A new faith-film set in the arena of mixed martial arts aims to fill an unmet need among Christian films—and raises questions about whether Christians should fight at all.
by Chris Well
A minister named Jim Davis was sitting in a dark movie theater when he had a revelation. As he and his family were watching a faith-based film, Davis felt like too many faith-based movies are made for audiences filled with Christians.
Eventually, Davis decided to do something about it—so he wrote and produced a movie that Christians can show to their non-Christian friends. The result is The Fight Within, a drama set within the world of mixed martial arts.
“Faith films often only draw those who already have found faith,” Davis says. “We want to engage those who have faith as well as those who do not. Our story is about a young man coming to terms with his identity and the challenges he faces on that journey.”
Directed by Michael William Gordon, The Fight Within revolves around the character Logan Chandler (portrayed by John Major Davis). A rising star in the sport of mixed martial arts, Logan leaves the ring when his gym-owner father dies while training him. When he falls in love with a young woman of deep faith (Lelia Symington), Logan seeks to overcome his troubled past and build a new life. But just as he begins to understand that God has a plan for everyone’s life, another fighter (Matt Leddo) forces Logan back into the arena…
“It’s a faith-based love story with a great MMA storyline,” says Davis. “It’s about overcoming and persevering against all odds.”
GETTING THEIR FACTS RIGHT
To ensure the accuracy of the fight scenes, Davis and Leddo trained for months with professional fighters. The cast is rounded out with MMA Hall of Famer Dan Severn and mixed martial arts veteran and fight choreographer Mike Taylor.
Adding to the realism, the climactic fight was actually filmed at a professional MMA event in Mississippi.
But beyond the thrills, at its core The Fight Within was developed to be a universal story about one person striving to find his true identity through a relationship with God.
“We utilized edge-of-your-seat mixed martial arts action to not only engage the audience,” Davis says, “but to parallel the struggles we all face each and every day.”
WHY FIGHT AT ALL?
The Fight Within, directed by Michael William Gordon (New Life Cinema)
With plenty of bare-knuckles mixed martial arts action, The Fight Within is certainly not your traditional religious film. But the Church has a long history with sports, going all the way back to Paul’s letters in the New Testament, when the apostle would refer to various sports as a metaphor for the Christian life.
In the 1850s, clergyman Charles Kingsley and boxing coach Thomas Hughes leveraged physical health and competition as part of their ministry to youth of the day.
Today, an estimated 700 churches use MMA as a ministry tool. The youth ministry arm of the National Association of Evangelicals calls it a “legitimate outreach tool.”
To Davis, what matters is that The Fight Within reaches out to viewers with a story of courage, hope and love that features action, romance and faith.
“People don’t think about why they make the choices they make,” he says. “We want them to leave the theaters asking themselves that question—asking themselves, ‘What if I did it God’s way?’ ”
Christian nonprofit the Dove Foundation awarded The Fight Within five stars, its highest rating. Now available on DVD and streaming, the film’s DVD bonus features include behind-the-scenes footage, a gag reel and outtakes.