MOMENTUM

ANNOUNCER: This program is made possible by The Marcella Foundation.

A non-profit with a mission to think big and make a difference in South Lake Tahoe and beyond.

We believe in the power of great people and ideas to inspire change and make a lasting impact.

Learn more at MarcellaFoundation.org Additional support from the Tahoe Arts Project, whose mission is to provide cultural enrichment and diversity for the South Lake Tahoe community through the arts and education with a particular focus on youth.

Find out more at TahoeArtsProject.org And the Lake Tahoe Documentary Film Festival, a multiday event held in South Lake Tahoe.

This festival is designed to entertain, enlighten and inspire through the power of film.

More information available at LTDFF.com A complete list of supporters is available on our website MomentumDocumentary.com (birds calling) (water rippling) (footsteps) (water rippling) (crowd sounds) ANNOUNCER: Ladies and gentlemen, let's meet our fighters.

First, out of Lake Tahoe, California, representing Escobar Training Grounds.

Chris "Coco" Cocores!

MAN: Yeah baby!

COMMENTATOR: Chris Cocores has got a story.

(crowd noises) WOMAN: (indistinct) REFEREE: Fight!

MAN: Oh!

Oh yeah!

(crowd cheering) COACH: Breathe Coco, breathe.

MAN: Take that under hook.

COACH: Get the under hook.

COMMENTATOR: Oh, and a big dump by Garcia.

Well done.

COACH: Get up, up, up.

COMMENTATOR: Cocores, in that defensive position right now.

Garcia came out smoking.

COACH: Coco back up to the cage, back up to the cage.

COMMENTATOR: Cocores just hasn't has the opportunity to get up yet.

COACH: Pull on the cage, Coco, pull the cage.

CHRIS: I don't know what giving up feels like.

(indistinct) (bell chimes) Nothing can compare to death and I was fighting death.

Oh God.

All right.

Childhood #*#*#*#*.

INTERVIEWER: Yeah, when did the struggles start for you?

(heavy breathing) (fighting sounds) CHRIS: My parents got a divorce when I was four years old.

I didn't have much growing up, as far as money, opportunities to train.

I didn't do any sports in school.

WOMAN: Hey Chris.

(indistinct kids chatter) CHRIS: My parents struggled with narcotics and alcohol, pretty much my whole life.

My dad went to jail when I think I was 17.

You know, there's a lot of moments where I just felt like a lot of kids feel like life is happening to them and not anybody else.

You know, we think that we're getting picked on by life.

I ended up jumping into homeschool when I was in middle school.

And that's when I found my love for fighting.

At first, I was doing it in a negative way.

I was doing it at school, and I was doing it on the streets, mostly to defend myself.

Then I realized that there's a sport.

There was a career I could make out of this.

All the things that I've been through, MMA has been the strength that I needed.

(fighting sounds) My mother was my support system, she was my biggest fan.

I wanted to provide her with the things that she didn't have.

And I wanted to pay her back for all the work she put into me and my brother.

And I was, I think, a month out of my first ever amateur fight.

And she got diagnosed with cancer.

So, I pulled out of the fight and I basically spent the next six months and I watched her fight for the biggest fight you can fight for, which is the fight of your life.

She ended up dying six months later and that's when I stepped into the cage finally.

And I ended up going undefeated my first year in MMA.

ANNOUNCER: Fighting out of the blue corner, put your hands together for Chris Cocores.

(crowd cheering) CHRIS: I was ranked in the top 10 amateur fighters in the Western region.

COMMENTATOR: With a left and a right.

Cocores has a lot to fight for, his mom died about six years ago from cancer.

He fights for her.

Moved here from Lake Tahoe.

CHRIS: I was gonna fight one more time and then I was gonna go pro.

(crowd cheering) I was gonna start making money and making a real career out of this after eight years of challenges.

COMMENTATOR: Round three, here we go.

Chris, with a couple of right hands.

Another that lands.

CHRIS: I was in tip-top shape.

I mean, this was gonna be the biggest fight of my life and I was ready to go.

ANNOUNCER: Cocores!

CHRIS: But sometimes life has other plans.

(ambulance siren blares) SOCIAL WORKER: I'm calling on request of your son, Chris Cocores, and I'm a social worker at Loma Linda University Medical Center.

