Nick
I was bouncing on the balls of my feet, throwing punches into my brother, Jay's mitt covered hands, imagining my opponent's face. In less than an hour I was getting in the cage to fight Cub Swanson & one of us was coming out of the cage a winner. Whoever wins this fight tonight is on the card for the biggest fight in the MMA world, taking place four months from now, in Las Vegas. In the California MMA community, there are a series of fights, dwindling down the best fighters, to two, who go on to the Main Event, usually held in Las Vegas. The Main Event winner gets put on the UFC roster, catapulting them from the lowest tier to at least the second tier of professional UFC fighters. The winner also gets to sign a three year contract with the UFC, which is what every struggling fighter strives for, including me.
My name is Nick Jonas & I'm 23 years old, born & raised in Venice, California. I've been training to be a fighter since I could walk. My dad was a champion UFC fighter when he was my age, so I have been conditioned all my life to fight. In junior high & high school I was on the wrestling team & I was pretty good, even winning a few national titles. I boxed in my spare time, then after I graduated I started full on training to be the next UFC champion.
Today, I am fighting one of the toughest fighters in the MMA circuit. We are the last two standing, so to speak. We had both beat down all the men who stood in our way of the ultimate prize & now we were standing in each other's way of that prize. I had been studying Cub for weeks & I have been working even harder with my trainers. I was determined to beat him, so I would be one step closer to making my dream come true of being a famous professional UFC fighter.
My brother put his hands down & gave me a look that said he wanted to give me some brotherly advice. "You got this little brother. Your punches are hard as fuck, so if you hit him in the face, you'll do some serious damage. You have severe power behind your throws, I ain't worried. Not to mention those beautiful, sexy, killer legs that no one can survive." He let out a laugh, then grabbed my head, messing up my hat that was on my head backwards.
I straightened my hat as Jay put his hands back up. I started bouncing again, smirking at him, thanking him for the words of encouragement without actually saying it. I started hitting his hands again, until he was tired, then my buddy, Ryan, stepped in. Ryan, besides my brother, was a person I trusted more than anyone else. I've known him since I was in high school, when him & my brother were the big fighters at the time. They were best friends & have been ever since, so Ryan was like an older brother to me.
Ryan's girlfriend, Lisa, was standing nearby, watching me, throwing out words of encouragement. They've been together for almost three years, so she's like my sister. I envied Ryan sometimes. He turned his life around after he let some demons get hold of him & now he had a great girl standing in his corner, sometimes quite literally. I didn't have a girlfriend & I almost convinced myself that I didn't want one. I had a girlfriend in high school for over a year, but she couldn't handle the lifestyle, I was raised around, the one I wanted desperately to be a part of. She also moved to New York to pursue a career in dance, so that's the other reason we didn't stay together. Needless to say, I haven't had a girlfriend since. What I have had is fuck buddies or one night stands. For now, that's what suited me. I didn't need any distractions keeping me from my dream.
It's hard to find a woman who can deal with the life of an MMA fighter, anyway & I know this firsthand. My mom left my dad because she couldn't handle it. My brother Jay, had trouble keeping a woman, but that could be because of his aversion to fidelity more than the fact that he was a fighter. In any case, I'm young, still, so I have plenty of time to find that special someone. When I do, though, I plan on treating her like a queen. Although my parents divorced, my dad still treated my mom like royalty & he was incredibly romantic, even if you'd never guess by looking at him. He just wouldn't do one thing for my mom, the one thing she couldn't continue to live with. He wouldn't give up his MMA life. He stopped fighting in competitions, but he still continued to train fighters, me & my brother both being part of that group. My mom hated that we fought, so she rarely came to our matches. She didn't even like to talk about it. We knew she was proud of us, though, so that's all that mattered to us.
My mom, Christina, remarried a year or so after her & Dad divorced & her new husband is a decent guy. He owns a construction company & Mom handles his books. They're happy & that's the most important thing, really. She still manages to be our mom when we need it. Once a week, Jay & I go over to her house, in Santa Monica, to have dinner. Every week she asks us about our love lives but manages to avoid asking about our fight careers.
My dad is Alvey Jonas, who's a legendary fighter, now owning Navy Street gym, where he trains fighters that he manages, with the help of Jay & Ryan. Dad is a player with the ladies, since he became single six years ago. He gets more tail than I do & probably gets girls closer to my age or Jay's age, than his own age.
I was pumped to be going into the cage tonight. This was the moment I had been waiting for. My dad had gotten this far & had gone further, so he had high expectations for me. Especially, since my brother had gotten this close only to have the dream shattered when he got injured at the very end of the fight. After that, he got addicted to pain killers & lost his way for a while. He was back, now, training me & thinking of fighting for real again.
My dad joined me in the locker room to give me his pep talk & tell me & my brother that we were family & I had this fight in the bag. I was a Jonas, he reminded me. I felt good as I made my way to the main ring. Dad squeezed my shoulders, as he & Jay led me out to where I'd wait until they announced me.
I can't explain the feeling I get when I hear my name being called to a fight & the roar of the crowd. My fans. Fight fans. My dad's fans. My brother's fans. They all were chanting my name, our name. My chest was puffed & my heart was racing as I made my way to the cage, showing my fight face the moment I stepped out into the spotlight.
