- [Chris] Aria is far from fight ready.
- [Scott] I don't know if Aria's taking this
as serious as he should right now.
- [Aria] There's just something that's just not clicking.
And I don't really know what it is.
- [Scott] If someone's wrapping around your head
and neck with a proper guillotine, right.
- We're going to go two on one.
So both your hands are going to trap the choking arm
and pull it away from the neck.
And you come up.
- [Scott] I need you to start pulling.
I'm going to look up like this.
You don't have no power here.
(Aria groaning)
Look up. Good. Get your hips towards me.
Yeah. See now I don't have power here.
Now you can spin.
- Yeah. - [Aria] Got you.
- Hey there. I'm Aria and I have started training
once again in mixed martial arts with the hopes,
the plan the step back into the cage
for a second amateur fight.
- [Aria] Over two years ago,
I stepped into the cage after just four months of training
to fight my first amateur bout.
I lost the fight in just under a minute after I refuse to
tap out to a guillotine choke and was rendered unconscious.
- But for me, it was always more than just a win or a loss.
- [Aria] Yes. A win would have been amazing, but for me,
the victory was stepping into that cage.
- It was an incredible personal journey,
and I released a video about it on Buzzfeed.
And so many of you were so incredibly supportive.
- [Aria] I still to this day receive messages
about that video and questions about whether or not
I would fight again because I did at the end
of the last video, say that I would fight again.
That was over two years ago.
- So much has changed.
I mean, let's not even start with the state of the world.
Even with myself though.
So much has changed in my personal life.
My professional life. I have a mustache now.
I wanted to live up to the promise I made
at the end of the last video.
And so I've begun training again with the hope
of fighting another amateur bout.
- [Aria] I have brought back the exact same team
I trained with last time.
- [Aria] I have as my head coach, Chris Reilly,
a legendary MMA coach and Muay Thai champion.
- I'm also once again, working with Daniel Gutierrez
- [Aria] who runs Defiant gym
in Burbank, California.
- But this time around to make sure I don't get caught
in another fluke choke that I somehow can't get out of,
I've added a dedicated Jiu Jitsu coach in the shape
of Scott Epstein, a third degree, black belt
under the legendary Eddie Bravo at 10th planet.
- [Scott] I don't know if it was a fluke position.
I mean, it could be.
- [Scott] It's a guillotine. He went for it.
It's just not the best setup for a guillotine.
It's kind of a weird, shitty one.
- But because you had no knowledge of
oh, I'm in trouble now,
you had no urgency to get the fuck out, right?
- [Scott] Jiu Jitsu, for the layman, it's kind of like
- wrestling but instead of trying to pin the other person,
you're trying to make them say, uncle, tap out, give up.
And there's a lot of joints that could be manipulated
- [Scott] into a position where it's going to hurt
really bad,
potentially break a bone or hyper-extend a joint.
So the opponent would have to give up that,
and then there are chokes.
And the chokes, if you don't let go, they go to sleep.
- And if you don't let go after they sleep,
they go into a coma.
And if you don't go look after that, they die.
- [Scott] Aria would not have gotten choked out
in that first fight
- if he had been training Jiu Jitsu.
He would have smelled that out a million miles away.
It wouldn't have gone that far.
I don't know what the outcome would have been
but it definitely wouldn't have been choked out to that.
No shot.
- [Scott] Now there's a sense of urgency.
- Like, wait, you, ain't getting my neck, homeboy.
Get the fuck outta here. You know?
If now it's going to be, I'm getting your neck. Bitch.
All right. I'm going to drop some illegal elbows on you.
(Aria laughs)
- [Aria] You want me to DQ'ed
(Aria laughs)
- [Scott] Nah, nah, nah, no.
- You missed the hook and the elbow accidentally hit.
That's allowed.
Accidentally.
- [Aria] Yeah.
- [Chris] 30 seconds. 1, 2, 3, 2.
(punching sound)
- Again.
- [Chris] Hands up. Proper punches with your body.
Chin down. Come on. Chin.
(punching sounds)
- [Chris] That chin has to be corrected immediately.
(punching sounds)
- [Chris] Good.
(punching sounds)
- [Chris] Good.
(punching sounds)
- [Chris] Good. Come on. Hands.
(punching sounds)
- [Chris] Good. Good. Come on, bring those hands back up.
(punching sounds)
- [Chris] Okay, that's enough.
(Aria sighs)
(heavy breathing)
- Training has been, it's been something.
- [Aria] So I've been trading now for a little bit
and it's been tough, you know,
getting back into the swing of things after two years off.
