Sean Patrick Flanery previews his film Born a Champion

Sean Patrick Flanery maybe best known for his roles in The Boondocks Saints, The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, Powder and The Young and the Restless. What many people might not know about him is that he is a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and that he has been a huge fan of martial arts ever since he started training at the age of nine.

Flanery’s 40 plus year journey through martial arts inspired him to make his most recent film Born a Champion. The movie was written by Flanery back in 2007 and after 12 years of hard work, Flanery’s vision is now headed to the big screen.

Born a Champion
<em><strong>Sean Patrick Flanery right squares off with UFC featherweight Edson Barboza left in a scene from the movie Born a Champion Photo courtesy Lionsgate<strong><em>

In the movie Flanery plays the lead role as Mickey Kelley, one of the first American black belts in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. The movie also deals with love, faith and military service.

Katrina Bowden and Denis Quaid also star in the film alongside Flanery. Martial arts legend Renzo Gracie and UFC fighters Edson Barboza and Mickey Gall also appear in the film. Barboza was picked by Flanery for his role in the movie as the actor views the UFC featherweight as one of the scariest looking fighters on the UFC roster.

Sean Patrick Flanery
<em><strong>Sean Patrick Flanery lands a triangle choke on Edson Barboza in a scene from the movie Born a Champion Phot Courtesy Lionsgate<strong><em>

The movie comes to select theaters, on Digital, and On Demand January 22 from Lionsgate. The film will also be released on Blu-ray and DVD on January 26.


Prior to the release of the film, Flanery spoke about the movie with MyMMANews. You can watch his full interview in the video above.

author avatar
John Eric Poli