Cub & I tapped our gloved hands to show our good sportsmanship, which was the norm. In fact, he was a decent guy & we would probably be best friends if we weren't rivals, right now. The bell made its noise signalling we could kill each other now. Well, not really but we could fight like we could.
Cub got several good jabs in, then I let him have it, even though he managed to get out of my inner circle & started pounding on my face. He won the first round, but my dad made me feel good about it. "Relax, son." Dad said, over & over, as he wiped my face & squirt water into my mouth. I tried to do just that as I headed back into the center of the cage for round 2.
I punched Cub a few times before he gave me an uppercut that sent me reeling. While I was trying to get my footing after that hit, Cub got me in a headlock & immobilized me. I couldn't do a damn thing, but I could hear my brother & my dad. I could hear their voices over the crowd. "Relax." I heard my dad. "Never submit." My brother said as encouragement, rather than as a warning.
I did what they said. As soon as I relaxed, Cub loosened his grip & I was able to turn things around. I managed to get him in a hold, then I got him down to the mat. I had his arms pinned behind him & his face was smashed against the canvas. I held this position until he gave up. He submitted. I won that round & smiled all the way to the corner of the ring.
I was almost home free. I almost had this. I was one more winning round away from the biggest achievement of my life so far. I felt good & I felt confident as I made my way to the center of the ring for the third & final round.
Cub got several jabs in that connected to my face enough to make me bleed. The blood dripped into my eye, so I had to blink several times so I could see. I punched Cub's face several times, causing him to stumble backwards, losing his footing just enough for me to make a move. I put my arms around his neck & got him turned around, holding him for a few minutes to make his breathing labored when I would finally let go. As Cub tried to catch his breath, I grabbed his head so I could climb up his torso, then wrapped my legs around his neck & brought him to the mat in a headlock.
We stayed like that for several minutes, him trying his best to free himself but it was no use. My legs were like deadly vices & it was how I earned my name in the ring, The Gripper. Nick the Gripper. That was me. Once my legs gripped my opponent's neck or upper body, they were usually finished then or shortly after. Even when my legs wrapped around my opponent's legs, they weren't able to move at all & would usually submit or the round would be called to an end by the referee.
Cub submitted when he realized he wasn't getting out of my legs, so I won. I couldn't contain my excitement after I was declared the winner. I yelled out as my dad & brother came to grab me so they could lift me up high in between them. My dad got to me first & the moment he embraced me, I let out a sob that was half relief & half joy. The crowd roared & I could feel the vibrations all the way to my bones. It was a feeling that was hard to put into words but it was the best feeling I'd ever experienced, in my life. So far anyway.
We all went out to celebrate that night, to the bar that was around the corner from the gym, called The Knock Out or KO as most of us fighters referred to it. The owner was a friend of my dad's & he was a huge supporter of all of us fighters. I felt like king shit all night long, as they celebrated my success. I was just one fight away from being a real MMA fighter for the UFC. My dream was within my reach now. It was attainable.
After my win, I was treated like a bit of a hero around Venice, especially at the gym. My dad was so proud he told everyone he could that I was going to the Main Event in Vegas. He hung a photo, of me, up in his office, at the gym of me, taken at the exact moment I won. I felt amazing, like I could do anything. I was being treated like a celebrity everywhere I went. I was even being interviewed by different people in the media. Someone from the UFC came to interview me at the gym, as well as a few magazine writers. I was living the dream & I had no idea how quickly my dream could end.
About a week after my win, I was leaving the gym one evening, on my way to meet Jay & Ryan at the KO. I headed down the alley, behind the gym, that was a shortcut to the bar. I had my headphones on, which is why I didn't hear anyone approaching me until they had their arms around my neck. The guy was strong & had my arms pinned against me so I couldn't move anything but my legs. Just as I went to kick my leg someone else hit the side of my knee with a crowbar or something metal & hard like a crowbar. The pain was excruciating & I screamed out as a reflex, but then a hand was clamped over my mouth. The metal rod made contact with my leg again, then with my other leg & the pain was so severe I squeezed my eyes shut, a few tears escaping to slide down my cheek.
A moment later I was being slammed down on the ground & I could feel what was probably a knee in my back, then I felt someone pulling my leg toward my head, a direction it wasn't meant to go in. I thought they were going to snap my leg off & I've never been so scared in my life. My leg was bent back & I was screaming in agony, loud enough, behind this fucker's hand, that I made someone hear me. The two guys let go of my leg & as I rolled over, one of them punched me twice in the face. Right before the two guys took off, I was kicked really hard in the head & the leg at the same time, then I heard someone yelling as I watched the figures disappear. As I reached up to hold my head where it had been kicked, I felt something warm & sticky. Blood. I remembered seeing the one guy's boots, so I knew why it hurt so bad & why it was bleeding. The toe of his boot had a flash of something shiny on it, like an ornament of some kind. My dad was a biker, so I knew these boots were like the ones I'd seen many bikers wear. I'd have to remember this bit of information for later. Then I could scour Venice looking for the fucking piece of shit & snap his neck. Hopefully, his friend was with him, so I could fuck them both up.
Footsteps came running to me & I felt like I was going to pass out, just as I heard my brother's voice, sounding panicked. He was saying my name over & over then I heard Ryan's voice as I laid my head back down on the wet cement. The last thing I remembered before blacking out, was Ryan coming up behind my brother.