Title: The Real Reason UFC Hesitated to be Featured in the Road House Remake
Content:
The Impact of Elwood Dalton’s Character
A core component of Elwood Dalton’s character is that he was a former professional MMA fighter and went as far as to compete in the UFC, the organization that’s lauded as the pinnacle of combat sports. In the film, it’s shown that his career was tarnished after killing a competitor inside the octagon. This made the real-life organization hesitant for its brand to be included in the film.
McGregor and Gyllenhaal’s Insights
McGregor and Gyllenhaal touched on this obstacle during an interview with Sports Illustrated shortly before the film’s release. “It was hit and miss at times, wasn’t it? It was gonna be maybe XFC or something like that. But, ’cause obviously Dalton’s history, the story is he’s killed somebody and the UFC didn’t really want that,” the former UFC Champion explained. “Well, it was important from the very beginning that we have the UFC involved because obviously my character was written as a character who was an ex UFC fighter and it was just essential to it,” Gyllenhaal said. Luckily, the promotion allowed itself to be included in the movie, going so far as to let Gyllenhaal and the “Road House” crew to film scenes at the T-Mobile Arena during UFC 285, an experience the Oscar-nominated actor lauded.
The Road House Remake
The 2024 remake of the Patrick Swayze classic is streaming now on Prime Video. Be sure to check out Looper’s “Road House” review to see if Gyllenhaal was able to deliver a knockout performance.