It’s been a long 25 years since Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) burst onto the scene back in 1993, and now the story of how it all began will be headed to Hollywood.
According to Deadline, a UFC origins story focusing on co-founder Rorian Gracie is in the works and will highlight how Gracie and Co. got the wheels turning to change the world of combat sports forever.
From the report:
Mandalay Sports Media through its IMG joint venture has set a feature film about the formation of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Robert Specland will write Gracie, a drama that will tell the story of how the Brazilian jiu-jitsu legend Rorion Gracie co-founded the UFC as a way to give traction to a new martial arts form. The film will be produced by MSM’s Mike Tollin and Mason Gordon, and Mark Ciardi and Gordon Gray.
But will it be better than this?
Of course, IMG is under the Endeavor umbrella, the new ownership group who ponied up over $4 billion a few years ago to take over the promotion. And though the promotion is now a multi-billion dollar company, that wasn’t always the case as UFC — and the sport of mixed martial arts (MMA) overall — struggled to gain acceptance during its infancy stages, though it did make its way to pay-per-view (PPV) thanks to Campbell McLaren and SEG.
Something, I’m sure, will be highlighted in the film.
No stranger to the Hollywood scene, Rorian choreographed fight scenes for Lethal Weapon long before his and Art Davie’s brain child actually came to be. Along with all of his unmatched Brazilian jiu-jitsu accolades, Gracie is also an author and producer, as well.
According to the report, given Endeavor’s ties with UFC, “Gracie” is considered a “priority project,” which means we could see it in theaters sooner, rather than later.