Nick Jonas MMA series: Are the cast of 'Kingdom' real UFC fighters?

Nick Jonas of the Jonas brothers starred in an MMA-based series called Kingdom that aired on DirecTV from 2014 to 2017. The story spans over three seasons and revolves around the lives of a group of fighters from an MMA gym in California.

Jonas features as Nathaniel (Nate) Kulina, a young gay fighter from a family of fighters with his father Alvey being the head honcho of the gym.

The show also stars Jonathan Tucker, Matt Lauria, Kiele Sanchez, Joanna Going and Frank Grillo, who has been a lifelong combat sports enthusiast. However, the primary cast of Kingdom doesn't have any professional fighters and naturally none from the UFC.

In preparation for the show, the cast trained under former UFC fighter Joe Stevenson, who also made screen appearances as coach 'Daddy'. Jon Jones' longtime coach Greg Jackson of the JacksonWink MMA gym also helped coreograph fight scenes.

Meanwhile, former Bellator bantamweight champion Juan Archuleta helped train Matt Lauria, who plays the role of champion Ryan Wheeler.

---

UFC fighters featured as Nick Jonas' opponents in Kingdom

While the primary cast of Kingdom didn't have any pro fighters, several UFC personalities made guest appearances on the show. UFC veteran and Hall of Famer Cub Swanson appeared as one of Nick Jonas' opponents in the very first season.

Former UFC lightweight Diego Sanchez, who is set to make his BKFC debut this Friday, was another opponent of Nick Jonas' Nate Kulina character in season 3. Former UFC flyweight title contender Joseph Benavidez also made an appearance in season 2.

Another UFC veteran who is now a bare knuckle fighter, Pearl Gonazalez, appeared as a fighter in one of the episodes of season 2. Meanwhile, former UFC Hall of Famer Matt Hughes and former fighter turned color commentator Kenny Florian have made multiple appearances.

According to producer Byron Balasco, it was imperative that the fights didn't look staged. Hence, he decided to cast real MMA fighters as opponents for his actors.

"We hire real MMA fighters to fight with them so we don’t have to use a lot of stunt doubles. It feels real, and it feels more emotional."(h/t Deadline)