UFC vet John Lewis assisting in ‘Zero-G’ MMA space fights as part of ‘Galactic Combat’

Have you ever wanted to see MMA fights in space? Well, move over UFC because Galactic Combat is taking things to new heights… literally.

Hollywood producer Andrea Iervolino’s latest entertainment company Space 11 is dedicated to creating products based in—you guessed it—space. With the help of Elon Musk’s SpaceX and former UFC veteran John Lewis, Space 11 will first be tackling the reality TV show to be titled Galactic Combat. The show will have 40 MMA fighters from around the globe training and preparing to do battle without gravity.

The final cast will be whittled down to eight of the 40 and they will hop into a rocket ship for the final fight. The intention will be for the ship to orbit the Earth for 90 minutes to make a full trip around the planet. Because of course.

“This is not just a show. This is a new sport – a new sport competition in outer space,” Iervolino told Fast Company.

“If you take UFC, it has a huge fan base. My goal with this new format is, I don’t want to lose UFC fans – we need to embrace all of them. The whole MMA world. But the goal with Zero-G fighting is to make the concept much wider.”

The 12-episode first season of Galactic Combat is targeted to be completed for airing in 2023 but could be ready as early as next year according to Iervolino.

The producer added that he was initially keeping pretty quiet about Space 11. However, things are now ready to go as technology has advanced enough and this is only the tip of the iceberg for Iervolino who has at least “50 other formats for space shows” on the way.

“When people try to punch you in zero gravity – I don’t know if you’ve seen the video of a baby pushing a person [in zero gravity] and the person goes to the other side of the room,” says Iervolino. “It’s a totally different way to punch someone. It’s a very different type of training.

“The important thing is you need to be safe enough to be inside the rocket… You need to come back safe. This one is doable. Having two guys fighting in a rocket orbiting the Earth is easy.”