UFC Fighters Who Are Most Likely to Have Movies Made About Their Lives

It was recently announced that a movie about UFC Featherweight Champion Jose Aldo's life was in the works.

With a movie about UFC fighter Matt Hamill also in progress, it appears that movies about MMA fighters' lives might be a growing trend.

With that thought in mind, I thought it would be interesting to look at which UFC fighters could have his life turned into an interesting movie.

When making my picks, I'll not only be basing it on how interesting their life is, but also how well known they are, for marketability's sake.

Dan Miller

Dan Miller may not be the biggest name in the promotion, but his life would make a good movie for a few reasons.

Miller comes from humble beginnings. He worked as a construction worker before entering mixed martial arts. Audiences always appreciate the story of an everyman he made it to the big time.

Dan's brother Jim is also a fighter under the UFC's employ, so Jim could be a side character.

Lastly, Dan's family life is both tragic and inspirational. His first child, a daughter, passed away in 2009.

Miller was scheduled to fight Chael Sonnen just five days after his daughter's death.

Most fighters would have pulled out of the bout, but Dan went ahead with his fight, knowing that his family needed the money. In a moment that he could have spent feeling sorry for himself and wallowing grief, Miller managed to put his family first and did what he had to do to provide for them.

Frank Mir

There are countless stories about professional athletes who suffer debilitating injuries and are forced to retire.

However, the list of athletes who have sustained potentially career-ending injuries and comeback from them to once again compete at the highest level of their sport is significantly shorter.

Frank Mir is one of the athletes that made the comeback.

In 2004, Mir was on top of the world. He was riding a four fight win streak and was the UFC's Heavyweight Champion.

Unfortunately, before he got the chance to defend his title, Frank was badly wounded in a motorcycle accident.

Mir broke his femur in two places and tore all the ligaments in his knee.

Coming back from his injury, Frank had rough time getting back into the swing of things. He lost two of his first three fights, but after that began to hit his stride and he is now back to being one of the top heavyweights in the world.

Mir's life would already make a good movie, but if he ever recaptures the UFC heavyweight championship (interim belt doesn't count), it would be a perfect story.

Jorge Rivera

In sports movies, especially combat sports movies, audiences like seeing the main character overcome adversity.

Jorge Rivera has overcome many adversities over the course of his life.

Growing up, Rivera's family didn't have a lot of money, so he comes from a poor neighborhood.

Jorge started fighting in 1997 and was undefeated as an amateur, with a victory over Tim Sylvia.

In 2002, Rivera and his wife divorced. At this point, Jorge almost had to go back to doing construction work because fighting wasn't paying his bills.

He decided that he would let the decision rest on his next fight. If he lost to Travis Lutter, he would retire. Fortunately, he won that fight and has been fighting ever since.

In 2008, Jorge's oldest daughter Janessa tragically passed away.

Rivera's story lacks a definitive climax that a story arc would need, but the fact that he has continued to compete despite the many set backs in his life is touching.

Rich Franklin

Rich Franklin is one of the most well known and beloved members of the UFC roster, so that helps the film's marketability right off the top.

Franklin's parents got divorced when he was five years old.

Before becoming a full time mixed martial artist, Rich earned a bachelor's degree in mathematics and a master's degree in education at the University of Cincinnati. He taught mathematics Oak Hills High school.

Franklin and American Fighter President Jeff Adler created the Keep It In The Ring foundation, which is a youth center that promotes non-violence and helps to build character.

February 21st, 2006, was named "Rich Franklin Day" by the mayor of Cincinnati.

Given the busy life Franklin has lead, plus the fact the he is former UFC champion, it would likely be very easy to write a movie based around his life.

Georges St-Pierre

Georges St-Pierre had a rough childhood; kids at school would beat him up and take his money and clothes.

This bullying, while likely traumatizing, was a blessing in disguise. GSP learned karate at the age of seven, so that he could defend himself at school. So, if it were not for those bullies, St-Pierre may never have entered mixed martial arts.

