Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) in Never Back Down

It’s the fastest growing sport in the US. Its number one organisation, the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) dominates pay-per-view programming and networks CBS and NBC have eagerly signed deals with other outfits. It boasts over 3 million websites dedicated to it and has graced the covers of top sports magazines such as Sports Illustrated and ESPN: The Magazine. And yet Hollywood has been slow to realise the phenomenon known as Mixed Martial Arts (MMA).

Some credit this lack of interest to Republican presidential candidate, John McCain condemning it as “human cock-fighting” back in 1996, while others consider that the combat sport is uncinematic. Author and Oscar-nominated screenwriter, David Mamet wrote in a Playboy article from 2006 that it “is not dramatic. It is just effective.” Still, Mamet clearly thought there were ways around this, having written and directed Redbelt, a MMA film starring Chiwetel Ejiofor (alongside celebrated Mixed Martial artists Randy Couture and Enson Inoue) that received strong reviews upon its American release and hits UK cinemas on 26th September.

Sharing Mamet’s enthusiasm for MMA is writer Chris Hauty, a fan of the combat sport whose creative juices were triggered by his son’s stories of school yard fights being filmed on mobile phones and uploaded to the Internet. A little online research confirmed that this street-fighting, often showing signs of trained expertise, was a growing trend, one that could allow him to realise a personal ambition to “do something with Mixed Martial Arts… about physical excellence and discipline.” This “something” became Never Back Down.