Movies like UFC 1: The Beginning (1993)
The best movies like UFC 1: The Beginning (1993) are Never Back Down 2: The Beatdown (2011), Cagefighter: Worlds Collide (2020) and Never Back Down: No Surrender (2016). If UFC 1: The Beginning hooked you with its action, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedTouching the Void (2003)7.6/10 from 487 votes
- NewestLion Fist (2026)Released 2026
Never 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 action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCagefighter: Worlds Collide (2020)
Reiss is the greatest champion to ever fight in a LEGENDS cage. But when promoter Max Black pits him against wrestling superstar Randy Stone, Reiss finds himself in the toughest fight of his life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNever Back Down: No Surrender (2016)
Picking up after the events of Never Back Down 2, former MMA champion Case Walker is on the comeback trail to become champion once again.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBorn a Champion (2021)
After a blood- soaked jujitsu match in Dubai, fighting legend Mickey Kelley falls to superstar Blaine. But years later, an online video proves that Blaine cheated, and the world demands a rematch. Can the aging underdog get back into shape in time to vanquish his foe, get revenge, and claim his prize?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies 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
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFemale Fight Squad (2017)
A former fighter reluctantly returns to the life she abandoned in order to help her sister survive the sadistic world of illegal fighting and the maniac who runs it.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisShootfighter: Fight to the Death (1993)
Nick and Ruben are hoodwinked into a "shootfighter" (no-holds-barred, to the death) martial arts match by the evil Mr. Lee, who has a grudge against world shootfighter champ(and teacher of Nick and Ruben) Shingo.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies 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
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWWE Wrestlemania XXVI (2010)
WrestleMania XXVI was the twenty-sixth annual WrestleMania PPV and was presented by Slim Jim. It took place on March 28, 2010 at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. The first main event was a No DQ, no count-out match that featured The Undertaker versus Shawn Michaels. The second was a singles match for the WWE Championship that saw Batista defend the championship against John Cena. The third was a singles match for the World Heavyweight Championship featured the champion, Chris Jericho, defending against Edge for the title. Featured matches on the undercard included a 10-Diva tag team match, Bret Hart versus Vince McMahon in a No Holds Barred match, Rey Mysterio versus CM Punk, Triple H versus Sheamus, the sixth annual Money in the Bank ladder match, a Triple Threat match between Randy Orton, Ted DiBiase, and Cody Rhodes, and a WWE Tag Team Championship match between Big Show and The Miz, against John Morrison and R-Truth.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both 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
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLion Fist (2026)
Martial arts fighter Joe goes to prison for four years and takes his wife's blame for a drug bust. After his release, he learns that his son needs expensive surgery because of a life-threatening tumor. Joe's only chance to save him: a brutal all-styles tournament with a $100,000 prize.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNever Back Down: Revolt (2021)
An amateur fighter is lured by a trafficking syndicate specializing in elite underground fighting where her brutal captor forces her to fight or face certain death.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
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 thisFighting (2009)
Small-town boy Shawn MacArthur has come to New York City with nothing. Barely earning a living selling counterfeit goods on the streets, his luck changes when scam artist Harvey Boarden sees that he has a natural talent for streetfighting. When Harvey offers Shawn help at making the real cash, the two form an uneasy partnership.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisIn the Blood (2014)
When her husband goes missing during their Caribbean vacation, a woman sets off on her own to take down the men she thinks are responsible.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
SnoozefestMovies like thisWWE WrestleMania 31 (2015)
WrestleMania 31 was the thirty-first annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by WWE. It took place on March 29, 2015, at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Tournament (2009)
Every seven years, in an unsuspecting town, The Tournament takes place. A battle royale between 30 of the world's deadliest assassins. The last man standing receives the $10,000,000 cash prize and the title of World's No. 1 Assassin, which itself carries the legendary million dollar-a-bullet price tag.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Last Kumite (2024)
When shady businessman Ron Hall kidnaps his daughter, retired karate champion Michael Rivers is forced to enter a deadly illegal Kumite tournament in Bulgaria. Enlisting the help of seasoned trainers Master Loren and Julie Jackson, he discovers other fighters face the same desperate struggle to save their loved ones.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWWE WrestleMania XXX (2014)