Before he started fighting professionally, Georges was a bouncer at a Montreal night club and he was also a garbageman.

GSP's life outside of fighting is interesting, but his life inside of fighting is what's truly remarkable.

Georges is arguably the fastest evolving fighter in the history of the sport. Before entering MMA he had never wrestled and now he is the best wrestler in the sport (in terms of adapted wrestling for MMA, not credentials).

St-Pierre is also one of the most popular fighters in the sport today, so that would definitely help to build the hype around the film.

Jens Pulver

I'm aware the Jens Pulver no longer competes in the UFC, but I'm including a few ex-UFC competitors in this list.

Jens fits the classic description of a competitor who had a rough upbringing and found solace in fighting.

However, Pulver's upbringing was a bit more rough than most. He was frequently abused as a child, mostly by his alcoholic father. At the age of seven Jens' dad put a gun in the young boy's mouth, threatening to fire it. He then removed the gun, saying that Jens wasn't worth the bullets.

A good story has big highs and big lows. Jens unfortunate and horrific childhood provides the low and winning the UFC lightweight championship, the high.

Paulo Thiago

Paulo Thiago fights in the UFC for recreation; it's like a hobby for him.

What sort of crazy and intense day job does this man have, that stepping into a cage with the best fighters in the world is fun for him, you ask?

Paulo is a member of the BOPE (Batalhão de Operações Especiais), the elite special police force in Brazil.

When Thiago isn't training, he is hunting down the most dangerous men in Brazil.

Sounds to me like this guy's life would make a hell of an exciting film.

Thiago Silva

Thiago Silva ran away from home at the age of 13, in order to escape from his violently abusive father.

He stayed with his grandmother, who lived one of the poorest neighborhoods in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Thiago has talked before about how different the poorest areas of the United States and the poorest areas of Brazil are.

His neighborhood was run by drug lords and he saw people die almost on a daily basis. Many of Silva's friends growing up ended up dead, or in jail.

Silva managed to avoid a life of crime by spending his time learning to fight.

To this day, he acknowledges how lucky he is to have made it out of that neighborhood, saying that very people get the opportunities that he did.

Roger Huerta

Roger Huerta's life has been a roller coaster.

His parents separated at an early age due to his father's drug abuse.

He lived with his mother after that, who was physically abusive. Roger used to show up to school covered in bruises.

Eventually, his bruises were noticed and he was temporarily put into foster care.

His mother lost a battle for custody of Roger and, as a result, took him and fled the country. He and his mom went to stay with Roger's grandparents in El Salvador. His mother abandoned him shortly after arriving their, leaving him in the care of his grand parents.

A year later, she returned, only to take Huerta to live with his father in Texas.

Roger was abused by his father and step father, both emotionally and physically, for a year before he was sent to live with his poverty stricken grandparents in Mexico.

His grandparents would frequently send Roger on the streets to sell picture frames to tourists.

Eventually his father came back and moved Roger to Rio Grande Valley to live with him and his step mom again. Huerta's dad split shortly after and Roger was subsequently kicked out by his step mom.

From then on, Roger spent years living on the streets and sleeping on rooftops and in alley ways.

Eventually, Huerta caught a long overdue break when a friend's mom gained custody of him and moved to Austin Texas. For once in his life, Roger was able to attend school regularly and get involved in sports.

A wrestling coach took notice of the young man and the rest is history.

Kimbo Slice

Kimbo Slice (Kevin Ferguson) have gone from backyard brawler to fighting for the largest mixed martial arts promotion in the world.

Kimbo has always been athletic. He attended the University of Miami on an athletic scholarship and he even tried out for the Miami Dolphins in 1997, but didn't make it to season play.

Similar to many MMA fighters, Slice has worked as a bouncer before making his fighting debut. He also worked as a limo driver and bodyguard Reality Kings, a Florida based pornography production/promotion company.

He became famous, world-wide, in 2003 he started uploading videos of him street fighting to YouTube.

The videos were wildly popular and gave him the fan base he needed to start a career in MMA and eventually make it the UFC.

