- I used to be a young creator dreaming of becoming a filmmaker.

In 2013, with a camera in my hand, I embarked on a journey deep into the world of combat sports.

This is when I fell in love with mixed martial arts.

Just by spending time with fighters, I discovered that MMA is more than a sport.

It is a fusion of martial arts, athleticism, and diverse background.

It reflects the dedication and mastery of fighters, showcasing grit, determination, and resilience that athletes exhibit for the show and hope to become champions.

But with a growing family, there wasn't anymore room for personal projects, and I eventually stopped my documentary.

Then I turned 40 and have been flirting with midlife crisis since then.

I was questioning who I was and what to do.

I wanted to do something big, something meaningful, something that will give me a feeling of accomplishment.

So I started to watch footage from my embodied documentary, and that brought back my fascination with combat sports.

MMA is real.

When you fight, there is no hiding.

It's just you as you are.

I really wanted to start over, dive again into the world of MMA.

Not only did I want another shot at making my film, but I also needed to be part of it.

I wanted to connect with fighters by speaking their language.

I wanted to put the gloves on, and I wanted to fight.

So I started training in my garage, punching the bags like there was no tomorrow.

(inspiring music) It felt so good, I became addicted to it.

My training intensified to the point where I was in my garage every single day.

Making this documentary became my priority, and I didn't want to fail this time.

I started reading all sorts of books about combat sports, the roaring biographies of fighters who had dedicated their entire existence to their craft.

These pages and unfolded stories of regular people turned into monsters, risk it all to face the harsh realities of life in the hope for brighter future.

Mike Tyson said, "Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the face."

Well, Mike, getting punched in the face was exactly my plan.

This documentary is my quest to discover the essence of combat sports, what is driving fighters through ups and downs so we can learn from their ability to deal with the worst situations.

(inspiring music) This is Gee, a May Thai coach from the YESS Training Boxing Club in Dumont, New Jersey.

Back when I was filming my documentary, Gee was amateur fighter with an excellent record of victories and was doing everything he could to turn pro.

Unfortunately, things didn't go his way.

Last time we met, you were not a coach, you were a fighter trying to turn pro.

What happened?

- So I turned pro boxing, and I couldn't find a fight for whatever reason for like two, three years, I was gonna make my professional debut for boxing, and the week before the event happened, the whole event got canceled.

- When did you know it was time to give up on your dreams to turn pro?

- It was just very discouraging, and I'm just like, you know what?

You know, maybe I don't wanna stress about it anymore.

You know?

'Cause obviously, having a fight or trying to get a fight, and then it's very stressful, and then not having it, it's like, ah, what the heck?

- It brings you down.

- Yeah.

So then I didn't wanna go through that stress anymore, so I just decided to just focus on something else and not worry about that.

And I got into the film fighting, so.

In boxing, you wanna keep everything nice and tight, right?

And in stunt or camera.

- Yeah, exactly right.

- Yeah, so you're going, pow, so they gotta see all that shoulder movement.

Pow, pow, boom.

If this was my leg, I would have to try to aim it with, you know, six inches.

- Yeah.

- But sometimes accidents happens.

(both laughing) So you get it.

- So why don't you show me like a short choreography?

- Like I push you from here, and then you push me back, and then we're gonna have the camera same way over your shoulder, over your shoulder shot, right?

- Okay.

Did you like the smoothie today?

No, I did not like it!

- What do you mean?

Ah, come on.

(fists smacking) (Gee grunting) There you go.

Don't talk to me like that again.

(gym members chattering) - [Coach] Left hand, yeah, there you go.

- [Ben] Soon enough it was time to step into the ring for real.

No stand fights anymore.

It was time to find a partner and spar.

(gloves thudding) This was terrible.

I got beat up and was angry at myself.

Angry because I went into sparring without proper technique.

I got played because I didn't know anything about fighting.

I was just a punching bag.

I was falling in every trap, stuck against the ropes, in the corner, getting hit in the face, in the stomach, kidneys, liver, and legs, everywhere.

This needed to change.

There was no way around it.

To connect with fighters, I needed to become a better one.

(tense music) (tense music continues) This brought me to Plainfield, New Jersey.

Shy has about 20 years of combat sports experience, from boxing to Brazilian jiu-jitsu, MMA has no secrets for him.

He trained with the best athletes and fighters in the world.

And I was here to learn.

- You all the way *** up.

You got, there you go.

You gotta be more sideways so you less to hit.