CHRIS: Head on.

Crashed, 80 miles an hour.

You're not supposed to survive something like that.

And I basically crawled my way out of the car, crawled to the side of the road and just hung onto the inches that I had left in my life.

And I just started focusing on my breathing and I could feel my body kind of fading out.

And then I would just have to tell myself like, "Keep going, dude, you know, you might be able to make it through this."

I had a broken spine, a broken arm, a broken leg, internal bleeding, severed intestine.

I was anemic.

My lungs failed and I broke several fingers.

My girlfriend, it killed her on the spot.

She was my everything.

She was my- my motivation, my inspiration and absolute love of my life.

Cecilia, (Cecilia laughing) she was gonna do great things.

When I was laying in the hospital bed, I was kind of tapping into my life a little bit.

What do I have left?

I've lost my girlfriend, my apartment, my dog, 90% of what I owned was in the car we wrecked.

The second the nurse told me I could stand up on my feet, they helped me out of bed.

I told 'em to step back and I started shadow boxing.

I did not want my body to lose that muscle memory.

I wanted it to remember what was most important to me.

So I started by walking one foot, walking five feet, walking 10 feet until eventually I could do laps around the hospital.

I didn't go outside, I didn't smell fresh air or see daylight for three weeks.

I had to learn how to walk again.

I had to learn how to go to the bathroom on my own again.

It was the most challenging month of my life and it changed me.

(phone chimes) Hey, what up everybody?

My name's Chris, I'm 26.

I live in South Lake Tahoe.

I had a pretty tragic experience about a month ago.

After the accident that happened, I was laying on the ground and I was thinking to myself how disappointed I was in myself for where I was at in life.

As far as getting to be the human I've always wanted to become.

This is crazy, everyone.

So overnight, like, I've made I think, 200-plus new friends.

And I've been hearing stories from people from all over the world.

So, it was absolutely amazing making me feel like I got purpose.

And like I'm doing my job here.

So, keep it coming.

Right after I made this video, I popped open a fortune cookie.

And this is what it said, "Time, once lost can never be regained."

Boom.

I want you to paint a picture in your mind of the perfect person you could be in five years from now.

No limits.

Who would you be?

What would you be doing?

(road noises) (breeze blowing) RYAN: Marcus Aurelius.

He was known as the Last Good Emperor.

He had a quote that I love.

The art of living is more like wrestling than dancing.

Okay?

Because none of us except for Coco can dance.

This is a good thing for us to live by.

CHRIS: First of all, I've never seen anybody else dance, RYAN: I know.

That's why I called you out as the only one who can dance, it's true.

Okay.

The path to happiness for humans is found in accepting that which we've been given, okay?

Accepting that we were born with this face, accepting that we had cancer, with that understanding, not allowing ourselves to be controlled for our desire for pleasure or our fear of pain, either physical pain like what we're about to do or what we do sparring in the ring or that emotional pain of failing something that you've put a lot of energy into.

Today, we're going to rock with underhooks, hop up and snag a partner.

So we're gonna start with an over and under.

CHRIS: When I was laying in the hospital bed, one of the first people I talked to was Ryan Wallace, my wrestling coach.

RYAN: Find a new partner.

CHRIS: He lost his leg to cancer and he came back and became one of the best wrestling coaches in the world.

RYAN: Okay, there you go, Cash.

Good, good, Cash.

Open or closed?

Does it look tight?

Do I look like I accomplished a lot of #*#*#*#* in five years?

Let me tell you one thing, brother, you don't want to #*#*#*#* with the champutee.

(laughing) So what I do to get this underhook on this side is I make him think I don't want it.

What I want, sorry, is to have both.

I coach wrestling, mainly because wrestling literally saved my life.

We good?

We feel good?

(whistle blows) PERSON: All right.

RYAN: I would not have found the tumors that were in my leg if I wasn't involved in wrestling.

I used to complain about pains in my right shin, and when we went to the doctor, they said, Oh it's growing pains.

Don't worry about it. A little while later, my leg actually cracked a little bit in a wrestling match.

Eventually, I went to a doctor who decides to x-ray the whole leg.

