mma / News

The Hurt Business Filmmaker Says Documentary Humanizes Fighters, Talks Jones and Rousey’s Falls & More

September 28, 2016 | Posted by Jeremy Thomas
Jon Jones

Vlad Yudin spoke with Uproxx about his MMA documentary The Hurt Business and his experiences making it. Some highlights are below:

On how long he’s been a fan of MMA: “Well, it’s interesting, because I think I was never really a fan of MMA. I never fully understood it. This film was kind of my exploration of a sport, and I got a chance to learn more and more as I was making it. Now I definitely watch MMA and definitely consider myself a fan.”

On California being a hotbed for MMA: “For me, when I was spending a lot of time in California, I met a lot of people who were more into MMA than I was because it’s very prominent there, there’s a lot of gyms and stuff like that. So, I got a chance to learn about MMA a lot when I was spending time over there. But I think the film was really an exploration of the sport and it tells the story of where the sport came from, how it originated, and where it’s going. Of course, we focus on the specific athletes who compete in the sport. And my focus in filmmaking is really the behind-the-scenes access and to show what people go through emotionally. Obviously physically, but also emotionally, it’s a very big component of MMA. Right now I’m definitely very interested in MMA, I think it’s still controversial, as a sport. Even though it’s a growing sport, I still feel like it’s misunderstood, so I’m definitely interested in it a lot.”

On capturing Jon Jones’ rise and fall in the film: “It’s crazy because you never know what’s gonna happen, right? Obviously, when the whole car accident thing was happening, it was super shocking because nobody can expect that and the suspension and the legal matters. But then this thing came when they took him off the card at UFC 200, that was another shock. So, I don’t even know what to expect anymore, not just for him, but for everybody. It’s a sport where a fighter can get injured or something can happen right before the fight. In MMA, I feel like way more than in boxing, people always blow out or get injured or something happens right before the fight, so it’s a really unpredictable sport. Now I’m ready for anything.”

On whether the documentary will convert non-MMA fans: “I think what this film provided was a really in-depth look into the lives of fighters. I think it humanizes them, because when you see a fight or an MMA event, you see a certain aspect of it, you see the physical aspect of it, you see what they want you to see. In this film, we go way deeper and we got behind-the-scenes where it really shows the aspect of what they go through. I think it makes it more personal when you see a guy competing in a cage, and it can get pretty brutal and violent, you see one aspect to it, but then you see when he gets home and spends time with his family, what he or she does to get ready for a fight mentally, or what they go through when they get injured and can no longer compete, what that does to their lives. Obviously, it’s a career, but it’s so closely integrated into your life, so it’s much more than just a career. If you’re an MMA fan, you’ll be able to get that access to something you’ve never seen before. If you’re not a fan of MMA, then maybe it will get you into MMA or it might have an adverse reaction, you might not like it because, in the film, we really want to show both sides of things, it’s not just a glamour approach; we show the good and the bad.”

On Ronda Rousey losing her title during the making of the film: “No, I wanted the film to be timeless. You know, there are always going to be new champions, there are always going to be new fighters coming in, but the story in the film, it can happen to anybody. Injuries can happen to anybody, anybody can become a champion, really. I wanted to show universal stories and I wanted it to be timeless. If you see this next year or two years from now, of course the sport is evolving, but the principles of it are still going to be similar. Whether it’s Ronda Rousey or Jon Jones or whoever is going to replace them, it’s still going to be similar stories and I think the film depicts those stories that I wanted to highlight in the sport overall. And of course, you know, the history of MMA; how it started, where it came from, that’s always going to be there. That’s how the sport evolved, that’s where it came from. I’m hoping and I strongly feel like this film is going to be timeless in that regard.”