[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]
-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]