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  • [HEAVY PANTS, THUDS]

  • -To embody compassion, you must change and transform the

  • negative emotional reactions.

  • -Ho!

  • [GRUNTS]

  • -An electric finish.

  • -When the feeling starts to arise, that used to bring a

  • negative reaction, it brings intense clarity.

  • -On your way, Jessup.

  • -We heard them making all kind of noise.

  • We came over and beat them off, blasted them down.

  • [MUSIC PLAYING]

  • [MUSIC PLAYING]

  • -This new land of the West was a wild, unruly territory to

  • which brave American pioneers moved.

  • Theirs was a rugged existence, for they not only had to

  • settle and build, they had to fight.

  • Might was right.

  • The best shot was the best man.

  • MIKE WINKELJOHN: This place is kind of goofy.

  • There's no doubt.

  • Albuquerque is kind of a weird place, man.

  • But here, they'll pull a gun or something stupid on you.

  • It'll escalate real fast just because they're pissed at you

  • for honking a horn.

  • It's just dumb.

  • Albuquerque's a dumb place.

  • But there's good areas.

  • This area, where the gym's at, of course, is a

  • pretty shitty area.

  • [SINGING IN SPANISH]

  • -Born of necessity in this chaotic period of Westward

  • expansion, an organization was developed to combat the evil

  • forces of the time.

  • TRAVIS BROWN: We have champions here.

  • And that's something that some other camps don't have.

  • KEITH JARDINE: Travis Brown and Georges St. Pierre

  • used to drop by.

  • Jon Jones comes in.

  • The best in the world come walking through that door.

  • JON JONES: Everyone here has pretty much got a name.

  • And even the ones that don't, but will eventually.

  • MIKE WINKELJOHN: Travis is getting a little tricky with

  • his outside trips, man.

  • GREG JACKSON: Nice flowing, Jon Jones.

  • MIKE WINKELJOHN: Good Jon.

  • Link, link, link.

  • At this point, they get together, they try to out

  • creativity each other, yeah, yeah, yeah.

  • Screwing around.

  • That's it, Jon, J.J., man.

  • JON JONES: Greg Jackson and Mike Winkeljohn, they're great

  • coaches, man, great chemistry, in the room at all times.

  • These guys have know each other since they were really

  • young and brought up this program.

  • They're real brilliant in their own respective ways.

  • Mike Winkeljohn is definitely more of a grinder.

  • He's big on repetition and just doing physical work.

  • And I think Greg is more of a believer of the mentor

  • approach, being really good with sports

  • psychology and jujitsu.

  • But they both know their tactics, for sure.

  • MIKE WINKELJOHN: Don't forget the fakes and faints, Andrei.

  • Yeah, baby.

  • Take the lead, now, Andrei.

  • GREG JACKSON: Nice switch, hook, and an exit.

  • Excellent job, Andrei.

  • And exit again.

  • Highs, high.

  • All right, Cody.

  • You're doing spinning back kicks, huh?

  • MIKE WINKELJOHN: Shit, Cody.

  • GREG JACKSON: All right.

  • MIKE WINKELJOHN: Jab.

  • GREG JACKSON: And exit jabs, all right, Andrei Arlovsky.

  • Jesus Christ.

  • MIKE WINKELJOHN: Well, I met Gregg--

  • I don't know if he was all 17-- probably 18 years old.

  • He was living in the back of this little, itsy-bitsy dojo,

  • definitely in poverty, way beyond his years in his

  • knowledge of the fight game.

  • But he was able to kick for some things.

  • And I was amazed that this young guy, who was

  • self-taught, had done this.

  • Then just started.

  • We just started rolling almost every day together and putting

  • this together.

  • GREG JACKSON: Hey Trav, one more with Andrei.

  • [BEEP]

  • Yeah?

  • He's tired.

  • Andrei's tired.

  • MIKE WINKELJOHN: Pretend you're Tom.

  • Pretend you're Tom.

  • [MOVIE SOUND EFFECTS, MUSIC]

  • [TECHNO MUSIC]

  • MIKE WINKELJOHN: Big decision, do that, you

  • win the fight, Andrei.

  • Right there, you're going to get your ass kicked.

  • [MUSIC PLAYING]

  • ISRAEL MARTINEZ: I train all the guys here.

  • But this kid right here, his name's Hunter.

  • Hunter is going to be a stud, this young guy.

  • He just turned pro, a little bit ago.

  • And I'll tell you, this kid, he's the future of the gym.

