Mr. Worldwide

Approximately 4 thousand miles from Soweiland, in New York City, Angelo Baitanéz, an up-and-coming street fighter is preparing to fight his next opponent.

Born and raised in Linam City, Angelo, age 25, had trained for the last 5 years of his life in order to follow his dream, and make it in the big city. All the training did pay of, as the guy now had an incredible physique.

His previous opponents usually describe him as an overconfident, annoying braggart, who only ever wins because he's lucky. When asked about this, he attributed it to the fact they were salty about losing to a newbie.

His final fight on this unprofessional league was against a guy named "The Bulldozer".

"They probably call him that because his face looks like it was hit by a bulldozer." Angelo thought to himself once he entered the ring and got a first glance at his opponent.

The crowd wasn't big, but unbeknownst to Angelo, the organizer of the biggest underground fighting tournament in the world, John Money himself, had made a surprise guest appearance, hoping to pick up a new fighter or two for his next tournament.

"Fight!" yelled out the referee, and The Bulldozer immediately rushed towards Angelo who rolled out of the way, making the girthy opponent hit his head against the wall.

"Nice going, man! Knock yourself out and save me the trouble!" Angelo said.

Bulldozer quickly and turned around and made a really ugly face at Angelo, then tried to bearhug him. Angelo kicked his face, punched his jaw and drop kicked him, pushing him away. The opponent stood his ground, and jumped at Angelo, lifted him up and tossed him with extreme force at a wall. Angelo quickly recovered and took a defensive stance, preparing to face his opponent's signature attack, the Bulldozer Rush.

"Is that all The almighty Bulldozer can do?" Angelo taunted. "My cat punches harder!"

"How dare puny man mock the Bulldozer? Prepare to be buried!"

The Bulldozer tried to run head first towards Angelo, but the moment he came close enough, Angelo kneed his face making him jump a little and fall flat on his back.

The referee started counting and 5 seconds later...

"K.O! Angelo Baitanéz wins!" He said as he raised the victor's hand up, followed by an applause.

A little while after the match had ended, when the crowd had dispersed, a balding old man with a puffy gray mustache and a top hat approached Angelo.

"Hello there, friend." He said. "My name is John Money, and I just so happen to have an offer you can't refuse."

"Oh?" Asked Angelo, intrigued. "And what may that be?"

"Did you know the guy you just beat was the highest ranking AUFA fighter? Now that you beat him, that position is yours."

"What the hell is an AUFA?" Angelo asked.

"The Amateur Underground Fighters Association. When you're at the top 4 of that tournament, you can qualify to join the Professional Underground Fighters Association, or PUFA, which is random by none other than me, John Money." John explained.

"And what's the deal exactly? What's in it for me?"

"You fight in locations all across the globe, for the grand prize of one million United States dollars!"

"Where do I sign?" Angelo asked.

___________________________________________

1 week later...

John Money had arranged for Angelo to be taken by boat to France, where he would be fighting in his first match against a French guy named Jazz Gloe. Apparently he had been the #4 rank in the AUFA, so he was the current #16 rank of the PUFA, so last. Angelo figured he was easy pickings.

During the week, the first two matches of the tournament had also happened in Rio and Munich, where the other two former AUFA fighters, The Bulldozer, ranked #14 and Craig, ranked #15, were both eliminated to some high ranking fighters. Angelo deduced it was probably rigged against them from the start.

The PUFA ring was very different than the previous one. Replacing the half disco bar half fighting arena from before was a very specially crafted ring, with green, black and orange -the colours of the organisation- decorations everywhere. Instead of a hardwood floor there was instead a rubber floor that reduced the pain factor of falling on it face first significantly.

"Huhuhuhu!" Said Jazz when Angelo walked in the ring. "Zis is my competitión? Zis vill be easy."

Jazz made the first move, trying to hit Angelo with an uppercut that missed. He tried doing a roundhouse kick, then and earclap, both of which were dodged.

"Huh? Zat is impossible!" Jazz said, and then Angelo punched him in the face, numerous times.

