UFC 140: What Movies Would Lyoto Machida, Tito Ortiz and Other MMA Fighters Be?

MMA fighters and movies. Nothing in common? Think again.

The sport of MMA has been host to many a personality as well as actions that define a career forever.

If the fighters with these personality traits or involved in these (in)famous actions were to be paired with a well known movie, what movie would it be?

Lyoto Machida: The Karate Kid

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon or some other martial arts film may have been more fitting for Karate master Lyoto Machida, but this video depicting Machida and his UFC opponent Jon Jones in the climax of The Karate Kid film gives me no other choice but to pair Machida up with this '80s classic.

Tank Abbott: Every Which Way but Loose

Why pair up Tank Abbott with a lesser-known Clint Eastwood movie?

Because Abbott was given his "Tank" moniker from the brawler character, Tank Murdock, in Every Which Way But Loose. He fits the grizzled, street brawler character well—perhaps too well for his own good!

Alex Caceres: The Last Dragon

Alex Caceres is an avid fan of Bruce Lee and is even nicknamed "Bruce Leroy" after the supposed name of the protagonist from The Last Dragon.

Unfortunately for Caceres, his film counterpart seems to be a little more skilled. Nevertheless, Caceres and this film are a great match.

Akihiro Gono: Rocky Horror Picture Show

I think the picture sort of explains this one, no?

Tito Ortiz and Rich Franklin: Last of the Mohicans

What do Tito Ortiz, Rich Franklin and besieged Native Americans have in common?

Nothing really.

However, Ortiz and Franklin, like Uncas and Chingachgook in the film The Last of the Mohicans, are the last of a dying breed. Ortiz is one of the last old-school UFC champions to still be fighting in the UFC.

Their contemporaries like Chuck Liddell, BJ Penn, and Matt Hughes have since retired, leaving Ortiz and Franklin as the last of the metaphorical Mohicans in the UFC.

Michael Bisping: Any James Bond Movie

The James Bond franchise is really the only successful British film franchise that Americans pay any attention to.

Just so, Michael Bisping is really the only successful British fighter that Americans pay any attention to (although this attention is largely negative).

Jon Fitch: The Dark Knight

Why does a fighter as unpopular as Jon Fitch get such a highly regarded film?

Well, let's just say that Fitch is the fighter that MMA deserves, but not the one it needs right now, meaning that Fitch is unappreciated in this time despite being a very skilled and accomplished fighter. 

This is akin to how Batman was hated in The Dark Knight after the Joker began terrorizing Gotham, truly making Fitch one of MMA's most interesting yet tragic characters (the topic of why the Jon Fitch issue is so complicated has been covered in detail previously).

Georges St.Pierre: Grease

Georges St.Pierre vs. BJ Penn II will go down in history not because of herculean efforts made by either man but because of allegations that St.Pierre was cheating by having Vaseline rubbed on his back to negate Penn's guard (read: greasing).

Whether or not the accusations are true, it's a stigma that has mired St.Pierre since that fight (some even snidely joke that the "G" in GSP stands for grease).

Thus, as a joke and a slight jab at St.Pierre's expense, he is matched up with Grease.

Keith Jardine: Grease 2

Keith Jardine, teammates with St.Pierre at Greg Jackson's esteemed gym, was also once accused of greasing at an event in the Dominican Republic.

However, no one really cared because Jardine wasn't that important anyway and was a flop, like the monumental cinematic failure Grease 2. But also like Grease 2, Jardine has a group of cult followers who think he's great.

Randy Couture: Rocky Balboa

Like the titular Rocky in the final installment of the franchise, Randy Couture was still able to impress audiences and please fans even at his advanced age for MMA competition.

Frankie Edgar: Rocky I-V

UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar is the modern-day incarnation of Rocky.

He takes a tremendous amount of abuse yet has the heart and determination (and most importantly, the chin) to come back and win the fight despite being the perennial underdog.