- [Aria] I certainly haven't been training consistently
- Uh, since the last fight, especially,
you know, when COVID hit.
Like rolling around with other people
in a gym was probably the least sanitary thing you could do
in the middle of a pandemic.
So I wasn't going to the gym for a long stretch of time.
- So we just basically went through some very basic training
and only a couple of rounds,
just simple feint, jab, cross, hook.
I mean, you were pretty gassed.
So I think, you know,
we've got to really work on your cardio
and once we do, I think you'll start to see some
of your skills come back, but it's gotta be done.
- [Chris] So we've just now started easing back
into training.
- And obviously with the time off,
Aria has slid back somewhat from where he was
when we actually stepped into the Octagon last time.
Aria is going to face a lot of mental challenges
this time around.
- [Chris] I do think that you're dealing
with a level of awareness going into this fight
that you did not have going into the first fight.
And that in itself can be an obstacle to overcome
- [Chris] Because when you haven't done this yet,
you don't know how hard it is.
So you just show up and do what you're told.
And then all of a sudden,
- [Chris] the fight day comes and you will walk out
and you go there and you do it.
But then the next time it happens,
you're dealing with the knowledge
of how hard you had to work,
- [Chris] how difficult it was to make that walk
into the cage and to face that guy.
- And the reality that you've gone back to work
and gotten into a relationship
and done the things that people do in life.
And now all of a sudden you got to step back into the gym
and try to pick up where you left off two years ago.
- [Chris] I think that's a significant mental obstacle
that needs to be overcome.
- [Aria] And I feel like a part of me that's struggling
a lot more, I think mentally, than I dealt with previously.
- [Aria] It's a different type of struggle, I feel.
- Like the doubts I faced last time were more
external factors
- [Aria] No doubts from other people.
- [Aria] You know, if my body could even handle
the training but this time around,
- the struggle of the doubts feel different.
It feels like they're more like within me.
I can't really place a finger on it,
but there's just something that's just not clicking.
And I don't really know what it is.
And the other thing that's in the back of my mind is that
I haven't told my mom or dad yet
that I might be getting back in the cage
which I already know they're not gonna be ecstatic to hear.
The last time I fought, my father didn't know
until it was done
because my mom didn't want to worry my dad.
And when it was over, I told my mom don't worry, that's it.
You know, it's not going to happen again.
And I believed it in the moment.
I thought, yeah, you know, I did what I set out to do.
So why I get back in there?
So I don't know how I'm going to break that to them.
And so I think that's also kind of in the back of my mind .
- [Mom] How are you?
- [Aria] Yeah. The fight's over.
- [Mom] Still, how are you?
- I'm good. I'm good.
I passed out.
- [Mom] You're kidding.
(Aria laughs)
- No. Yeah. But I didn't tap.
- [Mom] Nothing! Nothing!
- That's my dad.
- [Mom] No, there's nothing!
I don't want him to know.
- Okay. Yeah.
- [Mom] Okay. No more. Don't do anymore.
Right? We're finished? We're done?
I haven't been sleeping for a whole week
and everything so it's like okay.
(mother laughs)
- Yeah.
Now you can sleep. It's all done. It's all done.
- [Mom] Okay.
- It's over now.
I'm happy. Now I can sleep tonight.
Okay.
- All right. All right.
- [Mom] I love you. Love you.
- Love you. Love you, bye.
- [Mom] Okay, bye. - Bye.
(xylophone music)
(alarm sounding)
(xylophone music continues)
- [Scott] At this point, you're not doing enough Jiu Jitsu.
And that is why you're here because you got tapped.
- [Scott] You got choked the fuck out.
- Make time to be here if it's important to you.
I can't help you if you're not here.
You can't help you if you're not here.
You should not take a fucking fight
if you're not training for that fight.
We don't want a false sense of security.
And I'm not saying that you have this,
but you don't want to be someone
that didn't really train for the fight
but you feel like you can win it cause that guy looks weak.
That guy kinda sucks and...
But that guy's busting his ass.
And you know, you're editing till three in the morning.
- [Scott] You're a positive, really sweet fucking dude.
- Like you're a kind, I don't see a shitty bone
in your body, you know.
And that's a good thing,
but you're going to need a little aggression.
- [Scott] You got to be like,
okay, I have this thing.
- And I want to do well. I want to win.
It's not I want to test myself.
If you just want to test yourself, don't do it.
- [Scott] Don't do it.
- No more excuses. No more late.
