"I'm meteorologist Mike Mitchell with another sun-filled day in the southland." "Basin temperatures ranging from upper 70s at the beaches, civic center low 80s, and the inland empire will see highs up there around 90 or so." "High deserts and desert locations cracking the century mark, like in Phoenix." "Salt Lake City... another hot day." "Seattle will be comfy in the mid-70s up there in the Pacific northwest." "And that will be the trend all week." "More of the same except for by Wednesday, there may be some storms down in the front range of Denver." "But that front's moving pretty rapidly and not expected to deposit much rain." "Hey, hey." "It's chow time." "How you feeling?" "Oh, man." "I'm feeling robust." "Good." "You get some sleep?" "10 hours." "All right, good." "You'll be able to take a nap later, too." "This is excellent." "It's good shit, right?" "What time do we have to be at the arena?" "Uh, 4:00, if you want to do the walk-through." "Roger that." "Second fight up." "Bam." "Mm." "You want some eggs?" "Mm-hmm." "But we don't have any." "I went to the store." "Who loves you?" "Um... did you hear anything from dad?" "Nope." "You've got to eat something." "I am eating." "I..." "I'll, um... eat some more after the shakeout." "If you want something else, I can go and get you something." "No, no, this is great." "Thanks." "It's, uh..." "You talk to Alvey?" "Mm-hmm." "Last night." "Anything I need to know?" "You know, Ryan, you had a great camp." "If Alvey shows or he doesn't show up, it doesn't matter." "You got this." "I..." "I don't feel ready." "I mean," "I feel like there's something missing... like... five years off?" "Like, I..." "I..." "I'm way behind." "I shouldn't have even taken this fight." "And I told Alvey from the beginning it's not in me." "So..." "I don't even know why I'm doing this." "I can tell you if you want me to." "Yeah, please." "Go ahead." "Tell me." "Tell me why I fight." "You're like a mouse in a maze." "One of those little white ones with the red eyes..." "Freaky eyes." "You need some sort of prize or some goal at the end... some girl you want to fuck, some guy you want to fuck off, and now you have both." "That's why you fight." "Now finish your oatmeal." "Uh, just a minute." " Can I get in there, honey?" " Hold on." " I have to pee like crazy." " Just a second." "Good morning." "Good morning to you." "You slept in late." "I've been awake for a while." "Just laying there." "How you doing?" "I'm good." "I..." "I'm worried about you." " About this guy?" " Yeah." "You are barely healed from the last fight." "This is different." "I'm fighting in the same weight class." "You don't have to worry." "But you're coming, right?" "Well, you know I can't watch you fight." "You don't have to watch." "You can just sit in the dressing room." "It's a big fight." "It's important to me, mom." "I need you there." "It would mean a lot to me." "Of course I'm gonna be there." "Finally." "My back teeth are floating." "I don't even... that's..." " You ready to roll?" " Yes, I am, Captain." "Mom, we'll be back in about, uh... about an hour." " I'll be here." " All right." "No autographs, please." "No autographs, please." "All right." "That's it." "Relax." "Stretch out." "Hey, Joe, can I talk to you for a minute?" "I want to go over some things for tonight." "Hey." "How'd it go this morning?" "I fucking hate needles, but it was fine." "You're not looking for a vein." "It can't get much easier." "When's the next one?" "When I give it to you." "Look, as long as you're getting it from me," "I'll control the dosage." "The shit's pretty fucking magical, but it's not a way of life." "When you're all recovered, we're done." " That's all I need." " All right." "What are you gonna do until the fight?" "Maybe lay around a little bit." "Sleep." "Poop, if I'm so inclined." "What about you?" "Turn my fucking head off, man." "I don't know." "Shit." "I suck at waiting." "Lisa and I used to, uh, go to Lacma." "There was this artist there who did these, like, giant, shiny dogs." "Huge." "And there was one that was just vacuum cleaners in a case." "Like a sculpture?" "Very perceptive, Jay." " Like art, you