Mirko Cro Cop

Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic has been a fighting his whole life.

He started professional kickboxing at the age of 21 and, at that time, had already accumulated a record of  40-5 as an amateur boxer.

Mirko competed as a kick boxer until 2003 and started his mixed martial arts career in 2001, which is still going to this day.

Give that he's been a full-time fighter since he was practically still a kid, you wouldn't think Cro Cop has had much time to do anything else with his life.

You'd be wrong.

He was once a commando in the Croatian police anti-terrorist unit Alpha and was also was also elected to a seat in the Croatian Parliament on the Social Democratic Party list.

Also, Mirko has a very devious and playful side to him that fans rarely get to see (see what I mean here). It would be interesting to see that side of him captured on film.

Chris Leben

Chris Leben's story has the potential to shed a lot of positive light on the sport of mixed martial arts.

Chris is most famous for being a caster member of the first ever season of The Ultimate Fighter.

He appeared very brash and, to an extent, immature when he started on the show.

The first night in The Ultimate Fighter house, Chris got drunk and urinated on another fighter's bed. Throughout the rest of his time on the show he earned a reputation as a bad boy with a short temper.

Since then, Chris has grown up a lot. He still fights with the UFC and is also a martial arts instructor at the ICON Fitness MMA gym in Hawaii.

Mixed martial arts doesn't get a lot of positive press and so a movie about a fighter who turned his life around and matured as a person because of the sport could be a good thing.

Matt Hughes

Matt Hughes' life can be summed up with a familiar phrase: "Hard work pays off."

That's a great family-friendly message for a movie to have.

Hughes grew up on a farm and spent much of his early life doing hard manual labor.

While that's not the way most kids want to grow up, it did instill Matt with a phenomenal work ethic, which proved to be invaluable.

When Hughes entered high school, he took that work ethic and put it into sports and the sport he was most active in was—you guessed it—wrestling.

Matt would go on to wrestle in college and become a NCAA Division I All-American.

As we all know, he used that wrestling base to transition into MMA and eventually became one of the most dominant champions in UFC history.

It also makes a lot of sense to make a movie about Hughes' life because he's one of the most popular figures the sport has ever seen and a member of the UFC Hall of Fame.

Chuck Liddell

Truth be told, Chuck Liddell's story isn't that different from a lot of the guys on this list, so I won't go into too much detail to avoid repetition.

Basically, he started in martial arts at a young age, was athletic growing up and wrestled in high school and college.

However, Chuck is way more likely to have a movie made than most other fighters because he is probably the most recognizable figure in UFC history and also one of the most dominant champions.

Brian Stann

From decorated military hero to professional fighter; Brian Stann has one heck of a story to tell.

Brian enrolled in the United States Naval Academy in 1999 as a member of the class of 2003. Upon graduating he was assigned as in infantry officer in the United States Marine Corp, where he would eventually rise to the rank of captain.

On May 8, 2005, Captain Stann was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marines and he commanded the 2nd Mobile Assault Platoon.

While taking part in Opertation Matador, Stann's unit was attacked by insurgents. Brian and his men were forced to hold their position for six days, while Stann coordinated air and tank support. Eventually help came, and he and his troops were relieved. All 42 members of Stann's platoon survived the ordeal.

Due to his bravery, Brian was awarded a Silver Star, which is the Unites States' third highest award for valor in combat.

Marine officials have gone on record saying that they use Stann's story when trying to recruiting tool.

Brian has used the hand to hand combat skills he learned with the marines as a base to transition into mixed martial arts and is currently making a run towards the UFC's middleweight belt, riding a three fight win streak.

Evan Tanner

"Evan was kind of a scientist in that way," said his sister Paige Craig. "He never really wanted to take anything at face value. He always wanted to explore for the truth. That was the test of true intelligence... A quest for true understanding rather than simply accepting what you're given."

The above quote is from Evan Tanner's sister, speaking about her departed brother.

Evan was an interesting and intelligent human being. Whether he was more of a fight or a philosopher, I cannot decide.