  • HUNTER TUCKER: I came, and I didn't know what

  • to expect at all.

  • I didn't know if I was going to get the tar beat out of me

  • the first day or what.

  • Almost from like day one, it just felt right.

  • There's kind of a manly vibe.

  • And everybody beats the tar out of each other, but we make

  • fun of each other and have a good time.

  • And so I love it.

  • In MMA, people come from all different walks of life, so

  • just them choosing to be an MMA fighter is just a little,

  • bitty piece of the puzzle.

  • And then what they do with their other

  • time could be anything.

  • ERIK PEREZ: This is music.

  • [MARIACHI MUSIC PLAYING]

  • ISRAEL MARTINEZ: Now that you're

  • famous, it's your music.

  • No one else's music around here, Goyo.

  • ISRAEL MARTINEZ: Goyo, [SPANISH], If I don't turn my

  • body, I have no strength here.

  • So here, I'm going to load him, here.

  • Look at that.

  • Goyo, like a clock.

  • ISRAEL MARTINEZ: Yes.

  • ISRAEL MARTINEZ: All right, I like [INAUDIBLE].

  • Guys, one more time, Goyo's fucking famous.

  • [CLAPPING]

  • HOLLY HOLM: And they say it's like a big family, but I mean,

  • you see these people daily, more than your family.

  • I just had a rematch with a girl.

  • She knocked me out in December.

  • And then I avenged my loss, just this June.

  • But after the knock-out, everybody outside of the gym's

  • like, so are you going to retire?

  • And no way.

  • Because when I come here, and it's like I feel normal.

  • KEITH JARDINE: I'm not a fighter.

  • I'm not a full-time fighter.

  • You can't live that way.

  • You can't be a full-time fighter, because you live and

  • die by how your fights go and by how your training goes.

  • I'm a real fighter for two to four hours a day, and the rest

  • of the day, you're a normal person.

  • We have our dark side.

  • And we're lucky enough where I can get out here in fights.

  • LANDON VANNATA: I'm at peace with myself, when I'm out

  • there fighting.

  • And afterwards I'm just extremely happy.

  • I mean there's really not too many feelings better in the

  • world than winning a fight.

  • MIKE WINKELJOHN: Nice, Landon.

  • Get your hands up.

  • Beautiful.

  • Yeah.

  • That's it, Landon.

  • RAN WEATHERS: Should I do some push-ups real fast?

  • Can we just get the?

  • Yeah, man.

  • I care about this shoot, you guys.

  • -It's the most push-ups I'll ever see this man do.

  • RAN WEATHERS: Yeah, ever.

  • -He's tripled his record right here.

  • RAN WEATHERS: [LAUGHS]

  • I've been here four years, man, and that's crazy.

  • I never lived anywhere in my life for four

  • years, ever, ever.

  • Whoo, so what's up?

  • HUNTER TUCKER: Ran's been here a while.

  • But it wouldn't be the same without him, man.

  • He goes home every once in a while.

  • And we're just like, why is the gym so quiet?

  • White boy's gone, that's all it is.

  • RAN WEATHERS: Let's go back and pick one more fight.

  • [MUSIC PLAYING]

  • RAN WEATHERS: You guys have tacos and burritos?

  • -No.

  • RAN WEATHERS: No burritos?

  • -No.

  • RAN WEATHERS: I'm sorry, Goyo.

  • -OK.

  • RAN WEATHERS: Thank you.

  • And so when Goyo first came in the gym, it was like sparring

  • day, right?

  • And none of us really knew him.

  • We just knew we had this new Mexican in the gym.

  • So we were sparring.

  • And I didn't really know Goyo that well.

  • And I think I might have hit him or something.

  • I was like, yeah, America, mother fucker.

  • Do you remember this?

  • HUNTER TUCKER: [LAUGHS]

  • RAN WEATHERS: I was like, America, mother fucker,

  • something like that.

  • And in the middle Goyo just starts laughing.

  • And that's when I knew I loved him, right?

  • ERIK PEREZ: You no finish with that.

  • I fuck him up then.

  • [LAUGHTER]

  • HUNTER TUCKER: We punch each other in the face a lot, so we

  • got to keep it light, you know.

  • NICK URSO: Darn, I'll earn shit-talking.

  • I kind of gave up, basically, everything I've ever had or

  • thought I wanted at the time to be out here.

  • I was working in a law firm.

  • Seeing the lifestyle that that encompasses was

  • just wasn't for me.