It was a really rare type of bone tumor.

I was hurt, I was down, I was desperate, I pulled myself out.

Because of things that I've overcome and things that I've watched people overcome, I really connect with the sport on a much deeper level, and so that's why I sort of built my whole life around coaching wrestling, being involved in wrestling.

Most people have a very hard time getting to this side, and I do this a lot.

What we're going to do is our free hand hits.

We don't need to knock it off of us, okay?

We just need- I'll teach you how to wrestle because that's something I know how to do.

But if I can teach you how to live in a way that has really helped me, then that's sort of my main motivation and goal.

Good job today, we're out of here.

CHRIS: Thanks coach.

RYAN: Yeah.

Did you like that?

CHRIS: Absolutely.

RYAN: I have a- a lot more for you.

There's one kid that he's sort of leaning the wrong way, and he just reminds me of you.

I saw myself in Chris when he was trying to find himself, instead of trying to make himself.

CHRIS: I've had a dream since I was 15 years old.

And it's the same dream of being the UFC world champion (indistinct chatter) I've never settled for any less.

I've never took my eyes off that target.

(indistinct chatter) If I can come back from this, I can be the biggest thing to hit MMA, ever.

(inhaling) JAMISON: Last one, deep inhale, all the way up.

Hold.

Three, two, one.

Control your exhale.

Control it, nice and slow all the way to the bottom and hold.

Awesome.

Going slowly.

Start to let some light in through your eyes.

Good, now I just want you to focus these last 30 seconds, just of gratitude.

Three things.

Just focus on three things.

Anything.

(Chris breathing) Visualize where you see yourself after surgery, where you see yourself when you get back in the ring.

(Chris breathing) Good and use the strength of your hands, press yourself up.

CHRIS: Ah.

(school bell rings) (drawer opens) RYAN: The first day of school, this is room 42, the OCR room.

If a kid has a conduct offense that is just below what would require a home suspension, then they come in here.

In the old days it used to be just, this was like jail, but now, and the reason why I like it, this is your opportunity to make it right.

Technically, it's punishment.

But it's amazing how just that one day sometimes can change the whole rest of the school year for a kid.

Okay, our first line of defense is our what?

STUDENTS: Heads.

RYAN: First line of defense is what?

STUDENTS: Heads.

RYAN: Okay, second line of defense?

STUDENTS: Hands.

RYAN: Hands and shoulders, right?

(clapping) (encouraging cheers) ALL: One, two, three... (indistinct) RYAN: That was awesome, good work.

(indistinct) (water running) (bucket rolling) I like doing a million little side jobs in addition to my normal job, 'cause I learn things and then I can relate to anybody.

Most of the kids that come out for wrestling are the ones who don't necessarily have the means to be on the ski team.

You know, more of the kids that are from backgrounds where their parents are working hard jobs and doing that kind of thing.

I sort of appreciate staying connected to that type of community as much as possible.

Plus, if I ever do get super famous, like Warren Buffet or something, I can be like... (toilet flushes) I went from- I went from nighttime custodian to king of the world.

No big deal.

And it's not like high school wrestling coach is really that glamorous anyway or detention room guy.

JAMISON: Nice, hold your breath.

Exhale, pull back.

Nice, keep going with that.

Five, four, three, pull back, two, one, release.

Good, let's come up to the ropes.

CHRIS: Holy crap, that's gnarly.

JAMISON: Last 15.

CHRIS: The next year is gonna be daily hard work and challenges.

JAMISON: Four, three, two, relax.

Two more on each side.

CHRIS: This is gonna be a big year that's gonna test whether I really am the champion that I want to be.

JAMISON: Better, there you go.

Good.

Get some water.

CHRIS: So, next week I have the biggest surgery in my life.

...amp it up a little bit.

JAMISON: Want you to get that #*#*#*#* out of your back.

CHRIS: Yeah.

They're gonna take the metal out of my spine.

JAMISON: You got ten here... CHRIS: At that point, it's game on.

I'm gonna bring everybody I have together and I'm gonna start working as hard as I can to get back in the MMA circuit.

COMMENTATOR: This is everything that a sports fan can root for.

ANNOUNCER: This one is at featherweight 145, Chris Cocores, from South Lake Tahoe...

