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Hey ya'll - thought I'd tell you all a story 
So way back when (when I actually used to train) a team mate of mine was fighting at FX3 (Mark Chen).
Mark was a regional UK champ at UKMMAC (Not UCMMA which is Cage Rage although that's another story) - not much tape on Mark out there as I can't rip the DVDs we have at the mo but here is one of his fights I found (I think I filmed this - no idea what the edit is from though lol)
So anyhow - Mark wins his fight with a lovely first round KO and we get to sit back and watch the rest of the fights. I'd never heard of Aldo and looking forward to see Daley fight Angerer (Daley had fought on many shows with us and we could see he was destined for big things)
Anyhow - Aldo came out and with the first kick he took Mickeys soul - the power of that low kick you really don't get in the video but sitting right next to the ring the thud was like "oooooooh" - shit just got real! So he goes on to demolish Mickey all set up by those powerful kicks and then does this insane backflip off the ropes - it was seriously one of the craziest displays of excitement/violence/athleticism I had ever witnessed. The crowd was stunned into silence - I knew at this point he would become champion - I know that sounds far fetched but I can back that up. here is the fight:
After the fight I go backstage to get equipment or whatever and we get talking to Aldos camp - Aldo is seated on the floor wearing board shorts and flip flops and we strike up a conversation through his interpreter. He invites us to go train with him whilst hes in the UK but we cant - his team were saying YOU REALLY SHOULD - the guy is sick on the ground but he was staying in another city and it wasn't possible.
Anyhow several things struck me. First - he was sooooooooo humble. He was so humble in fact he seemed smaller than he had in the ring (psychology I guess and he was all smiles and kindness. You could tell right then this guy was a genuine nice guy by the way he talked and taking the fight game in his stride and enjoying it.
I knew a bit about Brazil even then and when Aldo explained he lived in the favela it was at this point that the seed was set for my film - I knew this guy would be something big and wanted to follow his career so I wrote a brief treatment and handed it around and began forging a relationship with his camp.
Obviously many things got in the way of making the film - money being one but once Aldo made it to the WEC I may have had the connections and financiers interested but the Zuffa buyout meant access to the fights disappeared in one move. My whole pitch was to film him from the favela to the fight and seeing as I didn't want to use prerecorded fights that left me perusing other options. I won't bore you with that stuff - its 5am here and I'm finishing a night shift so you can tell you focus has shifted from Aldo to others from similar beginnings.
I will say this. Ever since the build up to the first Conor fight and the treatment he received Aldo has changed with regards to his openness. I'm sure he is the same guy with his friends but now he is far more serious and far less likely to smile when talking MMA. He has had to adapt to his fame but more importantly he has had to make a change in how he approaches his profession - in some ways this is a great thing as it is this that has seen him right mistakes and win back the interim (real) belt but I miss the guy who was enjoying the ride and smiling along the way.
There - wrote this when I should be working. It's a little dumb. But whatever
So way back when (when I actually used to train) a team mate of mine was fighting at FX3 (Mark Chen).
Mark was a regional UK champ at UKMMAC (Not UCMMA which is Cage Rage although that's another story) - not much tape on Mark out there as I can't rip the DVDs we have at the mo but here is one of his fights I found (I think I filmed this - no idea what the edit is from though lol)
So anyhow - Mark wins his fight with a lovely first round KO and we get to sit back and watch the rest of the fights. I'd never heard of Aldo and looking forward to see Daley fight Angerer (Daley had fought on many shows with us and we could see he was destined for big things)
Anyhow - Aldo came out and with the first kick he took Mickeys soul - the power of that low kick you really don't get in the video but sitting right next to the ring the thud was like "oooooooh" - shit just got real! So he goes on to demolish Mickey all set up by those powerful kicks and then does this insane backflip off the ropes - it was seriously one of the craziest displays of excitement/violence/athleticism I had ever witnessed. The crowd was stunned into silence - I knew at this point he would become champion - I know that sounds far fetched but I can back that up. here is the fight:
After the fight I go backstage to get equipment or whatever and we get talking to Aldos camp - Aldo is seated on the floor wearing board shorts and flip flops and we strike up a conversation through his interpreter. He invites us to go train with him whilst hes in the UK but we cant - his team were saying YOU REALLY SHOULD - the guy is sick on the ground but he was staying in another city and it wasn't possible.
Anyhow several things struck me. First - he was sooooooooo humble. He was so humble in fact he seemed smaller than he had in the ring (psychology I guess
and he was all smiles and kindness. You could tell right then this guy was a genuine nice guy by the way he talked and taking the fight game in his stride and enjoying it.I knew a bit about Brazil even then and when Aldo explained he lived in the favela it was at this point that the seed was set for my film - I knew this guy would be something big and wanted to follow his career so I wrote a brief treatment and handed it around and began forging a relationship with his camp.
Obviously many things got in the way of making the film - money being one but once Aldo made it to the WEC I may have had the connections and financiers interested but the Zuffa buyout meant access to the fights disappeared in one move. My whole pitch was to film him from the favela to the fight and seeing as I didn't want to use prerecorded fights that left me perusing other options. I won't bore you with that stuff - its 5am here and I'm finishing a night shift so you can tell you focus has shifted from Aldo to others from similar beginnings.
I will say this. Ever since the build up to the first Conor fight and the treatment he received Aldo has changed with regards to his openness. I'm sure he is the same guy with his friends but now he is far more serious and far less likely to smile when talking MMA. He has had to adapt to his fame but more importantly he has had to make a change in how he approaches his profession - in some ways this is a great thing as it is this that has seen him right mistakes and win back the interim (real) belt but I miss the guy who was enjoying the ride and smiling along the way.
There - wrote this when I should be working. It's a little dumb. But whatever