He said once that his favorite part of being a professional is that his voice could be heard and, because of that, he had the potential to change the world.

Throughout his life, Tanner was always chasing new challenges and, as a result, never spent much time with one job, or living in one place.

"And to think, there are still places in the world where man has not been, where he has left no footprints, where the mysteries stand secure, untouched by human eyes. I want to go to these places, the quiet, timeless, ageless places, and sit, letting silence and solitude be my teachers,"

Above is a quote from Evan that really captures his adventurous spirit.

In the Summer of 2008, Tanner set out on an adventure in the desert from which he would never return.

While hiking back to his camp, still some miles away from it, Evan stopped to refill his water at a nearby spring. However, the spring was unexpectedly dry and he succumbed to heat exposure before he could make it back to his camp.

A movie about Tanner's life could help him to achieve his goal of changing the world.

Brock Lesnar

There's nothing particularly interesting about Brock Lesnar's childhood, but his adult has been pretty eventful.

Brock started out his career as a professional athlete in the WWE, where he quickly became a superstar and captured world championships.

However, Brock eventually got sick of always being in spotlight, as well professional wrestling's inability to provide him with real competition.

Lesnar left the WWE in 2004, in order to pursue a career in the NFL. He played in the preseason for the Minnesota Vikings, but ended up being a late cut and did not see season play.

From there, he decided to pursue a career in MMA, using his college wrestling skills as a base for the transformation.

Similarly to when he decided to play football, people criticized Lesnar's move into MMA and said that he would never be successful.

Never one to let the haters get him down, Brock proved everybody wrong. He earned a UFC contract after just one professional fight, due to his undeniable marketability.

In just his forth professional fight, Lesnar took on UFC legend Randy Couture for the heavyweight champion and won the fight by second round TKO.

Randy Couture

Randy Couture one of the most inspirational figures in the sport.

There are so many reasons this guy's life could be a movie, it's ridiculous.

He was a member of the U.S army from 1982-88 and rose to the rank of sergeant.

Couture was three-time Olympic alternate for the USA's wrestling team.

He is a five time UFC champion and one of very few athletes to retire, then un-retire, and be legitimately successful in doing so.

Oh, he's also an actor and has starred in several major motion pictures, the most notable being the 2010 blockbuster The Expendables.

Forrest Griffin

Forrest Griffin's story is one of great importance to the world of MMA, as he was a participant in the most important fight in the sport's history.

The movie could be promoted as, "The story of a man who brought mixed martial arts from relative obscurity, to the forefront of the sports entertainment industry".

That might be a bit of an exaggerated description, but hey, it's Hollywood right? That's what they do.

The fight I'm talking about, of course, is Forrest Griffin vs Stephan Bonnar, which was the the finale fight for the first season of The Ultimate Fighter.

The two men put on such a show that the ratings for the program shot up exponentially throughout the course of just that fight, as people called their friends and family, imploring them to tune in.

Griffin does also have a pretty interesting back story that could serve as the lead up to that momentous event.

Before entering a career in fighting, Forrest was a law enforcement officer for the Richmond County Sheriff's office in Augusta, Georgia and anyone who's read his book "Got Fight" knows that Forrest has some great stories that would translate well into film.

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira's story is one of overcoming the odds to reach your fullest potential.

At just nine years old, Antonio was run over by a truck and almost lost his life.

He was in a coma for 25 days, lost a rib and part of his liver and was hospitalized for 11 months.

While Nogueira was lucky just to survive the incident, it was thought that he would never be able to walk again.

However, Rodrigo would defy the odds and ended up retaining the full use of his legs.

From then on, Nogueira would become extremely versed in martial arts, training boxing, judo and Brazilian jiu jitsu.

He eventually entered mixed martial arts and would go on to become one of the most successful heavyweights of all-time.

Nog earned a reputation for being able to absorb inhuman amounts of punishment, but given that he was able to survive the encounter with a truck at nine years old, it's not the least bit surprising that mere men had trouble putting him away.