COMMENTATOR: He was on the doorstep of doing very great things.

Getting back into doing what he loves just taking some of the pain away.

CHRIS: Come here, come here, girl.

(car door closes) Let's go.

(whistles) Almost there, this way.

Now my grandma, she said, "You climbed a mountain, "you're sitting at the top and you're looking at the next mountain."

(footsteps) (phone chimes) CHRIS: What's up guys?

It's been a while since I've done one of these but I just want to get on here real quick, because tomorrow I'm going in for my final surgery to get the metal removed from my spine so I just want to get on here real quick and talk a little bit about that.

It's been a crazy process you know, this last two years has been hectic but I'm excited, I feel oddly calm, you know I- I've been through this so many times, this is gonna be my fourth major surgery in two years and when you are going through recovery like I am it can get discouraging because you're always building yourself up just to what feels like you're getting broken back down.

You go through these surgeries and then you feel like you're starting back from square one.

For me, right now it's just focusing on the nest- next task at hand it's kind of like- it's kind of like focusing on your next opponent.

(car door closes) I'm bringing this pillow.

My dad got me this last year when I was in the hospital and I've held it, all year I slept with it, so...

It's important to me.

I'm excited to get this done.

I'm excited to see how my body bounces back from this surgery.

I'm excited to have my family there.

And I'm just ready.

(indistinct conversations) RYAN: Hey, we gotta get- we gotta get changed.

I'm gonna need the- the kids that know what's up to be good examples and get everybody on the wall.

STUDENT: I'm not gonna be an example, though.

RYAN: You are.

STUDENT: No, I'm not.

RYAN: You have to be.

STUDENT: No.

RYAN: What's your name?

JJ: JJ.

RYAN: Hey.

STUDENT: I want my... STUDENT: Do I get to use MMA moves?

RYAN: No.

Well, kind of.

Hey sixth graders right here.

Seventh graders right there.

Eighth graders right there.

Good job.

So, today's first day of middle school wrestling.

Hey, what's your name?

116 kids signed up.

What's your first name again?

TOBIAS: Tobias.

RYAN: Oh yeah.

You excited?

STUDENT: Yep.

RYAN: Cool.

For a lot of people, today could be the most important day in your whole life.

If you join South Tahoe Wrestling, you are a different person from right now, okay?

Your behavior is better.

Your citizenship is better.

People notice a difference in the way that you act, right now, starting immediately.

Okay, does everybody understand?

That's what is most important to me.

When I say shoot, you're gonna do the whole thing, level change step and go.

Ready?

Shoot.

We're gonna move in a small circle in our area, in our stance.

Don't cross your feet.

Don't bounce your head, right?

Yeah, drop.

Perfect.

Hey, everybody come here.

I'm trying to really build a big program.

A lot of kids, full girls team.

And there's been a lot of excitement around this school for wrestling.

ALL: One, two, three... (crowd shouting) RYAN: Good.

Thank you.

CHRIS: The doctor cleared me to start grappling hard, training hard.

It's been a lot more challenging, kind of transitioning back to normal life than anything else.

And I think it's just because, you know, when you go through things like this after the dust settles is when you really start to get hit the hardest.

I was in kind of a survival state all year, my job every day was to recover.

And now all of a sudden I gotta go back to normal life.

Being normal again basically, that became my next fight.

(door closes) (bottle rattles) (lid closes) (lid opens and closes) (car rumbles) Fighting, I tell everybody is my primary job, but I don't think we're really at a point where like MMA is considered a real job, you know?

Unless you got something to show.

So- and I mean, as an amateur, we really don't.

So, I've had to work part-time jobs like this, I've flipped pizzas.

I've done all kinds of stuff for like a long time, like 10 years now since I started, it's just the way it goes.

(phone dings) Taco Bell, let's do that one.

(traffic noises) I promised myself like this is my last Uber ride multiple times.

I don't wanna say that I'm better than any kind of work.

But it's just tough because you have to constantly be putting this first, but by putting this first you're neglecting every other aspect of your life.

I, for the first time in my life, got on welfare.

It's not something that I'm proud of, it's just something that happened.

You know, I went $800,000 in debt from the accident.

