Mixed Martial Arts (MMA)

Currently the fastest-growing sport in the world thanks to the billion-dollar UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) and figureheads such as Conor McGregor and Ronda Rousey (next starring in the Roadhouse remake), MMA’s influence is being felt throughout film and TV, with Never Back Down, Fighting, Warrior, Kingdom and Entourage all using the sport as a significant backdrop. Tough to get fighting fit for?

Legendary MMA coach Greg Jackson trained Warrior stars Tom Hardy, Joel Edgerton and Frank Grillo. “In the past, martial arts had largely been portrayed as an underground thing, with a kind of cock-fighting reputation,” says Jackson. “Warrior is as accurate as any movie can get about MMA. It shows how martial arts can be a healing thing and not just a tool of violence. It has all these great messages in it that really resonated with me.”

Jackson trained the actors as he would a real MMA fighter, meaning a typical day would consist of two hours of boxing, followed by two hours of kickboxing and Muay Thai, two hours of fight choreography and two hours of weightlifting, all while sticking to a “clean” diet of pulled pork, chicken, broccoli, protein shakes and amino acids to help ease aching limbs post workout. He also made them face ‘The Hill Of Tears’ – a gruelling run up a rugged 8000-foot New Mexico incline in temperatures of up to 100°F.

By the end of the eight week training course, the guys were fully qualified, with both having gained over 20lbs of muscle. “They did it,” Greg says proudly. “They did well with the grappling, the striking, with everything, really. They emerged actual mixed martial artists.”