You more square, you open to everything.

So you bend your knees a little bit.

Right, good boy, all right.

Don't blink so much when you jab.

Keep your eyes open when you jab.

We as fighters, we have to take a chance.

When you slip a punch, you want it to barely miss you, and you want to go towards that punch.

Yes, if you miscalculate and make a mistake, it's gonna hurt a lot worse.

You just want to do enough just to miss the punch.

You fire that right hand, I'm inside.

Now we can count on our opponents.

- How long you've been, you know, doing combat sports?

- All my life, boxing was my first love.

- Why did you love boxing so much?

- (laughs) Well, one, when you come from a rough place, you need it.

And two, it was a lot of fun.

Fighting period is my love.

I love boxing and jiu-jitsu.

- You've trained with, you know, new athletes, new people, like new people coming into boxing, into MMA, you're also trained with- - Best in the world, yeah.

- The best in the world, right?

What is it like to train with the best in the world?

- What separated them from everyone else was attention to detail.

You gotta do the small details correctly.

- Is there anything that all have in common?

- I would have to say discipline.

Discipline is what they all had in common to me.

They did, they'd show up to the gym no matter what.

Most people won't show up to the gym no matter what.

Double jab right here.

Body shot.

Come on, man, you hit like a ***.

Come on, put something on it.

Throw your punch with some passion, man, you slapping like a little girl.

Throw that ***.

Come on, man, throw that ***, dig.

Move your *** head, move your head.

That right hand slow.

Man, you bringing the *** back in slow motion.

What the *** you waiting for, a receipt?

Move your *** head, man, move!

There you go.

You gonna get a receipt, all right, ***.

This gonna be your receipt.

Breathe, ***, breathe.

In your nose, out your mouth, breathe.

Stop *** blinking and punching, like a little girl, man.

Come on, man, keep your *** eyes open, man.

Once you in range to get hit, that blinking *** go out the window.

Here, now you can blink a little bit.

Once you in range to get hit, it's no more blinking.

The fight's over in a second.

Less than a second, the fight's over.

No blinking and punching at the same time.

(inspiring music) And back to the head.

Ah-huh.

(inspiring music) Head up, need new gloves.

- Thank you.

- What's up?

All right, we not playing.

We'll come out, right out.

Dodge, dodge, double it.

Punch, punch.

Throw your punches with some passion.

Dig, dig!

Bring it back to the head.

Right here, behind that.

Yo (laughs).

- I know this guy.

- You putting a ring in?

- No - Just this mat?

- I'm gonna do a cage.

And then there's gonna be a few bags that, that's going to slide either to the middle or you can push 'em back.

- I see.

- A lot of fighters come from the hood.

You know, you come from nothing.

You have nothing but time to master your craft, you know?

Yeah, but going to the gym is an escape, you know?

Getting good at something, it's your way out.

It gives you a break from everything.

I'm gonna do a non-profit, and the kids that, you know, grew up like how most of us did out here, all in free.

And then everyone from outside of town, they got a couple dollars, we'll charge them.

Yeah, we in liberty, which I'm sure some of the students going come outta here.

- [Ben] You could do a lot of other stuff.

- Yes, I could definitely.

- Why you want to do this?

- I kick myself in the butt all the time.

I could sell this place, and go do something else.

I don't know.

It's just, man, it to be.

I needed it when I was younger.

So, you know, I think I can make a difference.

I think I could really, really help some kids out here.

I mean, I just want to help, and I hope the kids become stars and millionaires.

You know, and they don't have to, they don't have to get in trouble.

They don't have to go to jail, get locked up.

A lot of talent is inside the prison system.

It's sad.

Some of the best basketball players, some of the best fighters, they're all locked up.

The best, funniest comedians, they're all in there.

So if you can catch 'em before they go in there, that's a pretty good thing.

(inspiring music) - [Ben] Shy has a big heart.

He is trying to make things right, do the good things for people he cares about.

Weeks after weeks, he was teaching me the science of boxing, but he did way more than that.

He showed me moves and techniques, but he was also fighting with me.

Sparring was sometime all of what we did, rounds after rounds, and every single time, he tried to break me physically and mentally.

(both laughing) - That one hurt, huh?

(inspiring music) (gloves thudding) - [Ben] And over time, I learned how to hide the pain, not worry about how much time is left on the clock and make my opponents believe I am the biggest and strongest one.

And if I were to make any mistake, Shy will make sure I pay for it.

I felt pressure and learned to with it.