know?" " Yeah." "You know, we would wander around together and just, like, after a while, they all start to make sense, you know?" "Yes, but museums exhaust me, sir." "They're exhausting." "It's 'cause you're a fucking philistine." "Hey, Mac." "Come over here, man." "Wow." "What were you guys talking about over there, huh?" "Titties and racecars." " Oh." " What's up?" "I will be hosting the post-fight party at casa de Kulina this evening." "It's gonna be a very special night." "And win or lose, I've been a good boy." "But this behavior will abruptly conclude this evening." "What do you have in mind?" "I would like everything that gets me high, low, and in between." "I want to wake up tomorrow and remember shit that didn't happen, Mac, so whatever you got that does that," "I will put it inside of me." "It's gonna be one of those nights." "Oh, yes, it's going to be one of those nights." "Oh, yeah!" "Except for you." "Not you because you're on parole." "You owe me like 20 bucks, just so you know." "Can I talk to my fighter, please?" "I made a shitty mistake, Ryan." "I should have been here." "No fucking excuse." " It's okay." " No, man, it's not okay." "You did everything I asked you to do." "You did everything right, and I asked you to do a lot, Ryan." "Mm." "You gave a lot, too." "I mean," "I wouldn't be this far without you." "The cut went well." "I'm fine." "If you don't mind," "I'd rather just set this shit aside and focus on the fight." "What do you need from me right now?" "I wouldn't mind a few hours alone, get my head right." "Done." "I'll clear the gym out." "You and Lisa, too, if that's... cool." "Okay." "Place is all yours." "Is Jay still asleep?" "Yeah, the door's shut." "Probably get him up pretty soon." "Should I make some food for the party?" "It's, uh... it's not that kind of party." "What?" "Show me your arms." "What?" "Come on, Nate." "Show me." "What are you d... mom, what the fuck?" "I found it in the bathroom." " What are you using?" " Nothing." "Come on." "Who you talking to here?" "You took forever in there this morning, and I heard you rustling around." "What are you taking?" "Is it... is it oxy?" "Oxy?" "No." "It's HGH, okay?" "It's to help my recovery." "It's really not a big deal." "Well..." "Well, you have to be careful with that stuff." "Your dad started in on that, and it got super-expensive." "A... and people don't even know very much about it." "Some people think it grows cancer." "Okay." "It's temporary." "I promise." "Can you please not tell Jay and dad?" "It's your thing." "You just be careful." "I'm good." "I'm sorry." "I know it's not completely your fault, but it was really fucked up." "I know." "I know." "No excuses." "I'm gonna go see Dr. Kramer, and he'll give me something I can live with." "There are options." "You want to tear me apart?" "You should tear me apart" " 'cause I deserve it." " I don't want to tear you apart." "It's fucking exhausting." "You know what the worst part about last night was?" "I didn't miss you." "I was worried and scared, but I didn't miss you." "I slept right through the night, and I never do that." "I don't want it anymore." "You're leaving me?" "I think you want me to." "See?" "Yeah." "I can't be here right now." "I'll see you at the fight." " Garo know we're here?" " Yeah." "He's ready for the walk-through." "Here's how it's gonna go." "Jay, you're up first." "90 minutes out, we'll wrap hands." "45, we'll start the warm-up." "When they're ready for us, they'll knock on the door." "You'll be on deck." "Same for both of you." "Nate, you're gonna be in Jay's corner." "Ryan, I'll be with you." "Questions?" "You need anything?" "Good?" "Okay." "Let's go do a walk-through before the crowd gets here." "Nate, I want you to come." "All right, so they're gonna stop you here." "The lights will go down." "A guy will come out, give you a count... three, two, one... your music will cue." "Off we go." "Jump in the cage." "Get a feel for it." "Jay said you were working a bit." "Yeah, a little bit." "How's the knee holding up?" "It's good." "He said you were gimpy." "I was sore." "I'm working it out." "It's all good." "Don't rush it, okay?" "You're