The first shot we see is of Nyles Stephens. He’s deep in the confines of The Organization’s gym, punching a bag and fine tuning his fists. He has his MMA gloves on.
Behind him, four bodies watch him. Max Daemon stands out with his signature smirk as the camera man zooms in on it for a few moments.
The camera turns to Nyles who blasts the punching bag a few times, ending with a hard right hook that sends it flying around like a pendulum.
Max and a taller man clap their hands as the former approaches.
We can hear a voice overlay from Nyles as Max claps his guy on the shoulders.
Nyles Stephens: What does this mean to me?
The camera shifts to Nyles sitting in a room. He is wearing a loose suit. Pictures of Max’s former MMA exploits as well as Nyles wins in UGP already hang around him, all illuminated by a blue light.
Nyles Stephens: Everything is cliche, but…this is all I have now.
The camera cuts to a candid, almost voyeuristic shot of Nyles talking to the other two people who were watching him earlier. One of them, a woman in a nice suit with a pencil skirt holds Nyles close, whispering something the camera doesn’t catch. The other woman, wearing a full on pants suit is writing a few things down on a tablet.
Eventually, Max’s voice is heard on the camera.
Max Daemon: You should be proud of him. But not because he’s improved…but because he’s what the future of UGP looks like.
Max looks at the camera, giving it a wink.
We move over back over to Nyles in the dark room.
Nyles Stephens: I was never one for keeping calm. I made decent grades, but I always managed to find a way to get into fights. You know, I got kicked out of school, I worked a few jobs here and there to try and make a living, but the thing I loved doing the most was fighting.
Pictures of a younger Nyles are thrown across the screen: his yearbook picture in high school, a newspaper clip of him being expelled, him working at a warehouse or at a factory, and then a few candid shots of Nyles fighting in an alleyway with taped up fists and a hoodie.
Nyles Stephens: I can’t say it was entirely above board. I mean…the fights were technically illegal, but that’s like calling a car driving down the road with license plates a month expired. Is it technically illegal? Sure. But…
Nyles shrugs, not offended at all by his past actions.
Nyles Stephens:..of course, the cops that showed up weren’t too happy to find a few bloody faces and busted up fists. They honestly thought it was a mugging or some kind of gang (BEEP), but…there was this whole thing with the people who were running the fights. I know a lot of us were teenagers so we got off…fairly easily, but I’m pretty sure the guy running it was caught with embezzlement or something?
Nyles shakes his head and shrugs.
Nyles Stephens: They booked me at Erie County Youth Services for a year, but if you really think that’d stop me from fighting you’re absolute in the wrong.
A quick photo is scene of Nyles’ mugshot.
Nyles Stephens: I think I was supposed to be there for longer by the end of month two, but…um…life is…the life I’m living is weird.
The camera cuts to Max Daemon in a loose suit, a smirk on his face.
Max Deamon: I know you all wanted to speak directly to The Organization, but they’ve made it clear that they don’t want anything to do with the public facing part of Nyles’ journey. That’s why they hired me, after all.
A few shots of Max’s MMA fights are seen, including the controversial event that nearly ended his career.
Max Daemon: I don’t like talkin about my own MMA career, mostly cause Nyles is the focus, but I’ve been in the main event against the best fighter in the world. I’ve fought talents that’ve become great, but I will always be blacklisted because I was an idiot who was too drunk and (BEEP)ed up to give a damn about anything else.
We get a quick clip playing of Max diving from the top of an octagon onto a gaggle of paparazzi, fighters, and security.
Max Daemon: The Organization brought me in because I’ve been there, and at the end of the day, Nyles needed somebody to represent him…because the kid wasn’t gonna represent himself.
We get a few shots of Nyles in boxing gloves and inside a boxing ring.
Nyles Stephens: I got out of juvie early because of my mom and The Organization. I’m not at liberty to say anything about the hows or the whys, but my mom gave me a focus. It was originally boxing…and I was good at it, but…there was something about it that never stuck with me.
We see a few shots of Nyles’ mom in a wrestling ring, however limited it might be.
Nyes Stephens: My mom was a wrestler, but my grandfather was an icon. Wrestler, actor, musician. Film, TV, music, sports, he’s done it all…and that level of fame…that’s where I want to be. I saw a few tapes of him that The Organization keep locked up, but it was really that level that I aspire for. I’ve mixed up my style, and so my mom decided to get me hooked on MMA. And hooked I was.
A few clips of Nyles’ amateur MMA fights are seen, including introductions and commentary.
Max Daemon: Nyles was fine. One might even say good. But he had a tendency to get distracted by the outside. Now, normally, that’s not a problem. Hell, I’m the poster child for wrestling full time and doing a buncha (BEEP) outside the ring. But his mom and The Organization…?
Max exhales a loud set of breaths.
Max Daemon: They locked him down…and got to work.
Nyles is seen punching the bag a few times from a security camera in the same room as before. Sometimes he’s accompanied by Max, sometimes by the taller man from before, sometimes from another man in a suit, and sometimes nobody at all. A digital clock on the wall is the focal point, with it transitioning throughout all hours of the day, from early morning to late night.
Nyles voice is heard as a shot of him finally walking away from the bag is seen.
Nyles Stephens: I don’t play video games. I don’t really watch a lot of TV shows or films.
We cut back to Nyles in the dark room.
Nyles Stephens: If a fight is scheduled…I’m locked in. Training as much as I can. Getting a regiment done. Focusing on the fight I’m scheduled, because…I’ve lost before…I’m not losing again.
The feed cuts to Max and Nyles outside a locker room. We can see on the wall a few pictures of the Bulls logo and Michael Jordan, indicating we’re now in the United Center. Max has his hand on Nyles’ shoulder.
Max Daemon: No more Boss Fights. No more amateur battles. This is a numbered event, and they put you on their show. You’re being trusted…by me, by Union, and by The Organization…to have all the time we’ve spent on you…finally mean something. You’ve been busting your ass and we all know it…so show them why you’re the future. Show them why you’re the Predator. Show them why you’re Supernatural. Show them what it means…to be famous.
Nyles stares at Max’s face for a few moments before Max gives him a slap on the shoulder. Nyles turns around and enters the locker room.
We cut back to Nyles in the dark room.
He just sits there for a few moments, not saying anything.
We then cut to a shot of The Organization opening their brand Facility in Gary, Indiana.
We see Nyles in the empty octagon set-up in one of the room. He looks around for a few moments before breathing in.
A quick overlay of all the history we’ve seen blasts across the screen. It is overlaid with a voice clip from a man with a deep voice.
Deep Voice: “So without further adieu…no more bull(BEEP)…no more talk…it’s time for some men to step up…and become…
The clip ends on Nyles in the empty octagon, staring into the camera as a roaring finishes the line with one word: “FAMOUS!”