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Jake Gyllenhaal isn’t just the man who gave Taylor Swift reason to write a 10 minute song. Turns out, he’s also vicious in the ring after delivering a TKO and gaining a win on the UFC 285 undercard.
The brutal fight saw Gyllenhaal get his opponent up against the cage and take them out with a flying knee and even land some punches while his opponent was on the ground.
But no, the 42-year-old actor hasn’t had a mid-life crisis and switched careers. The entire fight – including a hyped-up weigh-in at the start – was all staged for Gyllenhaal’s latest movie project, a remake of the 1989 classic Road House.
Originally starring the late Patrick Swayze, who Gyllenhaal worked with in his break out role in cult classic Donnie Darko, Road House was a simple story of a roadside bouncer (Swayze) who went to battle against a corrupt local businessman. The 2023 update re-writes the character as a former UFC fighter.
Turns out after hearing about the storyline shift, the UFC wanted a piece of the official action.
Ahead of the fight, Gyllenhaal in character as Dalton Elwood stepped up to the weigh-in across from his movie nemesis, champion Jax Harris.
Jake Gyllenhaal doesn't mess around when it comes to combat sports movies 💪 pic.twitter.com/vewpyzPZql
— Chamatkar Sandhu (@SandhuMMA) March 4, 2023
That’s not to say that the fight – staged as it was – didn’t garner The Ambulance and Spider-Man: Far From Home star some new fans.
“Still better than one of Jake Paul’s fights” wrote one commenter under the official ESPN YouTube video.
Gyllenhaal has been recently spotted sitting ringside at UFC fights alongside one of the sport’s biggest legends, Irish MMA fighter Conor McGregor.
The 2023 remake of Road House is set to be released by Amazon Studios later this year.