ahead of schedule." "You're the one telling me to get back at it." "I push you so you know what's at stake." "And now you're ahead of the game." "You need to be patient." "You're not desperate." "You have no fuckups." "I don't ever want to see you fight for your life." "These two guys..." "there's no room for error." "I mean, they have a chance, but they got to pop now if they want a run at something big." "You don't." "You're young, man." "Look at me." "You don't need to live in chaos." "You don't even know what kind of fighter you are yet." "All right?" "Come on, let's let these guys have the ring." "Come on." "You don't want that fucking view." "Hey, you better win tonight." "Better win that belt." "So I can fucking take it from you." "You'd never fight me." "I've got the face of an angel." "Yeah." "I'd make you a hideous man, Mr. Wheeler." "Killer tonight." "If we make it here, man..." "Boy, it's a whole nother fucking level." " Let's do this." " Yeah." "Is it hard for you to watch this?" "No, I'm used to it." "I can't do it." "Every time they get hit, I just die." "I'm sure it would be different if it was my child." "You know both my boys love you." "They just have so much respect for you." "I love them, too." "And... the way they talk about you," "I was just, like, "God, shut up."" "And then, I got curious, and I was like, "who is this fucking woman?"" "But now I see what they mean." "You got a lot going on." "It's nice of you to say." "You know, I think maybe you have the wrong idea about me." "What idea do you think I have about you?" "I've never said anything." "You think I abandoned my children." "It's a regret." "Every day, I wake up every morning, and I can't believe I could have done that." "I'm sorry." "What do you want from me?" "Nothing." "I..." "I don't even understand why you're talking to me." "'Cause you were sitting here alone." "Okay." "Well, there's no good conversation for us to have." "Mm." "I just wanted you to know that I respect you." "I've been through the shit you're in, and it sucks." "And you're already doing it better than me." "I don't want to take anything from you." "What could you possibly take away from me?" "None of it's mine." "What an unbelievable night of fights we have for you tonight, and it's headlined by the return of Ryan Wheeler." "And we all know the story... a former champ who was at the top of the division until his life spun out of control, and now he's back, Kenny, but he hasn't been around for five years." "So what can we expect from him tonight?" "Well, that's the question." "Uh, what does he have left, and how good was he to begin with?" "Remember, he never really was tested before, never defended the belt, so we'll see." "All right, well, he's gonna have quite the challenge tonight in Matt Rynders." "Yeah, Rynders is an absolute animal." "Uh, truly one of the emerging stars in the division, a guy who a lot of people believe may be the future at 155." "But the guy that I'm most excited about is Jay Kulina." "Trains under his father, the great Alvey Kulina, alongside Wheeler." "A guy who has, really, all the talent in the world." "Exciting fighter to watch, but really has been getting himself in trouble" " outside the cage." " That's right." "There's certainly no shortage of drama here tonight." "Jay." "You're on deck." " All right." " Here we go." "Fuck him up, man." "You got this." "You're gonna murder this fucking kid, right?" "Here." "You want me to fight him for you?" "You're magic." "You were born to do this, okay?" "I love you." "Mom." "Come on." "Stop." "I know." "I love you." "I love you." "I love you." "I'll be back here." "Go knock his teeth out." "It's your cage, your fight." "You just go take it, all right?" "Whoo!" "And now, ladies and gentlemen, making his way into the cage of our co-feature," "King Beast promotions, Jay Kulina!" "Whoo!" "Glove check." "Good." "Hup!" "Move, move, move." "Good." "Good." "Good." "Ha!" " Hup!" "Aah!" " Good." "All right, gentlemen, first round." "Are you ready to fight?" "You ready to fight?" "Hit it!" "Let's go!" "Go get him, Jay!" "You got this!" "I'm gonna stop it." "Over." "Over." "It's