Ultimate Fighting Championship

Michael Bisping joins film about England's most notorious bare-knuckle fighter

Published Nov. 15, 2016 2:15 p.m. ET

Damon Martin

Michael Bisping knows a thing or two about fighting and he'll put those skills to good use in a new film he's just recently joined.

The UFC middleweight champion has been cast as Roy Shaw in the upcoming film 'My Name is Lenny', which profiles the life and times of notorious bare-knuckle brawler Lenny McLean.

Bisping announced the news via his Instagram account.

McLean — nicknamed 'The Guv'nor' — was a famous boxer in England's underground fight scene after he turned to unlicensed bouts due to his past criminal record. McLean was a legendary figure for several decades as he fought numerous unlicensed bouts while loudly challenging some of the biggest boxers of the day to step up to his challenge.

Bisping will play McLean's archrival during his days as an underground fighter in England after the two of them engaged in a trilogy of bouts over the course of their careers.

'My Name is Lenny' will be directed by Ron Scalpello with Josh Helman — best known for his roles in recent 'X-Men' movies as well as 'Mad Max: Fury Road' — playing McLean in the film.

Bisping has been dabbling more and more into acting recently, including his role in the upcoming Vin Diesel led project 'xXx: The Return of Xander Cage', which he was filming when he got the call to fight Luke Rockhold at UFC 199 in June.