I manage fighters in mixed martial arts matches
all over the world. I'm great at it; not great for a
woman by the way, I'm great at it legit. My fighters
make a lot of money and they win championships.
Best trainers in the world at my disposal... no, I have
a knack for finding the fighters with heart and
more importantly with brains. Most managers
think the fight game is checkers; but I know it's all
chess. You have to be 10 moves ahead before the
match even starts. Simple as that... People don't
know what to expect from me, or my fighters, ever...
and it's just the way I like it.
Ha . Ha.. .
Is this Ivy's place? I have a recruitment letter... said to
come here... I'm Connor..
Um... am I... in the right place?
You're early.
Oh... Umm... I can come back I guess...
Your room is upstairs.
Just... Excuse me...
Hey, Sorry about the bag... I didn't know what to expect
this weekend... my girlfriend is always saying
pack more than she does...
You room's upstairs.
Oh... cool...Well, thanks for your help man...
Hey, here for tryouts...
I'm in the right place, aren't I?
I'm not looking for trouble.
You're early.
Don't think so... sorry if I caused you any problem.
I'm Just excited for the opportunity, you know.
I'm Mason, by the way.
Your room is upstairs.
Thanks, man... really appreciate it.
What's your name?
Jimmy.
Jimmy, That's really cool, You a trainer here, cause I
can tell, you got a lot of fighting experience, I
really can.
Awesome... look forward to working
with you...
Is this the place I'm supposed to go to?
You're early.
Oh...
Your room is upstairs.
Thanks...
I'm Dustin.
You're early.
Ya well, Early bird gets the worm, right?
Room is ready upstairs.
Alright, Thanks.
You the butler.
No.
Bummer.
You're late.
So.
Do I have a room? Or do I have problem?
Your room's upstairs.
Good.
Come in!
So, they all made it.
Yes.
And...?
Not very impressive.
They're all impressive, Jimmy.
It says so right here. They're all pearls... I want
diamonds.
You still don't know what I'm talking about, do you?
You see things your way, I see them mine.
I respect you, you know that.
I wouldn't have hired you otherwise.
I guess.
And you needed the money, as I
recall. You know that injury like yours...
I know the story, Ivy, I've done this dance with you
before. Just get to it.
Sorry, Jimmy. I know it's a sore subject
I watched them come in on the closed circuit.
Tell me what you think about them as fighters.
Ha.... Ha...
Connor...
...He's all about defense and counters and looking
for his shot. Not very aggressive,
but he's cagey, Some times even surprising..
Not sure if he has an instinct though..
You're right about that. He's an over thinker. Not a
lot of confidence... I'll have to see if he has
any we can mine.
Mason is a decent all- round fighter. He's had
some interest from other promoters, but he always
manages to screw it up.
Yeah, he's a glad-hander, he plays people because
he's selfish... which isn't necessarily a bad trait.
Tyler can take a lot of punishment, nothing
seems to phase him and he's strong.
He's hard to beat.
True... but I need someone with an edge, not someone
whose skull is full of scar tissue and tapioca.
These are the top MMA prospects in the nation,
probably the world. There are promoters who would
kill to have any one of these guys.
Ah, but you keep forgetting I'm not any promoter.
I know, Ivy, I'm just saying you could make millions
with any one of these guys. I know I could.
I don't want the top fighters; I want the best fighters.
Dammit, Ivy...
Calm down, Jimmy... Only playing with ya...
Your so easy to frustrate.
Dustin... Not the biggest or the fastest or
the strongest, bit of a mystery really. But he sure
has luck on his side.
or just what I'm looking for?
He'd be my last choice... but there's something
about him.
Yes, there is...
Now, Hunter, he's the real deal, amazing striker,
bone-breaking grappler. He's undefeated.
He's cocky, I'll give him that.
Perfect.
We'll see about that...
yeah, this is an interesting group.
Should I get them all together?
No, not just yet. Burn off all their nervous energy. I'll
talk to them later.
You really think all this mystery stuff helps make
them better fighters, don't you?
Jimmy, I know a lot of things. And if you opened
your mind, just a little bit, you might learn something.
I don't know what you're talking about.
I know.
This place is crazy... we don't have anything like
this back home.
Where's home?
My mom's place.
How'd you find out about this tryout?
My mom is my manager... She said it might be good
for my career.
Good for your career? If Ivy takes you on as a
fighter, This would make your career. She already
has three world champions in her stable.
