(Props: YouTube.com/MaplePictures)

We’ve been waiting patiently since last winter, and the moment is finally upon us: Beatdown, starring Rudy Youngblood, master thespian Michael Bisping, Bobby Lashley, Heath Herring, Mike Swick, Eric Balfour, and Danny Trejo, will be released on DVD and Blu-Ray tomorrow. Check the synopsis:

Brandon, a respected street fighter, is forced to flee the city after his brother is murdered and the money that was supposed to be paid back to a local gangster is stolen. While lying low at his father’s house in a small Southern town, Brandon soon gets involved in the local underground cage-fighting circuit. With the help of Drake Colby, a former MMA champion, Brandon devises a scheme to bring a massive payday, if they are able to survive.

We have eight copies of the flick to give away, in two separate caption contests. If you want one, check out the gnarly UFC 118-related pic after the jump and follow our instructions…

(Props: Hamill the Movie on Vimeo)

If for some reason that hot date of yours falls through this Saturday night, why not swing by CagePotato.com, as our weekend editor Chad Dundas will be running the liveblog of the Ultimate Fighter 11 Finale. The show starts at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Spike TV, so check your local listings and be wary of spoilers. (And join a MMA FightPicker pool if you haven’t already!)

Speaking of the finale, co-headliner Matt Hamill is now the subject of an inspirational biopic called Hamill, which follows the athlete’s life and career; you can check out the trailer above, and learn more about the film at hamillthemovie.com. The actor who plays Matt is Russell Harvard, who you may remember as the "bastard from a basket" in There Will Be Blood. Plus, Rich Franklin is in the flick as some sort of disapproving wrestling coach, I guess. Now if they would only make a movie based on Court McGee’s life…

 
(Seriously, any excuse to run this photo…)

Gina Carano‘s upcoming star turn in Steven Soderbergh’s next action flick will reportedly hit theaters in January, and early impressions are very positive. The movie, now titled Haywire instead of Knockout, had its first test screening earlier this week, and Hollywood Elsewhere passed along a rundown of the plot and Carano’s surprisingly compelling performance:

Mallory Kane (Carano) is young, tough, beautiful, determined, and a freelance covert operative. She is hired out by her handler, Kenneth (Ewan McGregor), to various global entities, to perform jobs which governments can’t authorize and heads of state would rather not know about.

For all her looks and youth, Mallory is still the best in her field, and her skills are in constant demand. But when one of her operations goes awry, Mallory needs to use all her skills, tricks and abilities to escape an international manhunt, make it back to the United States, protect her family, and exact revenge on those that have betrayed her.

(Royce/Chandella image courtesy of CombatLifestyle.)

‘Sup, guys? Guess what came out on DVD and Blu-Ray today? If you answered "Unrivaled, the latest Hector Echavarria joint starring a cast of UFC fighters," you’re absolutely right. If you answered "The Princess and the Frog," you’re also right, but it’s a little strange that you know that.

Last week we announced a caption contest to give away some copies of Unrivaled, and after more than 250 entries, we’ve selected five worthy winners. But first, some honorable mentions…

Vlad: Royce, dude, it’s just a joke. Chandella doesn’t really have your nose.

Goat: Little did Chandella know, a Gracie never backs down from a lopsided, freakshow of a fight.

Carl Sagan: "Stand back Dana, Logan has turned into some hideous zombie-like creature! I will kill It for you, Master…"

Lysol: 
Q: What do Chandella and Art Jimmerson have in common??
A: Neither want anything to do with being mounted by Royce Gracie.

Rosstamon: Dream 14?: Jits vs. Tits

And now…THE WINNERS!

When we first told you about Unrivaled, we wondered if Hector Echavarria had "finally created an MMA movie that’s worth renting." Well, it’s time to find out for sure. Thanks to Lionsgate and UnrivaledDVD.com, we’ve just been hooked up with five copies of the flick, which features UFC stars Rashad Evans, Forrest Griffin, Keith Jardine, and Nate Marquardt, and of course writer/star Hector Echavarria as a retired fighter seeking one last shot at glory. Want one of the DVDs? Too bad, because we’re keeping them all.

Okay, fine, we’ll let you guys have them, but only if you provide a hilarious caption to the photo after the jump…

(Props: Bloody Elbow)

As the story goes, Thomas Edison was once asked about his thousands of failed experiments in developing the storage battery, to which he replied: "I have not failed, I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work." That quote has always reminded me of the cinematic output of action-movie auteur Hector Echavarria, who has directed, written, and/or starred in such movies as Confessions of a Pit Fighter, Never Surrender, and Death Warrior, all of which are about retired martial artists forced to compete in underground fighting leagues.