No more not not showing up and sending me a text message.
I don't give a fuck. I don't. I don't give a fuck.
If you don't give a fuck, I don't give a fuck.
If you're here and you care, I automatically care.
- [Scott] That's on you.
- And if you don't feel right about it,
don't fucking do it.
(food frying)
- [Aria] Just got off the phone with my mom.
- And told her about my plans to potentially fight
in the cage again.
And didn't record that call because it definitely didn't...
You know, it went the way I expected.
you know, my mother wasn't too thrilled.
Obviously my mom was very concerned to hear
that I was going to potentially put myself
through that again.
And yeah, I mean,
it's definitely something that gives me pause.
(soothing music)
- I think it's helped me kind of understand
a little bit more about why things have felt off with me.
- [Aria] Last time around, I was laser focused.
There was nothing else on my mind,
except for eating well, training well,
and doing everything I could to get into the cage feeling
as comfortable as I could.
- And I did that. I accomplished that and
and I think that's what it is.
I think I accomplished that.
And so whatever that goal was,
that goal, isn't the same as whatever goal I have now.
And I think what I'm struggling with is finding that.
A goal, a reason.
Whatever my reason would be for fighting is different
from other fighters, right,
because I'm not looking to do this professionally full time.
I guess what my mind is trying to rationalize
or trying to understand is like, what is the purpose.
What is my purpose in doing this? Other than pride.
Other than wanting to make up for my loss last time.
And if that is the only reason I could come up with
I'm struggling to
to see that as being enough
for putting my family, putting the people who love me,
who care about me through the stress
of seeing me in the cage again,
especially after having seen what happened to me last time,
how much worse it could be.
And the furthermore, not just for them but also for myself
you know, like I'm in a different place
than I was two years ago.
- [Aria] I've been leaning into a lot more
of the filmmaking passion that I have.
- [Aria] I've done documentaries for the unsolved network.
- I'm working on my own personal projects.
You know, things that I wasn't really carrying
with me last time around.
- [Aria] And then there's other variables too.
Like I'm in a relationship now.
A great relationship that I want to be able to contribute to
and not be like this absent partner who's gone,
constantly training.
- This time around, there's just so many other things
I feel on the table that I feel responsible for.
And I think that's why I'm struggling to rationalize
if just my pride alone,
if fighting again for the sake of my pride alone is worth
all of that.
- [Chris] All right. So today let's get a couple rounds
of boxing sparring in.
- It's been a minute since you've been in the ring,
so let's start easy, just work jobs and feints.
- [Chris] Try to mostly just work with our left hand,
the first round and then we'll pick it up a little.
- [Chris] Hands up and chin down.
You've gotta stay focused.
(punching and heavy breathing)
- [Chris] Chin down, hands up.
(Aria groaning)
- [Chris] Come on.
(punching and heavy breathing)
- [Chris] Come on. We're not even halfway through this.
Second round, come on.
I'm going to go harder.
(Aria groaning)
(alarm sound)
- [Chris] One more.
- [Aria] Sparring sessions always act
as a good reality check.
And for the past few weeks
- or maybe since I really began training,
this time around, I feel like it's all been
one big reality check.
You know.
- [Scott] So I don't know if Aria's taking this
as serious as he should right now
And I mean, I'm sure he wants to do this
but he's not training the way he should.
He's not doing what he's supposed to do in the moment.
And I know there's all sides,
there's work and there's projects
and there's whatever the fuck's going on in his life
that's holding him back,
but that's not gonna matter when he,
if he steps up and he gets in the cage.
(alarm sounds)
(drums play)
- [Chris] Use your left hand.
There you go.
- That was good.
- I felt like there were times
- [Aria] where I was holding my own in the sparring.
I was trying to compare to the first time
I ever sparred with Chris.
- [Aria] Where I was just getting knocked around
like a ragdoll.
This time around,
- I was still getting knocked around like a ragdoll,
but I feel like there were flashes of moments
where I thought, okay.
(punching sound)
I can do this again.
- Right now. It's time to get going.
It's time to start treating this like a fight camp,
and Aria needs to get his priorities in line.
(heavy breathing)
- [Chris] There you go. See?
You happy now. You just have to believe in yourself.
- [Aria] I realized though
that a reality check doesn't necessarily
have to be a bad thing cause, if anything,
this reality check of all the sparring,
it reminded me of what I can do.
And I think I'm finally about to figure out the reason
why I'm stepping back into the cage.
- [Chris] Come on.
(Aria groaning)
(alarm sounds)
(drums stop)