Opportunity like this don't come by every day.
Right... yeah... Do you think she has any potato
chips? I love potato chips...
Right...
Hey, Coach Trainer.
Name is Jimmy. You two follow me.
I want you to do this circuit of reps in this order.
Wow this is.. A lot...
You're here to try out for Ivy Reed. You don't want
to do what she asks, you can find the door.
No, no. We'll get It done..
Yeah... we got this.
Good. I'll be checking back in. I wouldn't slouch off.
Dude, We better get right to it.
This circuit's going to take awhile.
Yeah, you're right.
Now, this is my kind of workout . If only there was
some hot girl's here it would be perfect.
Ivy's pretty hot in her own way.
Forget that, I like 'em young and dumb.
Sounds good to me.
Hey, Hunter, saw your last few
fights; you're a monster, man.
Tell me about it. I'm getting tired of washing the other
persons blood off me.
You got this thing in the bag, you know. I mean,
I'm OK, but you've got golden boy
written all over you.
YA.. My brother thinks Ivy would be good for me.
She's good with the endorsements. Stuff like that
And I want some of that sweet commercial money.
There's plenty of other Promoters though... might
offer a bit more than Ivy.
What do you mean?
I'm friends with Scotty K.
Scotty K. He offered me contract awhile ago.
But I deserve more than what he offering you know!
What if I could get if for you?
What's your angle, Mason?
Just stacking the deck,Is all.
I'm going to talk to you more about this later. You
just Became more interesting.
Either one of you know where Dustin is?
Is he the butler? Tell him to get me a brew.
I think he went for a run on the beach..
Camp's over for now, ladies.
Do this circuit, laps and callisthenics.
All of these?
Until I tell you to stop..
This is a tryout.. an audition, not play Time..
Alright we got it.
You're right. It is the chance of a lifetime.
I'll be checking back in!
Alright we got it, chief thank's .
Hey, Do We get to meet Ivy later?
Just do the circuit. You'll get plenty of time with Ivy...
Take a load off and enjoy the house. Ivy's going to
meet you all in an hour.
Finally..
Forget this I'm done with all this..
I'm going to go taking a shower.
Sounds good.
Ewww...
Uhhh ..
Shit dude..
Ohhhh,..
This is more like it.
Yes Sir.. Yes Sir
This is the best part about the workout right here..
The benefits..
Where'd you go?
Went for a run on the beach .
You're not suppose to leave the house.
No one told me that.
Ivy's rules. Your people Should have told you.
I don't have any people. It's Just me.
Well, Then you should have read the contract.
Look I did. Ivy wants her fighters to be quote-unquote:
be fully present. I didn't know that was literal.
What's your game, Dusty?
Dustin. And I'm Just clarifying the rules. That's the most
important part in playing any game, isn't it?
I don't like your attitude.
I just ran seven miles, my attitude is tired and sweaty.
I've known plenty of guys like you, sure you grew up
on the streets, maybe read a few a few books,
you think you've got everything figured out.
But you don't your ass from a hole in the ground.
You don't know anything.
You're right, Jimmy. Maybe that's why I came
here. To find my self. and maybe you can help me.
Ivy's going to love you... you're just like her, you
both love to hear yourself talk your smug,
word- twisting crap-ola.
Sorry you feel that way. At least Ivy and I have more
than one thing in common.
Just go shower already. Meet down here in an hour.
Sounds good.
I'm glad you all made it to meet with me...
I know you have questions, So im
Going to answer a few. You're all here
because you are looking for the best person to
promote your career as a fighter and beyond. I know
the big picture in the fight game better than anybody
else. You know the champions I promote and
the former champions who've gone on to do
movies and commercials im going to find the best
person to manage your finances... I am a one stop
shop, gentleman. Think of me like the mother you
never knew you needed.
I have room in my family for one fighter .
Other promoters have dozens and dozens of
clients; I don't. You get my full attention, my care, my
team and expertise to be the best.
It's as simple as that.
Any questions?
How do you determine who's best?
I'll be watching you.
Oh... do what?
Are we going to be fighting?
You will be doing some light sparring. Some
exercises and some drills, I have all your fights and
all your extensive briefs from my trainers.. Now I'm more
interested in what's going on between your ears.
Well then Tyler should just take a cab right now.
It's going to be tough laughing at me when
I choke you out.
Bring it. I'll happily make you more braindead.
Come on guys...
