Chapter 1 - A New Beginning

As Mr. Syvone opens the door to the backroom, Adrian notices something off about it, which was the number of boxes in it. There was a lot more that resulted in stacks of it getting close to the ceiling which was already not very high, to begin with. Adrain thinks that these boxes were more of spare equipment or extra uniforms for new fighters like myself and Martin, so he did not ask Mr. Syvone. As they went through the clearing that the boxes created, they heard talking in the office room, it was muffled so it was hard to tell what was being said. Mr. Syvone opened up the door, and the first thing they saw was four men sitting around the table playing cards. They became quiet due to the sound of the door opening more abruptly.

"Hey Adam, Tony, Greg, and Scott. I would like to introduce you to Adrian Parro and Martin Cambio, they want to be new fighters for us." Mr. Syvone said as he stepped to the side to allow the newcomers to welcome themselves in. The office was more spacious than anticipated given the room to get to it. It has a table in the middle with a couple of stacks of dollar bills on it which look to be one hundred dollars. There was a fridge to the left corner of the room with a calendar on the side of it. There was also a desk in the opposite corner that seems to be where Mr.Syvone or Joey Syvone, given the name tag placed on the desk near the monitors, does his work.

"Come on, boys, sit down over there to discuss business." Mr. Syvone said to the two teenagers, pointing to the chairs near his desk. Adrian and Martin walked to the chairs to sit down as the other men gave them looks as they walked to the chairs. "So before we talk about the contract that you guys would want to be on before I publicize you two rookies to join my lineup of fighters, allow me to introduce my staff that most trains these fighters." Mr. Syvone states as he gestures to the men to get off the table. The first man to walk up was a large white man, who is clean shaved with a black warmup suit with the logo of the gym on the up left side of it. "This is trainer Adam Dudley, he is a Black Belt on the martial art style Judo, while also knowing a thing about Wrestling and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu." Mr. Syvone states to the observers as he then whispers something into Adam's ear, he nods and then walks out of the room, closing the door behind him. Another man walked up to the desk. This one was a short-looking stocky Italian man wearing a tank top and shorts. "This is trainer Tony Capon, he teaches boxing techniques." Mr. Syvone again whispered to Trainer Tony, and just like Trainer Adam, he walked out of the room. Then it was the incredibly strong muscular-looking tanned skinned tight clothed clad monsters turn to be introduced. It would be difficult to believe he did not use steroids or any boosting in general. "This is Greg Whisk, the newest trainer I hired after the old one quit the group. I would rather not continue with you on that it was a personal matter. Anyways he does mostly wrestling, mainly to keep up with the trend of the majority of MMA fighters having more of a wrestling background or adept knowledge in that area." Again Mr. Syvone did the same thing after he did his introduction and trainer Greg left the room. The final man to walk up was this thin-looking man that appears to be more like a groundskeeper at a cemetery than an MMA trainer given his attire of long pants and overalls. "This is Scott Morrison, a man that mostly does kick-based combat." Mr. Syvone said before repeating the same process. "What style do you two mostly fight with?"

"I have been doing Taekwondo since first grade and have been wrestling for the past five years. Recently I have been learning boxing," Adrian said to Mr. Syvone.

"I have been wrestling since sixth grade, and did kickboxing, along with Jiu-Jitsu," Martin said.

"Good diversity in terms of techniques. I know you two want to get in some fights," Mr. Syvone said to the two teenagers.

"Yeah, it is what I want to do for a living, it is my dream," Martin said with hope in his eyes.

"And what about you, Adrian?" asked Mr. Syvone.

"Sure, I am more curious about the money," Adrian replied with interest in his voice.

"So there are two types of contracts that I offer here. I offer the Regular Training Contract, it is for people mostly wanting to workout and learn about fighting but you guys are interested in the Fighters Contract," Mr. Syvone says as he reaches under his desk looking through the cabinets. He pulled out two packets that had "Fighter's Contract" on the front of them with a space to sign one's name. The contract reads as expected to the newcomers, saying that on this day, they will be registered MMA fighters for ten amateur fights in the city. Along with a urine test for drugs and hydration. Then Mr. Syvone slides two stacks of the hundred dollar bills in front of them. "That is your signing bonus for fighting for us, ten grand, and I told my men to go upstairs to do testing on you guys, nothing bad just basic sport combines testings."

"So like weight lifting maxes for strength training, some speed training, and probably reflexes," Martin said with confidence.

"Correct and we will also need to get a base urine test for hydration and drug testing. Also, a blood test to make sure you guys do not have any diseases," Mr. Syvone stated. "Now you two go upstairs to take some of your testings."

