‘Better Than MMA Fighters From India’: UFC Fans Went Wild Seeing Tyron Woodley in an Action-Packed Indian Movie Fight Scene

Did you know Tyron Woodley was in a Bollywood movie? No? Well, you’re not alone. The internet has dug up a clip of the former UFC welterweight champion throwing hands in the 2016 Hindi film, Sultan—and let’s just say, they are having a field day with it.

In the 2016 Bollywood film Sultan, the story centers on Sultan Ali Khan, a local wrestling champion with dreams of representing India at the Olympics. His journey is filled with personal and professional challenges, including a stint in mixed martial arts (MMA) to regain his lost glory. It’s during this MMA phase that Tyron Woodley makes his appearance. Woodley portrays an international MMA fighter who faces off against Sultan in a high-stakes bout.

In their climactic fight scene, Woodley‘s character employs moves that, in reality, would be deemed illegal in professional MMA. For instance, delivering a “kill shot” to a grounded opponent is prohibited and would typically result in immediate intervention by the referee, possibly leading to point deductions or disqualification.

However, Bollywood’s penchant for dramatic flair often overlooks such regulations in favor of heightened cinematic excitement. Needless to say, fans had a lot to say when the video of Woodley in the movie surfaced online. 

Given that Woodley has lost his last four fights in MMA, one fan said, “At least let them win in the movies.”

This man, who seems to be done with Indian fighters’ performances in the UFC, said “This is better than the actual MMA fighters coming out of India.”

A wishful fan joked, “Hopefully he made a bag.” Poking fun at the level of Indian MMA asked, “Why is there an Indian MMA movie? That’s like an American cricket movie.” Someone even managed to take a shot at the UFC and joked, “Crowd is quieter than the apex“.

Interestingly, Tyron Woodley isn’t the only sports entertainer to have ventured into Bollywood. The 1996 film Khiladiyon Ka Khiladi saw the famous WWE character, ‘The Undertaker’ appear as a formidable henchman who breaks people’s backs and kills them. 

Did Undertaker break kayfabe?

In professional wrestling, kayfabe refers to the portrayal of scripted events and rivalries as genuine, maintaining the illusion of authenticity for the audience. Wrestlers often stay “in character” both inside and outside the ring to preserve this facade. 

And the real Undertaker, AKA Mark Calloway famously didn’t break kayfabe in his entire three-decade-long career. So, this wasn’t him. Old Vince McMahon was going to license his biggest franchise player to a small-budget Bollywood movie.

The character was portrayed by professional wrestler Brian Lee, who had previously impersonated The Undertaker in WWE. In the film, the protagonist, played by Hindi actor Akshay Kumar, not only defeats the Deadman but also kills him. 

Unfortunately, the real Deadman never dies. So decades later, Calloway responded to one of Kumar’s Instagram posts asking for a real match.

There you go! Everyday you learn something new!