Despite his scrawny physique, Gloe was actually pretty good at talking punches to the face. Eventually he decided to fight back, managing to sweep Angelo's legs and knocking him down. He tried to pin him to the floor, but Angelo pushed him off and put him in a headlock. When Gloe broke free, Angelo headbutted him and he fell on the ground.

The referee, who somehow was the same fedora-wearing, neckbearded, obese man from New York, started counting. When he reached 4, Jazz Gloe got up, only to be immediately kicked in the torso and knocked down. This time, he didn't get up.

"It's over, it's over! Angelo Baitanéz wins!!" The referee announced, and was followed by applause. Angelo started smiling and waving at the crowd.

"Hey man, the boss told me to give ya this." The ref said and passed him a letter.

"Uh, thanks." Angelo said and started walking away from the ring.

The letter inside had a note, handwritten by John Money himself. It read:

"Ey champ, congratulations on your victory.

Now that you're in the top 8, you must know that all the fights going forward won't exactly be real. People come to see brutalities, and I'm afraid someone like you isn't gonna cut it. If you lose the next fight, you're gonna get a lot more than just what's in the letter.

You'd better make the right choice."

Inside the letter there was also a bank note of 50,000$ signed by John Money.

"He wants me to sell out?" Angelo asked himself. He considered his options and came to a decision, then boarded the boat to his next destination.

__________________________________________

Another week later...

The next destination was Angelo's home turf, Soweiland. More specifically, Black Island, the roughest neighbourhood in the country. He was to face the fighter from Brazil, who had eliminated the Bulldozer, the Tiger. She was the only female fighter in the competition, ranked #6. Safe to say, she was the favourite to win.

The rest of the round one matches had been finished during the week, and the #7 rank Jane "The Dock" Rohnson had been the most surprising elimination. Angelo was the lowest ranking fighter remaining.

During the week that he spent on the boat, Angelo had watched footage of Tiger's past battles and studied her moves.

The day of the match had come, and Angelo had finally come face to face with Tiger for the first time. When he first saw her, he had a shocking realisation; She. Was. HUGE.

Angelo wasn't exactly a short guy, but she towered over him. She looked like she could lift a truck with one hand, there's no way he could beat that! But while he couldn't win in a battle of fists, he could definitely win in a battle of wits.

While watching the footage, Angelo had figured that despite her fierceness, Tiger never brutalised her opponents. That made her negotiable.

So when they entered the ring, instead of fighting her, he started trying to talk to her.

"So how does it feel being a sellout?" Angelo asked, with a smirk on his face.

"We're not here for chit-chat, so stand and fight!" Tiger said, after trying to punch him and missing. He was only dodging and hadn't attempted to throw a single punch.

"Well, you just don't seem like the kind of person who enjoys taking orders."

"I don't take anyone's orders!"

"Well, right now you aren't, but who's guaranteeing the big man wants you to win your next fight?"

"I don't care, I'm still getting paid." Tiger said and tried to kick his face, but he dodged.aa

"Well I'm getting paid to lose to you, so realistically you've never actually been in a real fight."

"What are you talking about?"

"Why exactly did you start pro-fighting?"

"For the money!"

"And the thrill of the fight. Here's the deal; you throw this fight and let me advance to the next round, and after I win, I'll give you a cut of the moolah and maybe let you fight me for real, yeah?" Angelo proposed.

Tiger contemplated this, then turned to Angelo again and asked.

"How did you know this?"

"People do say I'm a good judge of character. We got a deal?"

Tiger smirked and let Angelo get her. He landed an uppercut and she fell to the floor with a thud.

The referee counted to 5, his tone trying to get Tiger to get up, indicating that he was totally in on it, but she didn't budge.

"It's over, it's over! Angelo Baitanéz...wins!?"

__________________________________________

John Money was not happy about this turn of events. Angelo was supposed to lose! Not only did he win, but he also got away with the 50k check!

"I don't know bossman, he knocked out Tiger with one punch!" The referee explained to him over the phone.