"Yes sir, boss man," Adrian replied. Both Adrain and Martin head out of the room, while being respectful about it. They went upstairs to see the trainers setting up areas, and the people that were at the gym were gathering around to watch the new fighters try to see how they stack next to the other fighters. The first one was bench press, over by Trainer Whisk. They started with one hundred thirty-five pounds and both men did it with ease. It felt like air to them. They then went to two hundred-twenty-five and Adrian it was still light while Martin showed some struggle. Martin got off the bench and was stretching his arms to keep going. They went to Martin's max of two hundred-forty-five pounds. It was just for Martin to do. Martin did it with the sound of people cheering him on to do it and he did. The next weight is two-hundred-fifty pounds. Adrian did it with some struggle while Martin got it up with a lot of struggle. Martin was ecstatic that he got a new personal best. People were screaming for Martin to keep going and Martin put on another five pounds. He failed the weight and people applauded Martin for his determination. They went to two hundred-seventy pounds and Adrian did it with a similar struggle with the previous weight. They went to two hundred-ninety pounds and Adrian did it with more of a struggle. He completed it though, he then proceeded to shake his arms. Then onto three hundred-fifteen pounds. The crowd of lifters and fighters were getting excited to see the goliath do that weight. Adrian sat on the bench, took a deep breath, and lifted the weight for the bar. As he was bringing the metal bar down, the cheers for him to do it grew. He completed the rep but it was a struggle for him. They continued to increase it to three hundred-thirty pounds and people were shocked as he did the weight but it was hard for him to do. Then they went to three hundred-forty and finally, Adrian got to the limit. He couldn't do the rep. As the trainer helped him get the weight off his chest, people were cheering and clapping. One guy, in particular, walked up to the tired Adrian. It was a big man not as large as Adrian but still bigger than most people. He was a white-skinned man with very blonde hair. Part of it appeared white and he also had white spots around his skin. There was something unusual about his stance, he kept standing where the right side of the body faces Adrian.

"That was impressive man, how long have you been working out?" the figure said. "My name is Joshua, Joshua Davis. Are you new here? What is your name?"

"My name is Adrian Parro. I am new here, I just signed the fighter's contract. And I have been working out seriously since eighth grade." Adrian was happy that he got to talk to someone new.

"How old are you, young man?" Joshua asked.

"I am eighteen years old, how about you?" Adrian asked.

"God damn, you one young motherfucker. I am twenty-eight and you are bigger than me, I am only six-foot-three." Replied Joshua in shock. "How much do you weigh?"

"I weigh two hundred and sixty pounds along with being six-foot-six," Adrian says he noticed how shocked Joshua was looking at him.

"I would love to spare with you, man, you can learn a lot. What was your signing bonus from the boss?" Joshua asked

"Hey, Joshua does not ask people about the fighting contract, how many times have I told you that?" Trainer Dudley firmly told Joshua. This made Joshua begin to sweat a little bit. Dudley was at another machine that was in the gym, Adrian surprisingly did not notice it but it was in the corner of the room, it was a machine with nine lights in a square formation, three by three it has a dot in the middle. Martin was already on the platform looking at the dots. He went to the right middle dot and spread his arms out. Martin's arms spread past the middle dot and were about halfway to the left middle dot. He checks the upper dot and he can reach it by going on his toes a little bit. Martin then checked the lower ones and he had to crouch a little bit to touch the lower buttons. After the check, Dudley gave him a nod and started the machine. One minute on the clock with the lights flashing in a circle with a gravitational speed that can draw a person's eyes to it, then it stopped. The first light appeared in the top left corner and Martin started his pursuit. He reached it and went back to the middle and keep going just pressing the buttons one by one. Martin keep moving even if he went to the middle to gauge the machine and score. Even if it was something as small as a slight movement to his hand and even to the slight curl of his toe. Martin kept moving. The alarm sounded off and Martin started to breathe heavily as he was looking at the score. The score said sixty-eight which was impressive due to the style at which he went back to the middle, but made sense because he was ambidextrous. Dudley wrote the score down and looked at Adrian. Adrian interpreted it as his turn. As he walked up, Martin walked off and gave Adrain a good high-five.

"You got this shit, Adrain!" Martin yelled as he walked back, applauding to hype up the test. Adrian walked up to the machine and Adrain could almost reach from the middle right button to the middle left button area. It was very close, but he had to lower it down to hit it better. Then when it came to the upper one, he could touch without moving his feet up but when it came to lowering down, he noticed it was more difficult due to his size. Dudley started the machine and

Adrain started going at the machine for a minute. He kept moving but did not use the strategy of moving to the middle, Adrain's head was on a swivel. Constantly looked around for the dots and used his reach to make it easier to hit them. When the time was up Adrian looked at his score and was surprised to see he got a fifty-nine, the lower ones were getting to him. After that they moved to a kicking bag where Trainer Scott was waiting there, lighting a cigar.