When you learn with a stick, you learn pretty fast.

(inspiring music) The more I trained with Shy, the more I understood about fighter's mindset.

I never thought someone like me would actually be able to be respected by someone like him.

For fighters, your appearance means nothing.

What is meaningful is what you do, what you prove when you are in a difficult spot and how you react.

Are you going to run away or stick your feet to the ground and fight?

- Dig to that body, dig to that body, man, let's go!

Get back, get back!

Time, Time (laughs).

- Yo.

- ***.

- Because there is no hiding in combat sports, the ring reveals who you truly are.

I was getting better with my hands, but MMA isn't just boxing and May Thai.

Brazilian jiu-jitsu, or the art of breaking limbs and choking your opponents, is a discipline I almost know nothing about.

I went to meet Jamal Patterson, a former pro MMA fighter who coaches UFC fighters out of his academy in Union, New Jersey.

One of them is Sijara Eubanks, a seven-time Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion.

So the plan is to do a little bit of sparring with your fighter, SarJ.

- You have to work on stopping a take down because, you know, she's a seven-time world champion in jiu-jitsu.

So it should be interesting.

I touch your leg.

I want you to pull the leg down and circle.

So when I roll down, you're gonna circle hard.

Okay?

- Okay.

- So jab, circle hard.

Good.

Double.

Good.

Now I wanna work on some sprawling situations, right?

When I'm here, I'm exploding forward and coming back up.

Okay?

- All right.

- Good.

Good.

- From the moment, you know you have a fight, and what's the, you know, planning and, you know, training looks like?

- So the next seven, eight weeks is gonna be like what we call a fight camp, when you really start to increase the intensity, dial up the focus.

- How do you train hard but safe at the same time?

- What I had to learn as a fighter is like recovery, stretching, rest days are just as important as the hard days.

What I think is most important is picking partners.

Like for safety purposes, I don't want to go with some new guy.

(both laughing) - What she's trying to do is she's gonna try to touch your leg without getting you to move, right?

So not really showing to tell.

So she's gonna try to get you into a movement where she can get on your leg.

Now you see the difference when person's coming back with a punch.

It's a feel thing.

He's like, how the hell did you get in there so quickly?

(group laughing) - What is it to go with your crew, when you board on that plane to go to Vegas?

- There's something about getting on that plane.

It's, you can't- - It's real.

- Yeah, you're not gonna learn anything else.

You're not gonna figure out anything new really.

- Everything's done.

- Your cardio's what your cardio's gonna be, your skillset what your skillset is.

- When you know, they call your name, the music goes on, and then you walk to the cage, you know, what goes through your mind at this point?

- Yeah, what the *** am I doing?

Can I curse on this thing.

(both laughing) You're in the back, and you're in this locker room, and it's pretty quiet.

And then they walk you through the hallways, and you're like (breathing).

So they pull that curtain back, and it's like, yo, bro, it's lights and the crowd, and they're playing your song.

And that's the moment where you're either like, go, and that's when it's like, then you just gotta jump.

Then whether you're scared or not, you just *** pretend you're badass no matter what.

- How is it being a female fighter in MMA?

- I think women are treated as fairly as you're gonna get in the MMA in UFC.

Women have started headlining fights.

They might be, you know, smaller cards, but you've got women headlining cards now.

You've got women being feature bouts all the time, and we get paid relatively the same.

Maybe the only difference is probably in the fan base, where I think fans kind of root for whoever's hot.

- So you don't listen too much to that?

- No, MMA fans are fickle.

American fans boo Americans at MMA.

- Well, she's gonna pick it up on you.

Okay?

Trust me.

I'm telling you right now, she's gonna be like a wet blanket on top of you.

(both grunting) Uh-oh.

No!

- What do I do, Jamal?

Come on.

- Cover up.

Hip escape, hip escape!

Don't just sit there.

- What do I do?

What do I do?

- Tap, I tap out.

(laughs) Tap out.

- Nice.

(group laughing) - Don't let her settle in here.

Uh-oh, uh-oh, don't panic.

Control your breathing, control your breathing.

Now she's just trying to suffocate you and panic you down here.

Protect yourself, protect yourself from this kimura.

(Ben tapping) Hey.

- What's the flip side, the thing that we don't see about MMA, you know, according to you?

On the media, we just see the fun stuff?

- The training and all of that stuff.

It seems easy, right?

But then there's all of the background stuff that's going on in your life, right?

Are you gonna make it?