over." "Jay!" "Whoo!" "Jay!" "Woo!" "Woo!" "Jay!" "Whoo!" "K.O.!" "Next time, boys." "His opponent across the cage is an American wrestler with a professional record of 12 victories with just 2 defeats." " Ladies and gentlemen, - _ representing Navy St. Mixed Martial Arts," "Venice, California," "Ryan Wheeler!" "Take your top off." "Get your hugs in." "I love you, man." " This is your fight." "This is your fight." " Ladies and gentlemen, this is our main event of the evening... five rounds of MMA for the vacant king beast lightweight championship of the world." "Introducing first, a mixed martial artist with a professional record of 7 victories with no defeats." "Ladies and gentlemen, representing the F.L.A. Fight Academy," "Cocoa Beach, Florida, presenting the undefeated Matt Rynders!" "His opponent across the cage is an American wrestler with a professional record of 12 victories with just two defeats." "Ladies and gentlemen, fighting out of Navy St. Mixed Martial Arts," "Venice, California, here is the one and only" "Ryan Wheeler!" "All right, gentlemen, we've been over the rules already." "Protect yourself at all times." "Obey my commands at all times." "Touch gloves if you want now." " _" " Very well." "At the sound of the bell, come on out and handle your business." "Let's go." "Breathe." "Breathe." "Deep breaths." "Let your hands go!" "Let your hands go!" "Move your head." "Nice." "Nice!" "Nice!" "Come on." "Squeeze it!" "Squeeze!" "Squeeze it!" "There you go." "Smell stick, smell stick." "You're doing great." "You're doing great, man." "Feel good to be back?" "Feel good to be back?" "All right, beautiful." "Beautiful." "I want you to relax, okay?" "Listen to me... settle in." "Stop trying to knock him out in one punch." " Mm-hmm." " All right?" " That's not the fucking game." " Second round!" "You ready to fight?" "You ready to fight?" "Hit it!" "Let's go!" "Hold your head up." "There you go." "Fight." "Hands up!" "Hands up!" "Let the hands go!" "Fight for it!" "Nice!" "Good!" "No, no, head up." "Head up." "Come on." "Don't say anything!" "Come on, Ryan!" "Let's go!" "Defend yourself." "Don't give in." "Almost there." "Gonna stop this." "Ohh." "I can tell you if you want to." "You need some sort of prize..." "You're gonna finish this guy." "You're like a mouse in a maze." "Let's go." "Let's go!" "Work the body." "Combinations!" "Take him down!" "Nice." "Stop." "Stop, stop, stop." "Yes!" "Yes!" "There we go!" "He all right?" "He good?" "Hands up." "Ryan Wheeler, what a night." "Did you ever think you'd be back here?" "Yeah, I just got a couple things I want to say, Ken." "Sorry to snatch it." "Uh, first of all," "I want to thank all of you guys for coming here tonight." "It's why fighters like me fight." "You guys are the best." "Matt Rynders, you're a tough kid, man." "All respect to you." "Uh, just want to thank some people... my parents, uh..." "Everybody at Navy St. MMA, Venice, California." "Joe-Daddy, Jay Kulina, Nate Kulina." "Watch out for Nate Kulina." "He's almost back." "I'm telling you, guys..." "the Kulina boys are coming!" "Lisa Prince." "And, uh, most of all, I got to thank my coach, Alvey Kulina." "You gave me everything, man, when... when everybody else was calling me a piece of shit and counting me out, you stuck with me." "You lifted me up." "You you gave me a home." "You, uh..." "You just knew exactly what I needed before I even did." "And, uh..." "Everything I have is because of you, Alvey." "Thank you." "All right, Ryan, take... take us through the fight, man." "You guys came out throwing bombs." "Was that a part of the strategy?" "Well, yeah, I knew that Matt wanted a brawl, so I was gonna bring it to him and try to get him on the ground." "He stuffed me a few times, so I made an adjustment, but, like I said, I was prepared." "It was a good fight." "All right, your new champ at 155, Ryan Wheeler!" "Hey." " They fix you up?" " Yeah, they took care of me." "Ah." "Yeah." "Thank you." "That was a hell of a fucking fight." "You're a fucking warrior, truly." "You gave me a killer game plan, man." "You were right about everything." "Doesn't mean anything unless you execute