WrestleMania XXX was the 30th annual WrestleMania professional wrestling PPV event produced by WWE to be held, on April 6, 2014, at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. The event was the first WrestleMania to be held in the state of Louisiana. This was also the first WWE pay-per-view to broadcast live on the WWE Network service.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisLady Bloodfight (2016)
Jane is a beautiful but troubled American girl backpacking through Japan, when her raw street fighting skills draw the attention of Oshima, Japanese karate champion, who recruits and trains her to fight in the vicious, all-female, underground martial arts tournament known as "The Kumite". After months of rigorous preparation, Jane is ready to face off against the deadliest female fighters in the world, including Ling, the Chinese apprentice of Oshima's nemesis. But other nefarious forces lie in the shadows, and Jane and Ling will have to unite on a journey that will take them from the gritty underworld of Hong Kong to the glitz of Macao, before deciding who really is the best female fighter on the planet.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTouching the Void (2003)
The true story of Joe Simpson and Simon Yates' disastrous and nearly-fatal mountain climb of 6,344m Siula Grande in the Cordillera Huayhuash in the Peruvian Andes in 1985.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisEddie (1996)
Eddie is a New York limo driver and a fanatical follower of the New York Knicks professional basketball team. The team is struggling with a mediocre record when, in mid-season, "Wild Bill" Burgess, the new owner, as a public relations gimmick, stages an 'honorary coach' contest, which Eddie wins. The fans love it, so "Wild Bill" fires the coach and hires her. She takes the bunch of overpaid prima
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Next Karate Kid (1994)
Mr. Miyagi decides to take Julie, a troubled teenager, under his wing after he learns that she blames herself for her parents' demise and struggles to adjust with her grandmother and fellow pupils.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action
SnoozefestMovies like thisUFC Fight Night 215: Nzechukwu vs. Cuțelaba (2022)
A heavyweight bout between former UFC Heavyweight Championship challenger Derrick Lewis and Sergey Spivak was expected to headline the event. However, while the event was in progress, Lewis was forced to withdraw due to non-COVID, non-weight cutting illness and the bout was cancelled. As a result, Kennedy Nzechukwu and Ion Cuțelaba instead headlined the event. Kennedy Nzechukwu vs. Ion Cuțelaba (Light Heavyweight) Chase Sherman vs. Waldo Cortes-Acosta (Heavyweight) André Fialho vs. Muslim Salikhov (Welterweight) Jack Della Maddalena vs. Danny Roberts (Welterweight) Charles Johnson vs. Zhalgas Zhumagulov (Flyweight)
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action
Bloodsport (1988)
An American Army Major goes AWOL to Hong Kong for an outlawed martial arts contest called the Kumite.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisShaolin Soccer (2001)
A young Shaolin follower reunites with his discouraged brothers to form a soccer team using their martial art skills to their advantage.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisUFC 214: Cormier vs. Jones 2 (2017)
UFC 214: Cormier vs. Jones 2 is a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on July 29, 2017 at Honda Center in Anaheim, California.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action
UFC on Fox 25: Weidman vs Gastelum (2017)
UFC on Fox 25: Weidman vs Gastelum was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on July 22, 2017 at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York. The event was headlined by a middleweight bout between former UFC Middleweight Champion Chris Weidman and The Ultimate Fighter: Team Jones vs. Team Sonnen middleweight winner Kelvin Gastelum.[
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action
Bellator 288: Nemkov vs. Anderson 2 (2022)
Vadim Nemkov vs. Corey Anderson (Light Heavyweight) Patricky Pitbull vs. Usman Nurmagomedov (Lightweight) Daniel Weichel vs. Timur Khizriev (Featherweight) Tyrell Fortune vs. Daniel James (Heavyweight) Roman Faraldo vs. Levan Chokheli (Welterweight)
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action
UFC on ESPN 42: Thompson vs. Holland (2022)
UFC on ESPN 42: Thompson vs. Holland was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on December 3, 2022, at Amway Center in Orlando, Florida, United States. A welterweight bout between former UFC Welterweight Championship challenger Stephen Thompson and Kevin Holland headlined the event.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action
Like UFC 1: The Beginning and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like UFC 1: The Beginning?
The closest matches to UFC 1: The Beginning are Never Back Down 2: The Beatdown (2011), Cagefighter: Worlds Collide (2020) and Never Back Down: No Surrender (2016). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after UFC 1: The Beginning?
Start with Never Back Down 2: The Beatdown (2011), the closest match to UFC 1: The Beginning.
What is the highest-rated movie like UFC 1: The Beginning?
Touching the Void (2003), rated 7.6/10 by 487 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like UFC 1: The Beginning?
Lion Fist (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like UFC 1: The Beginning?
Yes: Never Back Down 2: The Beatdown (2011), Cagefighter: Worlds Collide (2020) and Never Back Down: No Surrender (2016).
How are movies similar to UFC 1: The Beginning chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside UFC 1: The Beginning, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.