Lights, Camera, Action (2024)

Earning a spot in a major motion picture is a dream come true for many athletes. That includes those who call themselves MMA fighters. Over the years, several movies with a focus on mixed martial arts have been made. But for those current and former MMA, UFC fighters listed below, they found their role in ones mostly away from the cage.

As Niko in Here Comes the Boom, Rutten stays true to his fighter personality. He is of Dutch heritage in search of U.S. citizenship. A former MMA fighter and trainer, Rutten stars with Kevin James and Henry Winkler. Bruce Buffer, Joe Rogan, Chael Sonnen, and Herb Dean are also in the American sports comedy.

Rutten is a former UFC heavyweight champion, three-time King of Pancrase champion, and went unbeaten over his last 22 fights. He also served as the co-host of Inside MMA and has appeared in several low-budget films.

As Ryan Hong, Le co-stars alongside Jean-Claude Van Damme in the 2012 American martial arts film, Dragon Eyes. Director John Hyams saw enough out of Le to make him a key piece to the film which also sees Peter Weller, Dan Henderson, and Rich Clementi appear.

His film resume also features roles in Tekken, a film inspired by the popular martial arts game, and films such as Pandorum, Fighting, and Bodyguards and Assassins. Le was a champion in Strikeforce and also kickboxing, earning numerous other titles during his career. He was a California amateur wrestling champion.

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Cerrone is in the 2020 film Spenser Confidential, which is available on Netflix. From director Peter Berg, the film stars Mark Wahlberg, Winston Duke, and Alan Arkin among others.

“Cowboy” stars opposite fellow former MMA fighter Gina Carano in the 2022 Daily Wire film Terror on the Plane. He plays Jeb McAllister, husband to Carano’s character, Hattie McAllister. Known as the “fight-night bonus machine,” Cerrone scored a UFC/WEC record 23 during his career. A member of the UFC Hall of Fame, he owns a mark of 36-17 that includes 27 finishes.

It might not be a big role, but when you are in a Marvel blockbuster, you take credit for it. Usman plays a naval officer in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. The 2022 film stars Letitia Wright, Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira, and Winston Duke. It grossed over $850 million at the box office.

An NCAA Div. II national wrestling champion, Usman won the UFC welterweight title in 2019 and made five defenses. He lost the belt to Leon Edwards in 2022 and was unsuccessful in his rematch. Overall, he is 20-4 with 10 finishes.

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In 2010, an elite group of men assembled to form the new A-Team. Taking the place of Mr. T was Quinton “Rampage” Jackson. The A-Team is an American action comedy based on the 1980s television series. Along with Jackson, the film stars Bradley Cooper, Liam Neeson, and Jessica Biel.

Jackson, a UFC light heavyweight champion, retired after a 2019 loss to Fedor Emelianenko. He won 38 fights overall including over the likes of Wanderlei Silva, Lyoto Machida, Dan Henderson, and Chuck Liddell.

Air Force One, Bad Boys II, and National Treasure are just a small handful of the films Taktarov appears in. His acting career dates back to 1997 and continues to this very day. He has also been in numerous television shows including NCIS and Alias. In fact, Taktarov stars as the leading actor in the Russian television series Ex-Wife.

Inside the cage, he was the UFC 6 tournament winner and finished 17-5-2 overall with wins over Mark Kerr, Tank Abbott, and bouts with Renzo Gracie, Ken Shamrock, and Dan Severn. In 2007, he had a five-round exhibition boxing match with none other than Dolph Lundgren.

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He might not be Vin Diesel, but Bisping appears in the Diesel film XXX: Return of Xander Cage. The 2017 film grossed over $346 million and also stars Donnie Yen and Ruby Rose. Bisping plays Hawk, who supports Yen’s xXx agent character, Xiang. “The Count” also plays Roy Shaw in the British sports drama My Name Is Lenny, which came out in 2017.

A former UFC middleweight champion, Bisping was 30-9 overall with wins over Dan Henderson, Luke Rockhold, Anderson Silva, and Cung Le. He also won The Ultimate Fighter 3 as a light heavyweight. In terms of English UFC fighters, he is at the top.

She made a splash as one of the faces of mixed martial arts but Carano really stood out in her acting. She plays Riley Hicks in the 2013 film Fast & Furious 6 which came after her starring role in Haywire as Mallory Kane. Carano plays Angel Dust in the 2016 hit Deadpool along with several direct-to-video releases.

Her fighting career came to an end in 2009 after losing to Cris Cyborg for the inaugural Strikeforce featherweight title. Prior to that, Carano had won all seven of her pro bouts.

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Speaking of those who brought women’s MMA to the forefront, Rousey transitions nicely from judo to MMA to films to pro wrestling. Her first role was in The Expendables 3 in 2014 before appearing in Furious 7 a year later. Rousey’s career could have been much different had plans for the Road House remake gone through in 2016 before being canceled. That role would go to Conor McGregor years later.

Rousey was 12-2 in her MMA career, winning her first dozen fights. She holds wins over Miesha Tate, Alexis Davis, Cat Zingano, Liz Carmouche, and Sarah Kaufman. She retired from the WWE after a 2016 loss to Amanda Nunes.

Speaking of Road House, McGregor is the star of the film according to many. Jake Gyllenhaal is the main attraction, but “Notorious” does an excellent job in his role as the adversary. The film made a direct-to-release stream on Amazon Prime and is one of the most-watched films on the service.

He is the first fighter to hold multiple weight division titles in UFC history as a former featherweight and lightweight champion. McGregor holds numerous high-water marks for pay-per-view buys and figures when it comes to UFC fighters.