"Ok, what I am asking is you guys are kicking the bag for one minute and thirty seconds," Trainer Scott said as he was taking a big breath with his cigar. "Thirty seconds lower, middle, and upper I will count the kicks," Scott said as he breathed out the smoke, looking down to a clicker and a clipboard. Adrian walked up to the bag with a staggered stance, his left foot was back. Scott pointed down and gave a countdown with his fingers. Once his rough hands showed no fingers up, Adrian took off. Kicking the bag as fast as he can while maintaining the low part of the test. After he said the thirty seconds were up, he looked at Scott and he gave another countdown. Adrian got ready and did it for the middle section. After he was done he did it for the upper section to finish it off. Fourth one low kicks, one hundred and eleven roundhouse kicks, and thirty-seven high kicks. Then it was Martin's turn, he did it easier than Adrian due to him being more flexible and having more experience as a kickboxer along with his father being a great kickboxer. He got sixty-one lower kicks, one hundred and forty roundhouse kicks, and fifty high kicks. After that, they went to Trainer Tony, where he was between a stationary punching bag and a machine.

"You two dumbasses got to throw as many punches as you can in a second," Tony said as he looked over to the punching bag, he then turned to the machine. "This is a game to test your punching power. you will do both tests four times, two for each arm."

"Ok that seems simple," Adrian says as he walks to the punching bag with his right hand first being used. "I am ready."

"Alright, big fella. Hey, Greg comes over here with the click timer and time this boy," Tony yelled across the gym. Greg walked over to the place with his clicker. Tony nodded his head and Adrian started to throw his punches to make as many as he can. Then the alarm sounds.

"You got seven punches in a second," Tony said, impressed at the young kid. "Your turn boy." Looking over to Martin. Martin walked over and got ready with his right-hand lead too. Martin began and got six punches. "Come with me to the other machine," Tony said as he walked to the other machine. "This is to measure punching power," Tony says as he presses a button that lowers a punching bag. "Hit this as hard as you can and we will repeat the other tests," Tony says as he walks away. Adrian stepped up and prepared his punch. He breathed and he punched the bag with a lot of power. The sound of the bag being slammed back by Adrian's fist rang through the gym. The point systems said he scored one thousand four hundred and sixty-nine points.

"Nice," Martin said as he walked up to the bag. Martin pressed the button, stepped back as the bag lowered and he hit it as hard as he could. The score he got was one thousand and twenty-two.

"Nice, now we will repeat these trials," Tony said as he walked back to the punching bag. Adrian and Martin repeated the trials. Adrian's second right-hand test was eight punches, the other test was one thousand four hundred and twenty. His left-hand ones were worse than his right hand. The punches in a second were six and five. Power was one thousand three hundred seventy-six and the second one was one thousand two hundred and seventeen. Martin's other right-hand test was five punches. His left-hand punches were six and six. His other right-hand punch power was one thousand and one. His left hand was one thousand sixty-two and the other was one thousand eighteen. After the test, Adrian and Martin saw Mr. Syvone set up a scale. Mr. Syvone waved the two men over.

"Now to measure your height, weight, reach, and get a blood sample." Mr. Syvone said, pointing to the wall. Adrian walked up to the wall and removed his shoes. Mr. Syvone got a measuring tape and pulled it while getting on a step stool to measure Adrian's height. "Adrian, you are six foot six and a third. Martin, step up," The owner says as Adrian walks off to the scale. Martin walked up to the wall and Mr. Syvone measured him. "You are six foot two and an eighth." At the scale, Adrian stepped on the scales in his normal clothes minus his shoes. "Adrian, you are a massive individual, two hundred and sixty pounds of muscle!" Mr. Syvone yelled as he punched Adrian on his six-pack. Martin then stepped on the scale after Adrian. "Martin, you are surprisingly slim at one hundred and seventy-nine pounds," Mr. Syvone said, giving a shrug that bobbles his head a bit. "Ok now for reach," Mr. Syvone says as he is pulling up his tape measure.

Adrian put his arms out on the side and he measured it. "Eighty-six inches!" Mr. Syvone said excitedly. "That is one of the longest reaches I have ever seen. Martin, your turn." Martin walked up and mimicked Adrian. "Seventy-seven inches, not bad," Mr. Syvone said while giving his signature shrug. "Next time you guys feel ready to go to the bathroom let me know and I will give you a cup so we can take the sample for testing."

"Ok, boss," Adrian said to Mr. Syvone. Martin checked his watch and realized the time.

"Adrain, we have work in an hour, it is 3 pm," Martin said showing Adrian his watch.

"Oh, shit" Adrian blurted out. "We work in construction. We have a late shift tonight."

"It is fine, you can guys can go to your job," Mr. Syvone said as he was walking to the door with them. "Next time you guys come back we will give you guys your equipment, do the hydration test so you can be legal fighters."

"Can't wait and thank you for this, Mr. Syvone," Martin said as he and Adrian walked out the door.

"No problem, take care of yourselves," Mr. Syvone said as he open up the door. Adrian and Martin walked out of the gym going to their job. Mr. Syvone waved back and kept watching till they were furthering enough away. He did multiple looks around the block before closing the door and heading back into his office.