  • And I felt like slow torture being in a

  • cubicle, behind a desk.

  • I was a party animal.

  • I was a drinker.

  • And this has really saved my life.

  • A lot of my friends are in jail, dead, rehab.

  • If it wasn't for MMA, I probably wouldn't be doing

  • anything good right now.

  • CLINT ROBERTS: But I got out of college, and

  • then I went to work.

  • And I hated working.

  • I used to have some drinking problems and stuff.

  • And fighting seemed to take all that away.

  • That feeling of winning a fight, you fought a bunch of

  • people, it's pretty outstanding.

  • It can't compare to anything else if you've

  • never done it before.

  • Doesn't matter if it's only 50 people there or 5,000 people

  • there or how many people are there, if you win, in front of

  • people, in a fight, with another man, it

  • makes you feel good.

  • It makes walk a little taller.

  • -What kind of fighting do you guys do, regular boxing?

  • HUNTER TUCKER: Mixed martial arts.

  • -Oh, OK.

  • You live here?

  • HUNTER TUCKER: Yep.

  • Yeah, I moved here about three years ago.

  • -How old are you?

  • HUNTER TUCKER: 26.

  • -And you're?

  • NICK URSO: 26.

  • -And he's?

  • HUNTER TUCKER: 22.

  • -[SPANISH]?

  • ERIK PEREZ: Just a young kid.

  • -Oh, you're the pup, huh?

  • -You guys do it pro?

  • Are you amateur?

  • NICK URSO: We're pro.

  • ERIK PEREZ: I'm amateur.

  • HUNTER TUCKER: Right.

  • 3 o'clock, we going swimming.

  • ERIK PEREZ: Ah, yeah.

  • HUNTER TUCKER: Yeah?

  • OK.

  • [MUSIC PLAYING]

  • HUNTER TUCKER: I want to have like an elite level gas tank,

  • where I can just push the pace on people, and they get way

  • more tired than I do.

  • [MUSIC PLAYING]

  • HUNTER TUCKER: I play off my instincts.

  • I think it would be hard for my opponent to know what I'm

  • going to do if I don't even know what I'm going to do.

  • I just kind of feel them out in the moment.

  • [MUSIC PLAYING]

  • HUNTER TUCKER: It's one of the more intense workouts that we

  • do, I feel like.

  • It simulates a fight, because you've got that brutal burst

  • and then a little second to regain and then go again.

  • -It's not being able to see, not being able to breathe.

  • HUNTER TUCKER: So you got to learn to relax and

  • just deal with it.

  • It's perfect.

  • TRAVIS BROWN: I'm known as the water man of the group, being

  • from Hawaii and everything.

  • I did more on less time.

  • They did their 50s on a minute, 20.

  • I did mine on a minute.

  • They did six total sets.

  • I did eight.

  • Hey, that's what happens when you're the champ.

  • I'm the champ, just nobody knows it yet.

  • -As long as you stay in shape till you're 70 years old,

  • you'll look great in the armpit.

  • TRAVIS BROWN: Doesn't it hurt in the armpit?

  • BART PALASZEWSKI: Not if you're numb.

  • -Are you busy training?

  • BART PALASZEWSKI: No.

  • I don't know.

  • Actually.

  • -Fuck off.

  • [MUSIC PLAYING]

  • MIKE WINKELJOHN: It's important to be scared, so you

  • take it serious.

  • You don't want to walk in overconfident.

  • But there's that moment where people always talk

  • about fight or flight.

  • I call it fight, flight, and freeze, where the fear can

  • overcome, and they freeze.

  • I don't know if it's the fighter or something, but the

  • situation made them over think it.

  • And they freeze.

  • You've got to be tough, including your intellect.

  • But some guys just over think it.

  • They worry about losing so much, then it becomes a

  • self-fulfilling prophecy for them.

  • If there's something I can show the fighters a little bit

  • is that's to overcome those times when you're in that

  • tough situation, you're caught in a submission or you're

  • getting the crap beat out of you, but you stay calm under

  • fire enough that you can change it if

  • you believe in yourself.

  • HUNTER TUCKER: I used to think, oh, I got to get amped

  • up about the fight.

  • And it just didn't feel right.

  • It's not really my nature.

  • Some guys get in there, and you can feel that they're just

  • desperate, right off the bat.

  • And if you can use that against them,

  • then it's a huge advantage.

  • So I just try to stay calm, stay focused,

  • and just in the moment.

  • To be honest, man, whenever I'm in camp, I

  • don't go out too much.