Boys... boys, do me a favor and save it for
someone who cares. Because right now I'm just
not interested in that.. .. I know you all are good
fighters, you're all big, bad, scary men who can
intimidate mortal men, but the thing is, it's
uninteresting to me. So if you want to have bar fights
on who ever has the biggest reach, there's the door.
Get out now.
Why should I sign with you? Why shouldn't I sign
with like Scotty K? Or the dozens of other
promoters who want to give me six-figure contract.
Make no mistake, I'm the one who is signing one of
you.. It's not the other way around. If you didn't
respect me and respect the business I do.. You
wouldn't be sitting on my couch. Do We understand
each other?
Now, Jimmy's going to give you more drills and
exercises, Rest assured I'll be watching. So get some
rest, you're going to need it.
Dinner in the kitchen, eat whereever you
want, but don't stay up too late, gonna be an early
day tomorrow.
What's up?
What's your deal with Scotty K?
He offered me a contract. Not a great one, but when
he found out I was invited here, he sweetened the pot.
How so?
You know Ivy's PDA?
The one she was carrying with her?
Yeah, what about it?
Well It's got all her notes, fights... contracts, I mean
pretty much her whole operation is run on that thing..
Which means it's worth a lot of money to her competitor.
How much?
A lot.
It takes a five-figure deal, makes it six.
Where do I come in? With all this..
Look, there's no doubt you're the best fighter here. I
bring him Ives PDA and her top prospect, he offers you
the biggest contract he's ever offered and I make my
career as the fighter who bested Ivy Reed.
How do I know you're Not full of it?
I'll let you talk to him... Just not here. If Ivy or
Jimmy or any of those other scrubs got wind of
this, I'd be doing my fighting in prison.
What's to stop me from screwing you Over though?
Nothing, I guess. But Ivy just doesn't seem your style.
You have more going for you.
You got that right..
Alright, I'll talk with Scotty K. Uhh feel it out,
And we just might have a deal.
This is all worth it, isn't it?
How do you mean?
I mean, All this... You know Ivy's reputation as well as
you do. She's weird. She's always done things her own
thing, but she gets results. Maybe not as much recently...
We're all here, aren't we?
Ya But, she kind of scares me too.
How so?
Like... I know what to expect in the ring... But with
her I don't. And it's not just cause she's a woman either.
Maybe it's because she doesn't show emotions. I
mean I haven't seen any anyway. Not in any
interview, Or any TV piece. I'd really don't know
where it comes from.
Man, You really done your homework on Ivey.
Ya I did my homework.
Do you really think we made a mistake by coming here?
The mistake where made a long time ago. I'm going to bed .
Alright,, Goodnight, Dustin.
Night, Connor. And Don't worry about it too much.
Oh no,, Things will definitely work out the way
they're supposed to.
I'd like to think so.
Alright man..
Dig deeper. You're not going to get signed by half-assing it.
Where's Ivy?
She's paying attention. Believe me.
Until then, keep moving.
Whatever, boss.
I for one, appreciate Jimmy's training.
He was a hell of a fighter.
Yeah, 'was.'
Enough yammering, get to work.
Hey, kiss-ass, when you gonna get me on the phone
with Scotty K?
Soon. I don't want to give them any reason to be nervous.
No, noo... Let's do it.. Do it now..
With Jimmy in and out and Ivy who knows where?
No, just be patient.
No. No.
Tyler, what's your favorite finishing move?
Um... What was?
Connor, favorite finishing move?
Oh Uh, Rear naked Choke.. or maybe my spinning back kick,
people really seem to like that one. Or maybe my Uhhh...
Dustin?
Rear naked choke.
You seem pretty sure of yourself.
The moment I'm not sure of myself in a fight.
The moment I loose..
Gentle men. I'm gonna have a little tournament on the lawn,
All grappling , no striking. So if you need to
Stretch out do it now..
Striking. I like striking... that's a good one right.
Wait... Did I mess that one up?
No.
Ivy's gonna have a competitive drill out back.
Grappling, no striking. Half-speed.
When?
Now. Let's go.
Yo , You better get Scotty K on the phone
Soon or im going to split and talk to him myself.
Well, he's out of town right now. Only available certain
times. Cover for me, I'll make the call and you
can talk to him after this little scrimmage.
Where's Mason?
He had to take a whizz.
He's got a bladder like a little girl.
