Catching Lightning from Showtime. This is the name of the series directed by producer Pat Kondelis. This series traces the story of MMA fighter “Lightning” Lee Murray, of Moroccan father, born in the United Kingdom, who worked his way from the strange streets of south London to the UFC, before take part in one of the greatest bank robberies of all time.
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Coming from the difficult district of Woolwich, in the south-east of London, Murray had joined, at the age of 15, the local gang of the Barnfield Boys. But he was different from his comrades, because he was physically and mentally made for the fight. Very early on, he developed an obsession with the UFC. His trainers Terry Coulter and Remco Pardoel, along with Cage Rage co-founder Dave O’Donnell, describe Murray as a ferocious prodigy who earned his nickname through his speed and power and struck terror into the hearts of his opponents.
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In 2004, he easily won his first UFC fight in 2004 against Jorge Rivera. He could have had a brilliant career, but a series of events slowed his rise. Disguised as police officers, Murray and his accomplices had robbed on the night of February 21, 2006 a deposit of the Securitas company in the south-east of England. They had taken hostage the director of the depot, as well as his wife and son, to force him to open the site. The burglars had taken away £53million. But they had left behind 153 million pounds, for lack of space in their vehicle. The police later recovered nearly 21 million pounds (28 million euros).
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The investigators managed to arrest eight suspects who had been prosecuted and sentenced to different prison terms for “organized banditry with particularly high stakes” or complicity. Murray and his best friend Paul Allen had fled to Morocco. To avoid his extradition to England, he acquired Moroccan nationality. However, he will not escape Moroccan justice. Murray received a heavier sentence than in the UK, which caused misunderstanding from his wife Nicola and his friend “Mus”. Showtime’s Catching Lightning will be streaming April 7 and in theaters April 9, reports Daily Beast.