Eddie Wineland’s tattoos cover both arms and much of his back. A helmeted warrior fills a large scene across his back, the sleeves use different colors and imagery, and script runs along his ribs. The fight-week photos from UFC 238 show the pieces from several angles.

Wineland has said his father’s arm tattoo first sparked his interest in ink. His own comments mix stories about meaningful pieces with a sense of humor.

The warrior tattoo covering his back

A helmeted warrior anchors the back piece. The figure holds a long blade, with one arm reaching outward. Above it, a round sun sits between Wineland’s shoulders, surrounded by gray clouds and bright yellow rays.

This angle shows how far the scene spreads: feathered shapes, additional figures and shading fill the space around the warrior, almost to the waistband. Yellow appears in the rays and parts of the armor, tying those areas together against the gray.

The third photo catches the sun and helmet clearly as Wineland extends his arm. The skin shifts across his shoulder blades, but the main shapes stay legible. FanSided MMA described the scene as a warrior beneath clouds and sunlight; the pictures don’t establish a more specific story or symbolism.

The colorful sleeve on his left arm

Wineland’s left sleeve is packed with color. Red and black cluster around a face-like shoulder motif, while blue-green curves and rounded shapes continue down the arm. Orange-red details add warmer notes farther along.

With his elbow bent, the curves fold around the upper arm and the face-like image comes forward. Lower down, shapes overlap, making individual subjects harder to identify from these action shots.

The sleeve runs toward his wrist, where a fight glove hides its edge. Small areas of lighter skin and shading keep the color from reading as one solid block. The angles show different details, but it’s the same continuous design.

The flower on his right shoulder

A layered blue-gray flower sits over Wineland’s right shoulder. Its petals open in rings around the shoulder cap, making the design easy to follow in the faceoff photo. Shaded forms and warmer colors continue down the arm; an outlined star is visible on his hand above the event wristband.

The sleeves aren’t mirror images. The right shoulder centers on the flower, while the left has the darker face-like motif. His upper chest is comparatively open in these 2019 photos, leaving a clear space between the two sides.

The lettering along his ribs

Black script follows Wineland’s ribs beneath his arm, below the back scene. The lettering is finer than the shaded figures around it, and the curve of his torso makes a full reading difficult.

With his arm raised, another stretch of the writing comes into view, along with the open skin around it. The partial views don’t support a reliable transcription, so the wording is best left as it appears in the photos.

Compare the placement with Alessio Sakara’s tattoos: both collections use broad areas of the body, but the designs differ.

An early influence

In a Fightland interview later quoted by FanSided MMA, Wineland said his father got him interested in tattoos. His father had a panther on his arm, though he wasn’t heavily tattooed himself.

Wineland recalled being nervous about his father’s reaction to his first sleeve. He has also said that not every tattoo has to carry a serious message; some were meant to be funny.

The fight photo here catches Wineland on the right, recognizable by his mustache and red glove tape. Grigory Popov is on the left with blue tape. It shows the collection in the bout, rather than isolating one tattoo.

The Chicago fight behind these photos

UFC 238 took place at Chicago’s United Center on June 8, 2019. Wineland stopped Popov with strikes in the second round. He had become the first WEC bantamweight champion in 2006, beating Antonio Banuelos for the title.

Away from competition, Wineland worked as a firefighter. A 2015 UFC profile described the job while covering his return after a long layoff. It gives context to his life outside the cage, but doesn’t explain the tattoos.

The photos also make the contrast with Popov’s largely untattooed upper body easy to see. The pre-fight interview below was filmed during that Chicago week.