title bouts, but the fighters involved also happen to carry a huge presence whenever they step inside the Octagon.
In many ways the things UFC fighters are able to do seem almost super human so it made perfect sense for the promotion to team up with DC Comics ahead of UFC 181 for a concept poster featuring the four main event fighters throwing down just like Superman, Batman, the Green Lantern and all the other famous names from comic book history have done for decades.
Artist Howard Porter -- best known for his work on titles such as 'The Flash' and 'JLA: Justice League of America' -- worked with colorist Alex Sinclair to create the artwork that debuted on Friday at the UFC 181 pre-fight press conference.
Porter just happened to be a lifelong fan of the UFC so when DC Comics came calling to ask about doing a special poster in the likeness of the greatest superheroes of all time, he jumped at the chance to work on the project.
"I was pinching myself. After I stopped doing backflips around the house, I just couldn't believe it because I'm such a big fan of MMA. I didn't think an opportunity like this would come along in my lifetime," Porter told FOX Sports.
"On the onset you're asked to do some rough sketches so you can plan for the final piece and I had the weekend to do it and I did way too many sketches because I couldn't stop drawing these guys. I wanted to do 15 covers. I was very excited."
Porter actually started watching the UFC along with everybody else in the 1990's and he's followed along ever since. The bigger than life athletes that decorate the UFC made Porter's job easier than ever when it came to drawing and creating the poster for UFC 181.
In today's modern age, no other athletes on the planet embody the superhero physique and power than fighters competing in the UFC.
"I was just talking about how they are so much like superheroes," Porter said. "Often times they even have their own alter egos -- what they're like out of the cage isn't what they're like inside the cage. Their athleticism in the cage, I mean they are some of the greatest athletes in the world.
"They made the job very easy. It's really just drawing from life. They really are superheroes."
UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis immediately turned back into a kid again looking at the cover that features him doing his famous 'Showtime kick' as he takes on Gilbert Melendez at UFC 181.
Pettis has had a good year so far with recently landing the cover of the Wheaties box and now he can say he's officially part of the DC Comics canon.
"That's so cool. That's amazing, seeing myself as a superhero draw by the guy who draws Batman and Superman for a living," Pettis told FOX Sports. "First I'm on a Wheaties box, now this. It's so cool, they did the Showtime kick and everything."
The cover unveiled will be used ahead of UFC 181 as the promotion teams up with DC Comics for the special poster for the event that takes place on December 6 from Las Vegas with Pettis vs. Melendez serving as the co-main event on the card with welterweight champion Johny Hendricks and Robbie Lawler headlining the show later this year.