Francisco Rivera’s tattoos use different styles across his body. Two stars, a crown and wings sit across his chest; his left sleeve is densely shaded, while bold lettering curls along his right side. A large, dark scene covers much of his back.

Rivera, known as Cisco, wore the collection in his UFC 201 fight with Erik Perez in Atlanta. The 2016 photos show Rivera in turquoise-and-black shorts with red glove tape; Perez wears black-and-white shorts and blue tape. The changing angles help show how the tattoos wrap around Rivera rather than lying flat in a posed portrait.

The stars, crown and wings on his chest

Two shaded five-point stars sit high on Rivera’s chest, with a crown between them. The stars have dark and light sections that give them a nautical look. Below, feathered wings stretch across his pectorals but stop short of forming one continuous band.

The feather lines spread outward, with darker shading along the lower edges. The stars and crown are more compact than the wings, so the chest has clear focal points and open skin below. The photographs show the placement, but don’t establish who the crown represents or why Rivera chose these symbols.

The large back tattoo

A tall central figure anchors Rivera’s back piece, surrounded by broad, angular dark shapes and softer shading. The design reaches across his shoulder blades and down toward his waistband. Draped forms run through the middle; some of the surrounding marks look like lettering, but the photos don’t show a reliable full reading.

Smaller winged or birdlike shapes sit near the shoulders. Lower down, the background grows denser and turns around his side. In this shot, Rivera extends his left arm, opening up the back while pulling one shoulder away from a flat angle.

If you like large figurative designs, compare it with Alessio Sakara’s tattoos. The scale gives the artist room for a central image and details around it.

The shaded sleeve on his left arm

Rivera’s left sleeve is densely worked, with dark outlines, curved forms and gray shading running around the shoulder and down the arm. Some areas look scaled or dragonlike; other curls fill the gaps between larger shapes.

As he leans and reaches across the frame, a different part of the sleeve faces the camera. Some areas are nearly black, while others leave lighter skin or pale gray between the lines. Those changes keep the whole arm from reading as one solid patch.

The bold shapes on his right arm

The right upper arm has a more open design: a bold black motif runs down from the shoulder in long, tapering curves. It has a tribal-style look and doesn’t use the dense shading seen on the left.

A separate, character-like mark sits farther around the arm. Its strokes are thicker and more compact. The forearm has smaller shaded details; when Rivera raises his guard, the glove hides the wrist and the bent elbow bunches the designs together. Extend the arm, and they spread apart.

The script along his right ribs

Large ornamental script fills part of Rivera’s right side, between his arm and waistband. Heavy strokes sit among long loops and flourishes. The lettering stands out against the mostly open skin and uses a different texture from the dark back piece.

The second angle shows some letters turning away while others face the camera. The flourishes are easier to make out than a full word, so the wording can’t be transcribed confidently. The side placement also explains why a straight-on portrait catches only an edge of it.

The cross below his ear

A small black cross sits on the right side of Rivera’s neck, just below his ear. Its two solid strokes are simple beside the larger designs on his shoulders and back. The photos establish where it is, but don’t tell us what it means to him.

The fighter in the photographs

Rivera’s athletic career began with football at Buena Park High School and Orange Coast College, according to a 2015 UFC profile. An ankle injury ended that chapter before he became a professional mixed martial artist.

UFC 201 took place on July 30, 2016. Perez won their bantamweight bout by unanimous decision. Rivera’s red glove tape and Perez’s blue mark them in the exchange photos, which show several tattoos at angles a studio portrait would miss.

Rivera also spoke about tattoos and training in a 2013 MMAinterviews conversation. The interview below gives more of his perspective than the fight photos can: they show the artwork’s placement, not the reasons behind it.