Zack Snyder to direct ‘Brawler’ movie with UFC, Turki Alalshikh involved

An upcoming movie about an aspiring mixed martial artist working his way up through the UFC is set to be directed by Zack Snyder.

Turki Alalshikh, the chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority, made the announcement Monday.

The project, titled Brawler, is currently in the pre-production phase and no release date has been targeted.

Alalshikh, who also owns The Ring magazine and has helped facilitate some of the biggest boxing events in recent years, will produce the movie in partnership with the UFC and The Stone Quarry, Snyder’s production company founded in 2004. Alalshikh and the UFC’s chief content officer Craig Borsari will be credited as executive producers.

“They are both very passionate about this project to show fans what it takes to become a UFC champion,” UFC president Dana White said of Alalshikh and Snyder in a press release. “It’s an incredibly ambitious project and I look forward to seeing it come to life.”

It is unclear what role, if any, White may have in the production of the movie.

Alalshikh and White recently teamed up to announce the formation of a new boxing organization under a partnership with TKO Group Holdings, Inc., which owns the UFC, plus Alalshikh and Sela, a Saudi entertainment and hospitality company.

“WME (William Morris Endeavor) negotiated the deal on behalf of UFC,” the Brawler press release also noted.

Although the UFC doesn’t often get involved in the movie business, this partnership isn’t entirely surprising.

In fact, Alalshikh said last June while being interviewed alongside White during a Fight Night broadcast at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: “I want to have a meeting with (Dana) and director, Zack Snyder. He’s a friend. We want to talk about doing a big movie about the UFC.”

Snyder is also an executive producer and one of the credited writers of the project along with Shay Hatten and Kurt Johnstad, both of whom have worked with Snyder on multiple projects in the past.

“Behind every great fighter is the story of how they got there,” Snyder stated. “UFC is the world leader in combat sports and I’m honored to be partnering with them to tell this incredible story.”

Snyder, 59, is a regular attendee at UFC events. He is known for directing feature films such as DC Comics superhero flicks Watchmen, Man of Steel, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and two versions of Justice League. 

The logline for Brawler reads: “Rising from the rough streets of Los Angeles, a young fighter gets a shot at a UFC championship, battling his inner demons as he fights for redemption.”

The UFC has previously allowed its likeness to be used in movies such as 2012’s Here Comes the Boom and 2024’s Road House, the latter of which starred Jake Gyllenhaal and co-starred Conor McGregor. That reimagining of the Patrick Swayze cult classic used UFC branding throughout and had several of its scenes filmed during a break in action at UFC 285 in Las Vegas in March of 2023.

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