  • There's not a whole lot of social life besides your

  • family at the gym.

  • That's pretty much the whole lifestyle.

  • I've had a couple of relationships that ended just

  • because it's like, oh, OK, you want to go out this weekend?

  • I'm like, no, sorry.

  • I'm not going to go out this weekend.

  • And you just got to find somebody that

  • meshes with that dynamic.

  • You have to have somebody that

  • understands, I got to go train.

  • I can't go party, that kind of thing.

  • MIKE WINKELJOHN: That's part of the appeal of coming out

  • and working at our gym.

  • It's not only, we have the best fighters in the world

  • there to work out with, but we have the environment.

  • And Albuquerque has not that many frills.

  • It's not fancy.

  • There's not too many things to get them

  • into trouble at nighttime.

  • They come out here and work out.

  • And I won't lie.

  • If they win their fight, I'm better for it.

  • So I'm selfish that way.

  • I'm real happy they don't have a lot of things to do to get

  • them in trouble.

  • DIEGO BRANDAO: I like to hear this shit, because I'm a

  • worried mother fucker with UFC fighting.

  • [RAP MUSIC]

  • BART PALASZEWSKI: Obviously fighting is my job.

  • It's kind of who I am.

  • I'm a father and a husband first.

  • That comes first, before anything.

  • The biggest fear I have is losing.

  • Losing is worse than getting hurt.

  • I've been hurt.

  • I've been knocked down in fights.

  • I've broken my hands, broken my arm.

  • I've got hurt in fights.

  • But losing hurts more than any of those things, man.

  • Those bones and everything heals, you know.

  • But that loss on your record will never heal.

  • -The only shitty part is it's like a fucking $1.50 a round.

  • MATT RUSKIN: Yeah, dude.

  • BART PALASZEWSKI: Every time you shoot, you go, [SOBBING].

  • MATT RUSKIN: My daughter's college fund was going just in

  • ammo, you know?

  • DIEGO BRANDAO: You saving my green card if

  • cops come down here?

  • No joking.

  • MATT RUSKIN: I don't want you to lose your green card.

  • DIEGO BRANDAO: No, listen, no, because the cops find 32

  • bodies that way.

  • MATT RUSKIN: Oh, really?

  • DIEGO BRANDAO: These are cops--

  • MATT RUSKIN: How many were you responsible for?

  • HUNTER TUCKER: Something about Albuquerque being on that main

  • Interstate 40, coming from California all the way across,

  • it seems like there's a lot of shady activities, as far as

  • people using it as a hub to distribute stuff.

  • I don't know what some of these people that look like

  • zombies are on, whenever they're walking around.

  • But I don't know.

  • I like Albuquerque, man.

  • It's good people.

  • Jackson's Gym is at the heart of some of the

  • rougher parts of it.

  • I'll be walking in the gym, and I'll have some guy

  • stumbling around with a beer in his hand,

  • like, hey, you a fighter?

  • Think you could beat me up?

  • You know, just that kind of deal.

  • [MUSIC PLAYING]

  • TRAVIS BROWN: The cage is actually pretty safe.

  • If you're getting in there with another guy who is trying

  • to beat you up, at the same time, you've trained for that.

  • There's other situations I've been that are way scarier,

  • things that might catch you off guard.

  • Like a car accident is way scarier.

  • You don't know what just hit you or if you're still fine of

  • if you're in the hospital already or what.

  • So the cage is definitely not the scariest thing I've ever

  • been through.

  • NICK URSO: I think fighting is as raw as it can possibly get.

  • I feel like everything we do has kind of been tainted, by

  • whether it's media or what's popular, trends, you know?

  • Fighting has always been consistent.

  • It's always one-on-one.

  • You put two men together and they fight.

  • There's always going to be a winner.

  • And that winner is the better man.

  • MMA has changed my whole view on life as a whole.

  • You're getting beat up by somebody, and it makes you

  • realize that you're human.

  • It puts things into perspective.

  • You find out who you are, when you want to break, when you

  • want to quit.

  • ERIK PEREZ: You know it's crazy life.

  • If you get outside in the morning, go to the job eight

  • hours, come into in the home and sleep.

  • So I don't like jobs.

  • This is my job.

  • If one doctor told me, hey, if you fight, you die tomorrow, I

  • would still train.

  • I don't care.

  • This is my life.

  • [SPEAKING SPANISH]

  • [MUSIC PLAYING]

[HEAVY PANTS, THUDS]

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