Kevin James set for MMA-themed comedy film

Longtime mixed martial arts fan Kevin James will star in a comedy movie centered around the sport. The star of TV sitcom King of Queens as well as the films Hitch and Paul Blart: Mall Cop will play a school teacher forced to become a pro fighter in order to raise money and prevent cutbacks at the establishment. The picture is expected to go into production next year and will add to the illustrious canon of previous MMA feature films such as Never Back Down and Fighting.

Documentary epidemic sweeps MMA

Five documentaries about MMA fighters are due for release or are in the works. Georges St Pierre, Jens Pulver, Kyle Maynard, Jon Fitch and Evan Tanner are each the subject of five separate films highlighting their struggles and successes in the MMA world. GSP is featured alongside David Loiseau in The Striking Truth, a film that follows the two through their fighting journeys. Driven (pictured) documents the build-up to Jens Pulver’s final WEC bout. Kyle Maynard, congenital amputee and one-time MMA fighter, is the subject of A Fighting Chance, while Such Great Heights covers Jon Fitch’s training before his 2008 title shot against GSP. Finally, the life of the late Evan Tanner is told in Once I Was A Champion.

Georges St-Pierre felt like Barack Obama

UFC welterweight champion Georges St Pierre received such an enamored reception on a recent promotional trip to the Philippines that he likened the experience to being “the president of the United States”. In one experience, GSP explained that while stood on a balcony the traffic below actually stopped to catch a glimpse of the French Canadian. “It was insane,” confessed the champion. “I needed to have three bodyguards everywhere I went.”

UFC opens Asia office

The UFC has committed even further to its global expansion by opening a UFC Asia office in China. The Las Vegas company has even hired Mark Fischer, the former managing director of the NBA in Asia, as the man to lead MMA across the Pacific. “Our goal is to be in a billion households worldwide in the coming years,” said Fischer. “Asia is key to that growth because of the region’s aptitude in martial arts.” The UFC is already broadcast in China through Inner Mongolia Television and online via Sohu.com, a website used by two billion to view televised content.

...

Already Subscribed? | Login