If Conor McGregor isn’t ready to fight, then Michael Chandler is willing to look past and find alternate solutions. ‘Iron’ was set to return in a five-round welterweight headliner on the June 29th pay-per-view. On the sidelines, Chandler has made himself available for many media availability segments. As such, Chandler provided an alternate choice to Twisters cast members Glen Powell & Brandon Perea.
Powell (Top Gun; Anyone But You) joins a cast starring Daisy Edgar-Jones, Anthony Ramos, and others for a story set in Oklahoma. Edgar-Jones plays a retired meteorologist who joins Powell’s rag-tag group of tornado-chasers. While in the movie, they venture into twin twisters, Michael Chandler gives them the scoop about a submission by the same name.
I’m with the stars — Brandon and Glen…Did you know, there’s actually a submission in mixed martial arts called the ‘twister’? This is Bryce Mitchell…It’s only happened three times in the history of UFC. Would you rather face a twister out in the wild, or a twister in the octagon?
Michael Chandler via ‘UFC’s Michael Chandler Takes You Inside the Storm’ Official Segment (YT; @ufc)
The twister is rarely seen in UFC; matter of fact, it has only happened thrice so far. Chan Sung Jung, aka the one-and-only “The Korean Zombie,” snagged his first ‘Twister’ submission in 2011. Bantamweight Da’Mon Blackshear got a rare one in at his prelim appearance at APEX. The clip Chandler plays is from when Bryce Mitchell put away Matt Sayles in the first round of their contest.
There have been many unisons between fighters and Hollywood stars. McGregor and Jake Gyllenhaal’s 1989 cult classic Road House remake was quite the hit. Valentina Shevchenko joined Halle Berry for a brief Holly stint. However, Chandler’s ‘Twisters’ segment is really where mind and matter melt over such rare technicalities.
Many production houses buy some short-term advertising space with UFC to promote. Over the years, many such releases saw brand endorsement from the premier combat sports promotions. Michael Chandler’s segment for Twisters is only one of those.
UFC and movie promotions, along with Twisters (Source: facebook.com › @UFC/complex.com)Last June, Sony Pictures purchased some short-term advertising space to promote Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse. Netflix struck another prime value collaboration with UFC for the feature film Sweet Girl. The nearly nine-minute video features Paul Felder leading a seminar for kids at the UFC gym in Huntington Beach, California. Interspersed with interviews with stars Jason Momoa and Isabela Merced.
There have been more rare and hit cases like McGregor’s Road House. Gyllenhaal dropped a few hype promos to play on the jumbotron during live cards. Live scenes were filmed at the UFC 285 ceremonial weigh-in at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. Dana White, Jon Anik, and Bruce Buffer were in tow for flashback scenes of the actor, playing a washed-out UFC veteran.
Road House snagged a 59% Critics and a 55% Audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. Along with a global IMDb rating of 6.2/10. White and Co. did similar promotional drives for Chris Hemsworth and Anya Taylor Joy starring Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga a few months back. Hemsworth maintains a close acquaintance with many native fighters on the roster.
White also endorsed the feature film Sound of Freedom, a true story of Tim Ballard, a former federal agent, and his mission to end trafficking means. As such, the list will only increase considering the mainstream appeal of the UFC.