Hector’s latest effort is Unrivaled, which goes directly to DVD later this year. As you can see from the trailer above, there’s the requisite mob-shakedown angle, the cameos by UFC stars, and the Superman punches — my God, so many Superman punches — but Unrivaled breaks with tradition by being about an above-ground fighting league that the main character enters by choice. Has Echavarria finally created an MMA movie that’s actually worth renting? Much like the desperate fighters he plays in his movies, the odds are stacked against him…

(Props: gregorybayne)

If there’s any MMA fighter who deserves to have a documentary made about him it’s Jens Pulver, who survived a profoundly abusive childhood and went on to become the UFC’s first 155-pound champion, but now faces his last ride after losing four straight fights in the WEC. The above clip is from a work-in-progress called Driven by filmmaker Gregory Bayne. If you watch it, you’ll most likely have a strong urge to see the whole thing. There’s one small problem: It’s not even close to finished, and Bayne needs funding to keep working on it. As he explains on Kickstarter.com:

Right now, supporters have pledged $1,045 of the $25,000 goal, with just 16 days until the deadline. So if you have any charity-money left after giving your life savings to Wyclef Jean, click on this link to read more about the project — and what each level of donation will get you in return — and hit that green "Back This Project" box to toss in a few bucks. Every little bit helps.

"You miss me? ‘Cuz I missed yoouuuuuu…"

So says Quinton "Rampage" Jackson in the above trailer for The A-Team, which hits theaters this summer with Jackson mean-mugging his way through the B.A. Baracus role. To be honest, we kinda did miss Rampage; it would have been nice to have him in the cage at UFC 108, that’s all. The word on the street is that Jackson will return to the Octagon against Rashad Evans in May. Between beating his felony evading charges, playing one of his childhood heroes in a movie, and having the opportunity to put his fists on an arch-rival, this is shaping up to be a banner year for Jackson. Great to be you, homey.

Speaking of MMA stars on the silver screen…

(Props: twinkletoestommy via MMA Mania.)

UFC middleweight star Michael Bisping is currently in Austin, Texas, working on his first feature film, an action flick called Beat Down. MovieSet.com gives us the synopsis:

What, you were expecting a period piece about the turbulent first years of Queen Victoria’s rule and her enduring romance with Prince Albert? Beat Down stars Rudy Youngblood in the lead role, as well as legendary bad-ass Danny Trejo, Eric Balfour, and Heath Herring. And of course, Bisping and Bobby Lashley have supporting roles that include at least one fight scene. (Spoiler alert: Bisping wins.) Check out the latest installment of the Count’s video-blog above, which shows the two fighters going over their spots, a lineup of chicks in white t-shirts getting water dumped all over their chests, and Bisping reacting to the news of his homeboy Cheick Kongo’s loss.

(Anybody who wants a leading role so bad they’ll take absolutely anything offered to them, raise your hand.)

Remember how we were just talking about the prevalence of both MMA fighters and MMA itself in films, as if it were nothing but a good thing?  We would now like to amend that position.  Our friends at Screen Junkies informed us that the movie barons within the WWE are making a movie about MMA starring their very own Big Show, who will be playing “a slow-witted lifelong orphan” who turns to MMA to raise $50,000 to save the church orphanage that he accidentally burned down.  It is at this point that you are most likely saying to yourself, ‘You friggin’ kidding me over here?’  To which we sadly answer, ‘Yo, would we kid you about something like this?’

The WWE has a complicated relationship with mixed martial arts.  They vacillate between insisting it has nothing to do with their business, trying to mimic it, and taking credit for its success, sometimes all within a matter of weeks.  That they are now making a movie featuring it means that they acknowledge its cultural appeal, but that the movie is about a big, dumb guy who travels to an MMA tournament, presumably having zany adventures and indulging in physical comedy along the way, means they aren’t exactly trying to make the MMA version of “Rocky” with this thing.  I just don’t know if I can sneak a big enough bottle of vodka into the theater to make it watchable.

Behold, the trailer for Blood and Bone, which co-stars Kimbo Slice, Gina Carano, and Bob Sapp. According to ScreenJunkies, "The film tells the story of Isiah Bone, a man fresh out of prison who enters the Los Angeles underground street fighting scene in order to bring down a local mob boss because God told him to." Let the Oscar buzz begin…