Im going to have a tournament, Half speed,
no strikes. Since we have five fighters. That means
one of you will have to wrestle twice. Any takers?
Sorry about that.
Like I said, any takers?
I'll do it. What am I doing?
Your fighting twice goofus. Good luck.
There you go ..
Mason ,Tyler, Up first.
Ajimay!
Ahhhh..
Ajimay!
What the heck he cant do that!
Whats up man!
Your suppose to be the badest right!
Suppose to be the Best.. Show Me...
Nope.. That's it..
Tac hi!
That's it..
Ajimay!
That a boy!
Lets go..
Come on..
Touch Gloves..
Ajimay!
Come on.. I know you better than that!
What you got.. What you got..
That's it its just cardio..
Woooo.. You wernt ready for that one were you..
Ok.. Lets go.. I thought you where good man.
Lets go..
Ahhh..
What the hell was that..
What's uppp..
Your suppose to be ref this..
Alright!
Messing with me!
Okk.. Okk.
Alright.. We will see .. Your lucky. He was here to save you.
Im not going no where..
Not the last time...
Your lucky .. He was here...
Not the last time...
Okk.. Okk.
Alright that's how you play..
Tyler, Connor thanks for coming.
But I won't be signing you. I'll have a car take you to
the airport.
Oh.. Well thanks for the tryout.
Can I take a shower before I go?
Yes, let's go, gentleman.
They were all dead weight to begin with. Let me finish
off fancy- pants here and be done with all this stupid crap.
No.
What do you mean, 'no?'
I know you've never heard the word no before, but
we're going to do this my way. So if you have a
problem with that. You can follow Tyler and Connor out.
I'm better than all these chumps Here and if you
don't admit it real soon, you're going to regret it.
Gentleman, Its just starting to get interesting.
Tyler and Connor have been taken care off.
I think we know who the best fighter is here.
Do we?
Hunter. He's a once in a lifetime fighter.
He's good fight.. that's for sure.
It isn't Mason, and Dustin is a wild card at best.
We have one more day. We'll see.
Why do you play these games, Ivy?
I don't get it. I never have and I never will.
I know you don't. But you put up with it
because you like working for winners. And after this
weekend, you'll be working for another one. This time
jimmy im going to let you work with them exclusively.
Who ever it is!
Exclusive, huh? You've been dangling that in front
of me since I started working for you Ivy ..
That and the money I pay you.
The money's fine... I just...
I just want a shred of respect.
You really don't like me, do you? I guess I never
understood quite how much.
You know, you do have a head for this, you really do,
but I just get so sick of the head games and the
manipulation I know what it takes to make a good
fighter better and maybe you did at one time,
but let's face it, your reputation is only as good
as your last fighter and you haven't had one in a while.
My reputation is fine. All the best fighters coming to
me. You're really going to count me out?
At some point, Ivy, everyone gets counted out.
Hey Jimmy.
What?
Can I ask you a question?
Sure whatever... what is it?
How would you beat Hunter if you were me?
I have a few ideas... Let me think about it... meet
me in the kitchen after your shower.
Thanks.
I think huh.. Hunter's downstairs.
If you're looking for him.
Yeah, cool. He was going to show me some striking tips.
Thanks, Dustin.
Good job sparring earlier.
Ya, Thanks. You too.
...you see that fight in Vegas, where Daley knocked out Yoshi?
Man. I've never seen so much blood in the ring.
You gotta like an Irish-guy with a temper you know..
He's a scrapper, that's for sure...
Yeah... Thanks for getting back to me... oh really...
Yeah, I didn't think it made sense either...Alright well
that's where I'll start. Thank you?
We'll talk again this week then.
Ka..
That was Scotty K. My brother track him down for me!
Wow... Um, what did he say?
Well you were half right, he tripled my offer when I
said I was going to sign with Ivy. Um but the PDA
thing, he could give a crap less about that.. He doesn't
even know you.
Uhh..
What was that about my PDA?
Um nothing...
My PDA is missing... and your down here talking to a
rival... Something your not supposed to be doing
under the temporary contract that you signed
with me. What's your game, Hunter?
Uh,, No game. I'm just looking out for my self
something that I don't even think you care about. You
know what sue Scotty K sue me. If anything he took
your PDA not me..
What?
Dude I'm about five seconds from beating
your brains out, so you better stop screwing with me..
Jimmy!
What's going on?
My PDA. Its missing from my room. And Hunter here
was talking about it.