Am I making enough money?

Am I injured?

Do I believe that I can do this, right?

Being an MMA fighter is the most difficult thing.

If you didn't work out hard enough, there's a little person that's on your shoulder, because a fight's rough.

But when a lot of times in that fight, when that person on your shoulder's telling you to quit, and the less you work out, that voice gets a little bit louder.

- How did you know it was time to move on?

- You live with your brain for the rest of your life.

And you know, you fighting to 40 years old.

Now you have the second half of your life to live, and what's it gonna be like?

Are you gonna be drooling outta your, you know, side of your mouth?

Can you not talk?

Are you stuttering?

I just didn't want to be that person.

And I just knew it was over.

It was done, it was done for me.

- How do you bring that into your coaching style with SarJ?

- It's a very hard conversation.

It's a very difficult conversation.

Sometimes it has to be a realistic conversation.

'Cause it's very hard for a coach to tell a fighter that they're done because they already kind of know that they're done.

And then when you tell 'em they're done, and then they have to get back in the ring, remember that little voice that I was telling you about?

- [Ben] Yeah, yeah.

- Now he's really chirping in your ear.

I don't wanna see these people get hurt.

They have to live the rest of the lives, you know?

And especially, this is a person who's my friend after fighting, you know?

They'll be my friend for the rest of my life, right?

I don't give a *** about this short-term victory of like getting in there and winning in a ring, doesn't really mean anything in the perspective of life.

The goal is though, and I think is to start setting them up before that time.

Don't just rely on this next fight, next fight, next fight, next fight, 'cause it is going to end.

Everyone's, everybody's career ends.

(gentle music) (distant siren echoing) - Right in front of New York City is the little town of Hoboken.

This is where David Branch, two-time world champion, MMA veteran trains every day with the hope that the promotion would give him another fight so he could be champion again.

Tell me a little bit about the belts that's the highlight of your career.

- I'm the first person to do two belts in simultaneously, at the first time, you know?

The whole MMA community was like, whoa!

See my ass is getting old now.

I can't do this *** forever.

So they gotta do it now, you know?

I want to play with my kids, man, just work out, have enough energy to run around with my 5-year-old.

Maybe a couple more fights, and then that's it.

Or else you're one of those *** old guys still trying to relive your glory days.

You know what I mean?

And the young guys are like, "Dude, when are you gonna understand that your *** time is done?"

♪ When the darkness meets the rising sun ♪ (inspiring music) - [Ben] You can recognize a fighter just by the look on their face when it's time to train.

No matter how friendly and kind it can be, just before the timer starts, the look and attitude changes.

Their eyes become darker, their face more stoic, their body seems to expand, seemingly becoming taller and stronger.

They have entered beast mode.

If the sparring goes well, and punches and kicks are exchanged, they will soon be in the zone.

It is a unique feeling how to describe with words.

So I will do my best.

The zone is when you don't worry anymore about being punched, you don't worry anymore about being tired or injured.

You just go all in and try to outperform, outwit and outwork your training partner.

There is no place for weakness, no more inhibition.

Giving 100% all the time is what fighters respect above all.

When the bell rings again, the fierce look is gone, you start to feel the pain and the pressure goes down.

- You good?

- I'm good.

When did you start being a fighter?

- Yeah, I mean, it started when I was like yay-big.

When I was like second grade, maybe first grade.

And my environment, I grew up in the Bronx, in the South Bronx in New York.

The kids had disputes with each other.

And the older guys and the older kids, our parents used to make everybody make a big circle, and in the park and in the baseball field, in the sandbox.

And we'd have it out, and we'd fight, and we'd settle the difference, so.

- How long does your professional MMA career?

- I'd say about 14, maybe 15 years.

I've been in the sport maybe a little long, but I was active for maybe about 14 years.

- And waiting to get a fight since the beginning of the year or something?

- (laughs) Yeah.

You know, some fighters are talented.

I'm still a very talented fighter.

And that may not be the narrative that a promotion wants to push, you know what I mean?

Like, I don't know.

They wanna push certain people.

They pick certain people that they wanna push.

You can make anybody a superstar.

- That first fight, is it something that's very, you know, violent, no shin pads, no protection, nothing.

The MMA gloves that are kind of, you know, smaller than the globe we use today.

Like, do you see really a difference, or with the adrenaline and everything, it's like another day at the office pretty much?

- Oh, no, it was a lot of adrenaline.

I was extremely nervous.

I went directly into the pro division because I didn't know anything about amateur.