"One punch?" John growled.

"One punch! It was crazy! He seemed to be talking to her a lot before."

"He's fucking with my entire operation! You MUSTN'T let him win the next round!"

"I wish I could help ya sir, but if the audience figures out I'm rigging the game we'll lose a lot of profit, and I have a family to feed."

"Okay Bartholomew you win. Keep up with your work." John said as he hanged up.

By the time of this call, Angelo had already arrived in Tokyo, Japan, in order to face his second-to-last opponent, the Japanese martial arts master, Kobra, ranked #3. John Money figured that if he couldn't stop him from going to Tokyo, he could at least stop him from getting out.

___________________________________________

Angelo's fight against Kobra was very easy. While he couldn't convince him to lose like he did with Tiger, Kobra's fancy kicks and jabs were pathetic, and only ever useful in performances. Kobra wasn't a fighter, in fact all of his victories had been very clearly staged.

He was supposed to go to the port in one hour so he could be taken to the final destination, back to NYC, where he would face the final opponent, who was either #1 rank Mr. Bruiser or #2 rank Super Punch Man.

But while he was walking towards the dock, he was stopped by a huge man, wearing a helmet that covered his eyes, heavily armoured and holding a katana.

"What the?" Angelo asked.

"Good afternoon." The man said. "My name is Chōng Xi, and I am afraid I cannot allow you to go any further."

Immediately after he said that, 7 ninja, wearing black leather cloth, also holding katanas, emerged from the shadows.

"Oh, I get it, this is like one of these practical jokes. These aren't really swords! You got me good."

Chōng Xi then quickly sliced some of his hair off.

"Okay this is real." Angelo declared and then swiftly kicked Chōng Xi's jaw and started running.

A bunch of ninja jumped at him from the rooftops, and he dodged their slices and stabs. He jumped above two that were blocking his path, but eventually he came face to face with a dead end.

"Oh crap!" He said, the two ninja ran straight towards him. He fucked, then knocked them into each other and stole one guy's sword. Once another guy showed up he stabbed him with the sword and climbed up the building next to him, going up the rooftop. He could see the port from there, and the boat was leaving?

"Damn! It's that bastard, Money! He paid you to slow me down!" He figured.

"Correct." Said Chōng Xi, who was standing right behind him.

"I don't have time for you, Chang! I have a million dollars to earn!" He said and started running, parkouring from rooftop to rooftop.

Chōng Xi gave chase, and many other ninja they came across tried to stop Angelo. Eventually, Chōng Xi caught up with the runaway, who was forced to grab a random metal pipe to block the samurai's lunges. He tried to bash his head in, but Xi's helmet protected him.

"This is the end of the line, Mr. Batanes. Walk away with your dignity intact, or die where you stand."

"Oh please, don't do this to me! I only wanted the money!" Angelo fell down on his knees and started begging. Really this was just to throw the samurai off while he checked his surroundings.

While on his knees, he noticed a crane that was picking up a cargo container, that reached from the building they were at to the port. Angelo perked up.

"But if you have to kill me, I have to tell you one last thing..." He said, and then he punched the samurai in the genitals.

As he fell on his knees, clutching his kiwis, Angelo got up and started running towards the crane.

"The name's Baitanéz, asshole!" He said as he jumped off the building, and flipped the samurai off. "Get bent!"

He grabbed on the crane's chain, and swung all the way to the boat, that had only now left the port. He took a dive and landed on deck.

Luckily enough, none of John Money's henchmen were on the deck at the time, so Angelo took the opportunity to go hide with the cargo.

___________________________________________

New York City.

Angelo Baitanéz was right outside the building where the fight would take place.

Much like his previous 4 opponents, Angelo had studied the moves of his next opponent.

Between Super Punch Man and Mr. Bruiser, the former was a mascot, with no real combat skills, but the latter was a true powerhouse. Mr. Bruiser was no joke, and he'd refuse to lose to someone like Super Punch Man. He didn't just beat his opponents, he maimed them. There was no doubt he'd be the one in that ring.

