5 MMA-themed movies you need to see

#4 Here Comes The Boom (2012)

Up until 2012, MMA movies had always been deadly serious affairs – even Never Back Down was only ever unintentionally funny. That all changed with the release of Here Comes The Boom, a comedy-drama starring longtime MMA fan Kevin James – a man who can often be seen in the crowd at big UFC events.

The story of Here Comes The Boom is a relatively simple one. James plays Scott Voss – a former Division I collegiate wrestler and now a biology teacher, desperate to raise $48,000 to save the music programme at his school. This leads him to a scheme involving a former MMA fighter (former UFC champ Bas Rutten) training him to fight – and lose – in a UFC fight, earning $10,000 in the process.

Of course, things go a little awry and it turns out Voss needs to win the fight to earn a $50,000 purse instead. Naturally, you can guess which way the fight between Voss and UFC fighter Ken Dietrich (Krzysztof Soszynski) goes, but while the ending is more clichéd than even Warrior’s final scene, the fights in the movie are a lot of fun and despite clearly being out of shape, James pulls off his role well.

The only problem? The movie isn’t as funny as it would hope to be, meaning a lot of its impact is lost behind the loud music and fight scenes. But with official UFC endorsement – the final fight takes place on a fictional UFC 176 card – and Rutten playing his role brilliantly, it’s probably worth a watch for MMA fans.