And it was a guy named Craig "The Crusher" Simone.

That was my first fight.

And he was a hometown favorite.

And took him down and pounded him out.

And I didn't know what the hell I was doing, and I was just like, man, you have a really good job.

I was like, why are you doing this?

Like, they're paying you $200, and $200, like.

- Right, - Why are you doing this?

I was actually trying to figure out how I can like fake an injury in the dressing room to get out of this.

- Really.

- Yeah, I went through this whole scenario, and I said to myself, I said, all right, I'm gonna hit my toe on like the side of the wall and say I heard I broke my toe.

I can't go out and fight.

But then I was gonna be like, I said to myself, they're gonna know that like I'm *** them.

And I said, this is not gonna work.

I said, they're gonna kick me outta the academy.

And I went through this whole scenario, and I was like, what the *** are you, what are you talking about?

Like, what are you even, why are you even entertaining this?

I said, just go out there and do what you do and fight this dude.

- [Coach] John, use your legs more.

- Grind, John, grind, grind, grind.

- [Coach] Everything, John, everything, everything, John.

- Constant pressure till you get a finish or a break.

TKO, what I mean by break, Back on him, back on him.

- [Coach] Take him down again.

- Piece 'em up right there.

Then take him down when you get 'em.

Yes, piece him up right there.

Piece him up right there.

Pick him.

Pick him.

Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh.

You okay?

You okay?

- [Coach] That's good.

- [David] Stay in that workspace again.

That's that pressure right there.

Even if you're not doing anything, he feels that, that constant pressure.

- [Coach] Move on from there.

Move up, move up.

- Yeah!

- Easy, Johnny, easy.

- Easy, easy, easy, easy.

(fighters grunting) Easy, easy, easy.

- John, easy, easy.

- Easy, John, we need him.

You can't do that.

- [John] Yes, sir.

- [Coach] You good?

- He's good.

He's good.

He's a fighter.

Just pick, easy, nice and easy.

Keep working.

Keep working.

- [Coach] Work, work, let's go.

- Turn his head to the, turn his head to the back.

- [Coach] Take his back.

Take his back.

- Easy, no, no frustration.

No frustration.

There you go.

Nice and light.

Nice and light.

Let him up now.

Let him up.

Let him up.

Let him up.

Let him up.

Let him up.

Let him up.

Back off.

Back off.

Back off.

Back off.

Let him up.

Let him up.

Let him up.

Let him up.

You cut?

You cut?

- Yeah, stop, stop.

- How bad is it?

It's bad?

- It's bad, yeah.

- Spread it.

- It doesn't hurt.

- It's a little nick.

- Sorry.

- [Fighter] Roll on me, man.

(indistinct) too hard.

- [Coach] Go over here.

- Thank you.

- [Coach] And then you gave up.

You like three quarters of the way out.

Extend it, take your head out.

You can reach.

- I know you're very close to your students.

What does this gym represent?

- It's a family-oriented place.

We all come from different backgrounds, a lot of different people, different cultures, different places in the world.

But we all have one thing in common.

We all work hard, and we all train.

And that thing, that brings us together.

We build a trust by strangling each other, like kicking each other's butts and coming back doing it every day.

The stuff that I'm teaching them is all battle tested.

My students, when they get to a certain point, they're gonna *** some *** up, you know?

(gentle music) - [Ben] I made it.

I finally completed my documentary about combat sports.

What a ride.

During my journey, I have been exposed to violence and pain.

I discovered that this sport is about testing your own limits constantly and always pushing a little bit more.

So the person you are today is stronger than the person you were yesterday.

This sport is hard and demands an incredible amount of determination.

It is easy to give up and go back to the comfort of your home, but for some reason, fighters don't do it.

But the most striking discovery I made, something I would have never expected, is that the three-minute round fights is enough for two complete strangers to become friends.

Sparring is so intense that it creates almost instantly a bond I never experienced before.

You can't hide anything when you are in the ring.

Fighting reveals who you truly are inside.

It shows part of you you didn't know existed.

Now I feel like I barely scratched the surface of combat sports and that my journey has just started.

There are millions of fighters all around the world.

So many different martial arts and combat sports discipline, training styles based on culture and tradition, all endless opportunities to connect with people from all over the world.

With my boxing gloves in my bag, I will travel the world to tell the stories of the most ferocious human to ever live, the one who choose to fight.

This is "Open Guard."

(inspiring music) (inspiring music continues)