I told you, I didn't take anything.
He took it. I'm sure of it. I mean, He just on the
phone with Scotty K for crying out loud, trying to
start a bidding war.
You lying piece of...
Hunter, wait... I have a tracker on my phone.
Its got to be in the house.
I'm beating Mason no matter what though...
You know I didn't sign up for this. I'm leaving..
You're not going anywhere. You stay right here.
Nobody moves.
No, Stay right here..
Where was it?
It wasn't in Hunter's room.
What...
Whats going on..
Mason?
What? It wasn't in my room.
How would you know, especially if it's
Obvious that you where trying to frame your
toughest competition?
This is nuts.
Mason, I think it's time for you go. Right now
Your stupidity is about the only thing keeping
me from beating you right now.
And I'd think about Mexico, because I'm going to make sure
no one books you to fight here ever again.
You can't do that... This isn't my fault.. Don't touch me!
Now What?
Two fighters left.. What one should I choose..
I think that's obvious.
I don't think it is.
Fine, let's go outside Settle it then..
That's fine with me.
What do you want to do about the situation now Ivy..
Fight it out. I'm getting irritated with all this.
Ya I kinda figured. That..
This isn't how it's supposed to go!
Isn't it? Your always Complaining about the
way I do things. Isn't this how it should be?
Man to Man, mano-a- mano?
Forget all my precious little mindgames.
Fine, so be it. Loser leaves.
Fine. What ever you say, Queen Ivy.
Try to keep the striking to a minimum. I don't want
blood on my shirt. First one to tap...
I'm not tapping.
Fine, first one unconscious then, happy? But I call it.
You don't like it, I'll finish you both.
Come on..
Come on now..
What up!
Almost your getting better. Your getting better..
Come on now..
You cant beat me!
Come on now!
Tap...
Come on.
No..
Fine..
It's over... let him up.
let him up.
Congratulations...
Dustin?
What happened...?
Dustin, stop. You won. I'm going to sign you...
most fighters would be happy about that.
Oh ya.. Because I'm just another fighter to you?
No. You're something special. I noticed it the
moment saw you.
Yeah, what is it?
Well You're just like me, when you're in the
ring, you're the smartest fighter there and with all your
other gifts, you can beat anyone, I
know you can.
And this little pep talk coming from my manager
or my mother?
Of course I'm your...
Well ,Aren't you?
What do you mean, your 'mother?'
You had a child 22 years ago? And you left him in the
worst place in the city.
And From what I can tell you're life has bin very
lucky over the last few years... One look through
your PDA proves that. From the pictures that you
have in there what I can get from it is this; when I
was cold, you had a nice warm bed to sleep in;
when I was starving, you had plenty of food;
when all the older kids where beating me , you had
plenty of sugar- daddies to make your life was very
easy. And I'm guessing one of them was my father.
Dustin... I...
Am I right?
Ya.
I had to fight, just to Survive. I had to use
my wits, just so I could make it.. Why?
Why didn't you keep me?
Or at least send me to a nice, loving home?
Why did you leave me in the worst place in the
entire world?
I knew I wouldn't be there for you. And if I left you in
place like that, I new that you'd either have to
survive or die. And if you survived, That would
make you a better man than I could ever ever
make you. And you are Dustin .. We
can rule the world. I'm so proud of you. We can
make so much money.
You really are awful, aren't you?
Which is something of a relief for me!
It's ok you can hate me now.. Finally , we can
finally do great things together... The man you are
today is in part because of the decisions I made back
then. And I knew this day would come. I new you
wouldn't let me down.
You didn't make me. I made me.
That's fine. I know, Dustin...
We can make this work this out.. Please?
Ok, I get it... I do. I still want to sign you to a
contract, I won't interfere You
can do what ever you want with it.
I don't want it. I never did.
I just wanted to prove that i was good enough for you.
Now that I know I am...
I have no use for you.
Does that sound familiar.
Thought you might need your stuff.
Uh, Thanks...
So how's Hunter?
He'll live. Guys like him always do.
Thanks for scouting me on his bum leg..
No charge
So, What's with the, you and Ivy?
Nothing. She just fired me.
Hey maybe you can train me?
Hmm.. Maybe I usually don't like wild cards.
Alright, Fair enough.
Perhaps, I'll make an exception. Just for laughs.
I don't see you laughing much.
Nah, I suppose I don't.
Let's get out of here.. Man.. 