Movies like Knuckles
The best movies like Knuckles are The Quest (1996), Never Back Down (2008) and Never Back Down 2: The Beatdown (2011). If Knuckles hooked you with its action and drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedRaging Bull (1980)7.9/10 from 4,976 votes
- NewestBeast (2026)Released 2026
The Quest (1996)
Ghang-gheng, the ancient winner-take-all competition in which the deadliest fighters from around the world employ the most spectacular feats of martial arts skills ever displayed in order to win the prized Golden Dragon. But fighting prowess alone will not be enough for Chris to triumph over such daunting foes.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNever Back Down (2008)
Jake, full of anger after his father's death, is just starting to find a place for himself at his new Orlando high school - until Ryan, head of an underground MMA fight club, picks Jake out as a prime opponent. After being trounced by Ryan in front of the entire school, Jake begins training under the firm, moral guidance of a MMA master, where he learns how to fight... and how to avoid a fight. But it becomes obvious that a rematch will be inevitable if Jake wants to stop Ryan and his bullying, once and for all.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNever Back Down 2: The Beatdown (2011)
Four fighters from different backgrounds come together to train under an ex MMA rising star and then ultimately have to fight each other and the traitor in their midst.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWarrior (2011)
The youngest son of an alcoholic former boxer returns home, where he's trained by his father for competition in a mixed martial arts tournament – a path that puts the fighter on a collision course with his estranged, older brother.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisJawbone (2017)
A former youth boxing champion, Jimmy McCabe is a man in search of hope but looking in all the wrong places. When he hits rock bottom he turns to his childhood boxing club and the only family he has left: gym owner Bill corner man Eddie and promoter Joe. Back in training, years after anyone thought he was a contender, he risks his life, as he tries to stand tall and regain his place in the world.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLife After Fighting (2024)
Retired martial arts world champion Alex Faulkner has settled into a simple life, when the disappearance of two of his students leads to an unthinkable discovery close to home. Just when all hope of finding the children is lost, he locates the imprisoned girls and unsurfaces an international child trafficking operation, which draws him back into the fight of his life against those behind it.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBlood and Bone (2009)
In Los Angeles, an ex-con takes the underground fighting world by storm in his quest to fulfill a promise to a dead friend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisEmbattled (2020)
The eldest son of a ruthlessly tough MMA champion must fight his way out of the abusive cycle his father has continued.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisParadise Alley (1978)
Three Italian-American brothers, living in the slums of 1940's New York City, try to help each other with one's wrestling career using one brother's promotional skills and another brother's con-artist tactics to thwart a sleazy manager.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisBeast (2026)
MMA legend Patton James, now a commercial fisherman, is pulled back into the cage when his brother is in danger. Reuniting with his old coach Sammy, he commits to one final fight in one championship against the brutal champion Xavier Grau.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDamage (2009)
An ex-con battles it out in the cage to pay for the operation that would save the daughter of his victim. Along the way he finds fatherly love, and friendship, in the most unlikely of places.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNext of Kin (1989)
Truman Gates, a Chicago cop, sets out to find his brother's killer. Meanwhile, another of his brothers, Briar (a hillbilly) decides to find the killer himself.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisOut of the Furnace (2013)
Two brothers live in the economically-depressed Rust Belt, when a cruel twist of fate lands one in prison. His brother is then lured into one of the most violent crime rings in the Northeast.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHard Times (1975)
In the depression, Chaney, a strong silent streetfighter, joins with Speed, a promoter of no-holds-barred street boxing bouts. They go to New Orleans where Speed borrows money to set up fights for Chaney, but Speed gambles away any winnings.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGladiator Underground (2025)
Two brothers compete in the world's deadliest underground fighting tournament, where they must decide whether to play by the rules or to cast their honor aside and team up to bring down the dark syndicate running the tournament.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDead Man's Shoes (2004)
A soldier returns to his small town and exacts a deadly revenge on the thugs who tormented his disabled brother while he was away.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRaging Bull (1980)
The life of boxer Jake LaMotta, whose violence and temper that led him to the top in the ring destroyed his life outside of it.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisAvengement (2019)
While on a prison furlough, a lowly criminal evades his guards and returns to his old stomping ground to take revenge on the people who turned him into a cold blooded killer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFoxcatcher (2014)
The greatest Olympic Wrestling Champion brother team joins Team Foxcatcher led by multimillionaire sponsor John E. du Pont as they train for the 1988 games in Seoul - a union that leads to unlikely circumstances.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDefiance (2008)
Based on a true story, during World War II, four Jewish brothers escape their Nazi-occupied homeland of West Belarus in Poland and join the Soviet partisans to combat the Nazis. The brothers begin the rescue of roughly 1,200 Jews still trapped in the ghettos of Poland.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLegends of the Fall (1994)
In early 20th-century Montana, Col. William Ludlow lives on a ranch in the wilderness with his sons, Alfred, Tristan, and Samuel. Eventually, the unconventional but close-knit family are bound by loyalty, tested by war, and torn apart by love, as told over the course of several decades in this epic saga.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Tale of Two Sisters (2003)
Two sisters return home after a stay in a mental institution, only to face disturbing events and a strained relationship with their stepmother. As eerie occurrences unfold, dark family secrets begin to surface, blurring the line between reality and nightmare.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Quiet Man (1952)
An American man returns to the village of his birth in Ireland, where he finds love and conflict.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Night of the Hunter (1955)
In Depression-era West Virginia, a serial-killing preacher hunts two young children who know the whereabouts of a stash of money.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAlien³ (1992)
After escaping with Newt and Hicks from the alien planet, Ripley crash lands on Fiorina 161, a prison planet and host to a correctional facility. Unfortunately, although Newt and Hicks do not survive the crash, a more unwelcome visitor does. The prison does not allow weapons of any kind, and with aid being a long time away, the prisoners must simply survive in any way they can.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDOA: Dead or Alive (2006)
Four beautiful rivals at an invitation-only martial-arts tournament join forces against a sinister threat. Princess Kasumi is an aristocratic warrior trained by martial-arts masters. Tina Armstrong is a wrestling superstar. Helena Douglas is an athlete with a tragic past. Christie Allen earns her keep as a thief and an assassin-for-hire.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action
SnoozefestMovies like thisFaith (2019)
A devout Evangelical Christian struggles with his faith and against the insistent pressures from his family and community after a sudden and unexpected tragedy.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
After All (2017)
After All is said and done. A man clears out his childhood home, remembering past conversations.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Mandy (2018)
The Shadow Mountains, 1983. Red and Mandy lead a loving and peaceful existence; but when their pine-scented haven is savagely destroyed, Red is catapulted into a phantasmagoric journey filled with bloody vengeance and laced with fire.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Knuckles?
The closest matches to Knuckles are The Quest (1996), Never Back Down (2008) and Never Back Down 2: The Beatdown (2011). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Knuckles?
Start with The Quest (1996), the closest match to Knuckles.
What is the highest-rated movie like Knuckles?
Raging Bull (1980), rated 7.9/10 by 4,976 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Knuckles?
Beast (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Knuckles?
Yes: The Quest (1996), Never Back Down (2008) and Never Back Down 2: The Beatdown (2011).
How are movies similar to Knuckles chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Knuckles, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.