it." "It's the fighter." "It's not the coach." "You going to Nate and Jay's?" "Nah, fuck." "You kidding me?" "No way." "I want to keep this going with you and me." "We don't have to talk about that now." "No, really, man." "We, uh... we got a good thing." "You're my coach, Alvey." "I was..." "I was very fucking pissed off when you didn't make the cut, but, you know..." "When I left you, you took me back." "You were a man about it." "So, one for me." "One for you." "Now we're even." "I appreciate it." "Yeah." "You know, you took a couple shots to the head, so maybe we should give it a few days." "Alvey, they want to grab you for an interview." "Okay." "Anyway..." "That's your stuff." "You're all good to go." "It's all right up there for you, man." "Okay?" "Don't fuck it up." "Yes, sir." "Well, I'm proud of my guys." "You know, Ryan and Jay both fought their hearts out." "And, uh, you know, we got the results we wanted to." "You mentioned before that" "Nate's almost ready to go again." "You add Jay and Wheeler... that's three top fighters from your camp." "That's got to feel good." "Yeah, no, it's... it's good." "I feel very fortunate, but, uh, you know, you're only as good as your fighters." "I said that when I was fighting, and I continue to say it today." "All right, well, there you have it." "Alvey Kulina quickly establishing himself as one of the top trainers in MMA today." "Thanks, bud." "All right, man." "Okay." "Good job." " Congratulations." " You, too." "You gonna come home?" "I'll, um..." "I'll let you know where I stay." "This drink is for my little brother, Nathaniel!" "The youngest member of the tribe!" "We're gonna be doing this for you soon, son!" "'Cause you're a fighter, and when you don't fight, you become highly irascible." "That's a big word, Jay." "Don't fucking hurt yourself." ""Irascible."" "You have a churning spirit within you." "And it concerns me." "And you, Lisa." "Yes?" "This one is for you." "Aww." "Because I... fucking..." "love you." " I love you, too." " And you know what?" "You need to quit fucking around and start managing fighters..." " I don't... oh, yeah..." " And start making kings and queens because you're that... fucking... good." "All right?" "You got me a fight when nobody else would get me a fucking fight and everybody thought I was a cunt." "Because you are a fucking cunt." "Yeah, but now I'm a fighting cunt!" "What?" "!" "Bam!" "Stop the party!" "It's the champion, Ryan Wheeler!" "Kill me, you motherfucker!" "You're killing me, Captain Golden Cock, with your flaxen fucking hair and your toothy little grin, you little bastard." "You want a shot?" " No, no, I'm good." "Thanks." " Come on, come on." " No, I can't." " Shh." " Shh." " I had one earlier." "I'm on parole." "I got to piss in a cup on Monday." "I thought you let that guy drink your sweat." "I thought you had one up on him." " Is that what happened?" "Wait." " He's not..." " Hold on a second." " That's not..." "Excuse me, my friends." "Nathaniel, can I speak to you for a moment, please?" "In my office?" " Yeah." " Where's mom?" "She's in the bedroom." "Can you do me a favor and look after her because I'm gonna be unavailable for a little bit?" "I don't want her to see me like this, okay?" "Go." "Boom!" "You know what I'm saying?" "Come on, son." "Come on, son." "Yes, sir!" "Champion of the world!" " Great fight, man." " Thanks, brother." "I'm proud of you." "Thanks, man." "Mm, mnh-mnh." "Don't leave me." "Nate, we're drinking buddies!" "I have this guy." "So it's gonna be that kind of night." "Ahh, yes." "It's gonna be that kind of night." "Until my face is numb." "I was really proud of you tonight." "Thanks." "And you were right." "I mean," "I'm just a fucking mouse in a maze." "Such a little wallflower." "It's okay." "You let them come to you." "Scoot over." "I like that you're still using a glass." " Like a gentleman." " Mm." "Hey, where's Jay?" "Oh." "I don't want to know." "Are you having a good time?" "Mm-hmm." "Okay." "It's hard to tell." "Should I be wearing a party hat?" "Do we have party hats?" "I'd love a party hat." "Finally." "Mom, I'm happy." "You don't have to be happy." "Just