A New MMA Movie About Royce Gracie And The Birth Of The UFC Is In Development

A new MMA movie is in the works from writer/director Christian Gudegast. As Deadline’s Matt Grobar reported this week, the film will center around the evening of mixed martial artist Royce Gracie’s debut at UFC 1 in 1993 wherein he bested three competitors.

This is about as exciting as it gets for anyone following Gudegast’s work after Den Of Thieves seeing as the man knows how to shoot the heck out of a gunfight and car chase. It’ll be a real test of his own acumen with cinematography for fight action and I’m curious to see what he and his team pull off.

Said Gracie of the fight night the project will examine, “I remember every detail of that night, the intensity of it was palpable but even then I did not appreciate the incredible impact that it would have and the significance that it would carry for years to come, not just for me but for the world of martial arts. Everything I am is because of jiu-jitsu and I’m excited for the world to hear my story.”

“Before Royce Gracie fought in the first UFC, the established fighting world was completely centered on boxing. As the world watched him defeat three fighting champions in one night using his family’s Gracie Jiu-Jitsu method, the UFC was born,” noted Tooley. “The significance of the moment was to the fight world what N.W.A releasing Straight Outta Compton was to the hip hop world – a seismic shift that gave birth to a new and profound genre.”

Remarked Gudegast, who has a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, “I have thought about telling this story for 25 years after witnessing UFC1 and being in awe of it, and at the same time having had the honor of training Brazilian jiu-jitsu and Vale Tudo with Royce’s family ever since. I believe what Royce accomplished that night is one of the most extraordinary athletic achievements of all time. He and his family are endlessly fascinating, as they embody a true samurai spirit that is from another time. I have nothing but absolute maximum respect for Royce as a man and warrior, and for all the Gracies as the Godfathers of martial arts.”

The Den Of Thieves director will be rejoined by Tucker Tooley Entertainment’s Tucker Tooley (Den of Thieves) who will produce. Gracie and Gudegast will exec produce along with Frederico Lapenda.

Gudegast is currently in production on upcoming sequel Den Of Thieves: Pantera, recently snapped up by Briarcliff Entertainment for U.S. release in L.A..

Read more at Deadline.

Lee B. Golden III

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Native New Yorker. Been writing for a long time now, and I enjoy what I do. Be nice to me!