Angelo wasn't sure if he could stand up to someone with such power and strength. Unlike Tiger, Bruiser never spoke while fighting. He just demolished his opponents while giving them a deathly cold stare.

Fortunately for Angelo, he had come prepared. Inside the cargo hold of the ship, he had found a pair of brass knuckles that could deliver electric shocks. These were the key to stand a chance.

Angelo snuck through the back door, and into the changing rooms. Bruiser wasn't there. He walked towards the door, and saw all the other fighters waiting at the VIP section of the audience. Well, except that poor #12 rank, Hugh Mann, who Mr. Bruiser had sent to the hospital. Yikes!

John Money was also with them, excited to announce that Angelo Baitanéz hadn't been able to make it.

And then it began.

"In the red corner, 7 years running champion of the PUFA Tournament, 6 feet, 11 inches tall, weighing nearly 400 pounds, Brock McCoy, aka Mr. Bruiser!!" The announcer said, and everyone clapped.

"In the blue corner, there's... Nobody?'

"Oh well what a shame. I suppose Bruiser wins!" John Money announced, gleaming in joy.

"You wish, Money!" Angelo said as he slammed the door open and walked in, smug as always.

"How?" Asked John Money.

"Sorry I'm late people, I had a run in with some douche, Chōng Xi was his name? Whatever, get ready to rumble Dr. Mauler!"

"Fight!" The referee yelled, and the two men glared at each other.

Bruiser was the first to make a move, trying to hit Angelo with an overhead blow. Angelo rolled out of the way, and started running circles around the bigger guy. Bruiser tripped him, but he managed to not fall.

Bruiser tried to use a bearhug on Angelo, but he punched his jaw, then repeatedly hit his face, electricity crackling with each blow. Bruiser retaliated by grabbing him by the leg and slamming him on the ground, then kicking his sides while he was down. Then he tried to step on his face, but Angelo rolled away.

Angelo quickly got up and started running away. The larger man couldn't catch up, but could keep taking blows. When Angelo came close enough, he headbutted him and made him stumble back.

Angelo glazed at his attacker, then smirked.

"That all.you got, fat boy?" He asked, enraging the girthy fighter, who ran straight at him. Angelo took the opportunity to punch his face, then grab him by the head and knee his jaw.

This dazed Mr. Bruiser, and let Angelo do a flip kick on his jaw, them wind up a big punch and hit him with both fists knocking him down. Angelo then jumped right on Bruiser, pinning him down, long enough for the ref to count to five.

"Game! Angelo Baitanéz wins!"

The entire crowd started applauding. Angelo started smiling and waving at them, with a smirk plastered all over his face.

"This is ridiculous!" John Money said, while he walked in with a check of one million dollars.

"What can I say, Jack, you just can't beat the Angelmeister!"

"You're not getting any money, you fraud!" John announced, and the entire crowd started booing him.

Mr. Bruiser then got up and knocked out John Money with one punch, then took the check and handed it to Angelo, making all the fighters'cheer.

"Hey, thanks man!" Angelo said, and shook hands with Bruiser.

"Ow, ow he's crushing my hand! A little help here?"

___________________________________________

Now that he was super famous, Angelo went back to Soweiland, where he opened a huge gym with his million dollars. People from all over the world came to train there, and Angelo charged ridiculous amount that crazy fans with too much money could afford to spend. Even some of the PUFA fighters started going there.

With all that money, Angelo was going to be well off for a long time, and he was able to buy a private island with a mansion, a boat, a car and a helicopter with all of his money.

John Money and his sidekick Bartholomew were both kicked out by the PUFA fighters, and Mr. Bruiser took the position of organiser, making sure that all the fights were fair and fun to watch. The Bulldozer became the new PUFA referee.

Lastly, Tiger did end up getting 200k dollars from Angelo's prize money like he promised, which was way more than what John Money was paying her. They also had the spar Angelo promised, which he lost because he wasn't using the electric brass knuckles.

The end.