be yourself." "Or else, it's gonna feel like there's a stranger living inside you." "And then you'll never be happy." "Can I have that?" "I changed my mind." "Whoo!" "I fucking tolerate so much shit from you fighters." "Oh, please, please." " You don't tolerate shit from nobody." " Mm." "I tolerate everything." "I worry about everything." "I need a fucking break." "I need a hotel." " Just stay here." " Hmm." "No, that's a great idea." "What can I do?" "Can I... how can I..." "Make you feel better?" "You can't." " It doesn't work that way." " Why?" " 'Cause it doesn't." " Why can't it?" "Because it doesn't just happen all in one night." "You don't get it all back." "Hey, guys." "Hey." "I got plenty to go around." "Jay." "Jay." "Jay!" "What?" "May I get involved over there?" "Yeah, dude." "Bring that over here." "Hey, Elaine." "I got this ready for you." "Hey." "Hey, man." "Hey." "What the fuck's the matter with you?" "Jay, look at me." "What the fuck's going on?" "Hey, go get somebody." "Go." " No, wait, wait!" "I was just..." " Hey." "I was just kidding." "I was just..." " "Kidding"?" " Yeah, bro." "You fucking asshole!" "That's not funny!" "I wanted to see if daddy fucking loved me." " Get out of here." " Do you fucking love me?" " Yes, you do, you little bastard." " Oh, oh, oh, yeah, you fucking..." " You're an asshole." " Mac, do you love me?" " Just shut up." " Do you fucking love me?" "Wait, wait, wait a second." "Stop, stop, stop." "Stop, man." "What are you doing?" " What?" " Put your clothes on." "Shh." "What do you mean put my clothes on?" "Fucking..." " I said fucking put your goddamn clothes on, man." " Why?" "Why?" "Because, Mac, this is just not a line I want to cross with you." "I value our relationship." " Yeah, I do, too." "I don't want to..." " Mac." " Mac." " Hi." "Nice to meet you." "Okay, just get the fuck out of here." " God." " Okay?" " Okay." " Get the fuck out." " Fuck this." " Wait, hold on." "You need this." " Can you fix the door?" " Yes, sir, dude." "Well, well, well." "What do we have here?" "Oh, we have..." "Let me see your I.D." "Barely." "Is there a problem?" "Yeah." "Not tonight." "I think you've already had plenty." "Are you fucking serious?" "I got two cops in there, you know, if you want to go in and talk about it with them." "Fuck you." "Hey." "Come on in." "Hey." "You want a drink?" "No." "I can't stay long." "I just wanted to see how you were doing." "Me?" "I'm g..." "I'm great." "Yeah." "Yeah?" "Yeah." "I think I made a little money tonight." "I got some phone calls from fighters and a couple sponsors, so, yeah." "Cheers to me." "You get what you want, and then..." "What do you got?" "I don't know what the fuck I'm doing." "Nate doesn't look at me when I talk to him." "He won't look me in the eyes." "And Jay..." "I don't know where I'm going with him." "I love those boys." "And they don't think I do." "And that..." "That kills me." "They just want your approval." "All you have to do is put a hand on their shoulder," " and they'd melt." " Mm." "They'll forgive you for anything if you want them to." "It's different for you because you left." "To them, you died young and pretty, and you came back a Saint." "I was the piece of shit with my boot on their throat." "It's different." "Yeah, well, maybe I could have used a boot on my throat." "Our boys are pretty great, Alvey." "You didn't do everything wrong." "Let me pour you a drink." "No." "What happened with us the other night..." "It's not gonna happen again." "It made me feel like a whore." "No, I..." "I didn't see it like that." "I felt like a whore." "And then I felt bad about Lisa." "You're gonna have to settle for something eventually, Alvey." "You don't want to be the last man standing." "It's too hard." "I got to go." "Get some rest." "It's good to hear from you, love." "I didn't think I would." "I missed you, Terry." "It's not me you fucking missed." "Get in, anyway." "We'll get you fit again." "Hi." "What are you doing?" "Most guys run from fights." "'Cause they don't want the answer to the inevitable question that every man whispers to himself..." ""Am I one of the weak?" "Or am I one of the strong?""