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A behind-the-scenes look at a Dagestani fighter’s return to the cage

This documentary follows Umar Kunakbiev, a bantamweight MMA fighter from Dagestan, during the final days leading up to his comeback fight after two years of inactivity. His opponents kept backing out, and getting a sanctioned bout in the United States was an uphill battle. When the fight in Kansas City was finally confirmed, I knew it was time to tell his story. I filmed the entire documentary myself. No crew, just me behind the camera, doing my best to follow Umar through training sessions, weight cuts, hotel moments, and fight night itself.

Umar doesn’t speak English, and Muslim Salikhov (his mentor and a UFC veteran) had driven him straight from Denver to Kansas City in one shot. I flew in from Austin, Texas, and quickly became the designated driver, trying to get us from place to place on time. Justin Houghton, Umar’s head coach, flew in from Denver and joined us just before the fight. I helped Umar fill out his registration paperwork, and made sure things ran smoothly behind the scenes. It was a lot to manage - figuring out what they were doing, helping when needed, and still making sure I was capturing the story properly on camera.

There were some intense moments I didn’t want to miss. During one of his final weight cuts, I filmed him in the sauna. It was humid, foggy, and way too hot, but I needed to capture that scene. I also captured them praying in the hotel room. I set up a soft light on the bed to add some production quality. Throughout it all, I was constantly backing up footage, checking audio, adjusting lighting setups, and figuring out angles on the fly. I also filmed with a color checker, take a shot of it for as many scenes as I could, so the post production color grading would be consistent and easier. For the documentary’s thumbnail, I transformed my hotel room into a mini-studio using a 69-inch lighting modifier and a custom backdrop I had shipped in from Europe. It took up nearly the entire room other than the beds, with the chairs and gear tucked into corners or under tables. Umar was always doing something, or resting, so the only time I was able to take the thumbnail was right before he left for the arena on fight night. Adaptability was necessary to make it happen.

Since Umar doesn’t speak English, I relied on Muslim for help translating. A friend from my first trip to Dagestan, Shikhsaid Kazilov, help translate the English subtitles into Russian.

For the fight, I placed one locked-off camera in the front row and moved around the cage with another rig. I also placed my phone in front of Justin to film his reactions during the fight. I had to time my movements between rounds and breaks in action. There wasn’t a crew to hand off footage or help with angles. I just moved quickly and made it work. To see what happened during the fight, you can watch the documentary below or at dagestandiaries.com.

Post-Production and Final Touches

After filming wrapped, I worked with Patrick McGowan to bring the documentary to life in post. Patrick handled everything from the edit to the audio mix and color grading. He also picked all the music. I’ve worked with him before, and his touch was essential in shaping the final film.

This was one of the more demanding documentary shoots I’ve done - a mix of language barriers, production logistics, and fast-moving moments that I couldn’t miss. I wasn’t just documenting a fight. I was documenting a fighter’s return, and all the pressure that came with it.

You can watch the full documentary and explore my stills from the project at dagestandiaries.com. That is where I include all my documentary episodes from my journeys to Dagestan, along with a portfolio of my best photos from the land of mountains warriors.