Along with starring Conor McGregor as its bombastic and violent antagonist, the UFC plays an important role in the upcoming film ‘Road House’. Jake Gyllenhaal‘s character, ‘Dalton’, the protagonist of the film, is an ex-UFC fighter in the film.

The film features flashback scenes of Dalton, now retired and working as a bouncer at a Florida Keys club, remembering one of his fights. To lend them authenticity, the fight scenes were shot in the octagon during UFC 285 in Las Vegas last year with a full crowd. And Jake Gyllenhaal, who, along with McGregor and the cast of the Doug Liman-directed project is on a media blitz as the film is set to release March 21, where he shared his exciting experience of shooting in the octagon.

Jake Gyllenhaal commends UFC crowd for ‘incredible’ response

Jake Gyllenhaal’s Dalton fights ‘Jax Harris’, played by stuntman and former mixed martial artist Jay Hieron in his flashback fight scene in the film. The actor admitted that before he went into the octagon at UFC 285, he was afraid that the fake fighting would invite ridicule from the fans but was pleasantly surprised. He also thanked Dana White and the UFC for their help and cooperation.

“Yeah, when we when we walked out there… the fans, and by the way you know, I should say, Dana White too, like in all of his support in getting us there and helping us be in the octagon and get in the ring. But, like, when you walk out, you know, it did feel like a stage in a way. And you just have to commit to it. But the fans helped,” he said.

Gyllenhaal was thrilled at the ‘incredible’ reception from the crowd, who were all onboard and played along as the actors shot their fake fight scene in the octagon at UFC 285. “That encouragement from the fans makes you go hard and it was it was just incredible. They kind of knew who was the good and the bad guy in the story and they would, like, cheer when I would throw a punch and then they would boo when Jay [Heron] did. It was great,” he added. And as the film’s release draws closer, there is good news for the cast as Doug Liman decides to end the boycott of the film.

Director attends premiere of Conor McGregor led project

The film, a remake of the 1989 classic, which is Conor Mcgregor’s debut film, will not release in theaters, and will be available for worldwide screening on Amazon Prime. This was vigorously opposed by director Doug Liman, who took had announced he would be boycotting the film screening at the SWSX Film Festival.

In an article he wrote for ‘Deadline’, the ‘Edge of Tomorrow, ‘Mr and Mrs Smith’, and ‘American Made’ director revealed that the film had been met with rave reviews in test screenings and felt it was the best work of his long career and felt ‘Road House’ should release in theaters. However, the director seems to have changed his mind and attended the SWSX screening last week, where he received a standing ovation.

Read More: UFC News: Justin Gaethje Slams Dustin Poirier’s Case for Title Shot Against Islam Makhachev