I mean, I'm back on food stamps.

You know?

So for me, it's like I gotta rebuild and nobody else is really gonna do that but me.

(motorcycle engine revs) (motorcycle revs) RYAN: 16 years ago I was in a hospital bed, numb from the waist down, wondering what am I now?

WOMAN: Ryan!

RYAN: You know I'm an amputee at 20 and I had no idea sort of what- what I could even be.

At the time I was not thinking at all about you know I can inspire people by my accomplishments or anything like that, I was just thinking about you know, what am I now?

What- what can I even do?

(motorcycle revs) (waves rippling) DUANE: I remember when I saw him actually amputated the relief that- that it was finally over and the shock of seeing him there just sent me to the floor.

I'm a very strong person.

That's the only time in my life I've ever just lost it.

I went out in the hallway and just cried like a baby cuz I- I knew that he was cancer free.

He said, "Hey Dad."

I walked in, he says, "Hey Dad I'm cancer free."

He says, "Get me to a TV, I wanna watch the Raiders game."

And that was that.

RYAN: I felt very liberated, pain-free, mentally, physically, and then I said, "I'm gonna be as successful as I possibly can with this new opportunity," 'cause I had almost resigned myself to the thought that I would be immobile, and that sort of my life that I knew and loved was gone.

DUANE: He pushes himself so hard.

I told him one day, I said "You have nothing to prove to anybody anymore."

And he says, "I've got something to prove to me."

RYAN: I've put myself through hard things and I've overcome hard things and I'm so grateful for the really bad things that have happened you know?

When you break your leg and find out it's because you had tumors in your leg that could be a bad thing, but the bad things in life almost always turn out to be the good things.

I've learned that more than anything.

Usually on September 13th I have set time to really sit and reflect.

I celebrate it more than I do my birthday because I don't remember my birthday, you know what I mean?

I don't remember being born but I definitely remember losing my leg and waking up feeling like a completely different person.

(phone chimes) What's up champuteam?

That's what I call my followers now by the way.

Happy Leg Off Day.

Happy Leg Off Day.

Leg Off Day 19.

In case you don't know I use this day to be introspective, condense a whole years worth of experience into one little bit of wisdom.

First of all give more than you take, just start motivating other people, motivating yourself by having other people as your motivation, and then whatever happens, whatever the result is, use it as your reason to work harder, use it as a reason to get better use it as a reason to prove that you can't be broken and you can't be jaded.

So, happy Leg Off Day.

See you guys at MontBleu at 5: 30.

It's on, starting today.

COACH: Love you, dog.

That's beautiful right there, right?

CHRIS: Yeah.

(indistinct conversations) ANNOUNCER: And his opponent, Ryan Wallace.

(crowd cheering) RYAN: Partly to be a better coach, I decided to get back into competing.

ANNOUNCER: 251.6.

RYAN: And times are going very good for me.

So, I have to simulate the bad times by getting in a ring with a huge guy who wants to hurt me.

(indistinct shouting) ANNOUNCER: And 150 pound... RYAN: I had thought my days of competing in athletics were in the past.

I had resigned myself to the idea that I would be the corner man, the coach, the cheerleader, but never the person in the ring, never the person on the stage, on the track.

Hey, what's up?

CHRIS: How are you guys?

WOMAN: Hey guys, checking in?

RYAN: Yeah.

WOMAN: Jack and Cory.

Are you Jack?

RYAN: No.

WOMAN: Nope.

What's your name?

CHRIS: Chris.

WOMAN: Chris?

CHRIS: Coco.

WOMAN: You don't know the legend?

RYAN: Yeah, he's a legend, in his own mind.

WOMAN: I thought you're the legend.

RYAN: I am the legend.

He's a legend.

WOMAN: That's what I thought.

RYAN: You know, being coached and getting ready myself for an event helps me to coach better.

Oh, I love those lights shining on me.

Coaching helps me compete better.

So, as long as I can do both at a high level, I'm gonna try to, 'cause they build off of each other.

We all have a reason that we could have used to stop us from getting here.

I can't go to dinner with you, I gotta make weight.

I can't stay out late, I gotta lift in the morning.

We had to say "I can't" so many times, now we can finally say "I can," okay?

When I say we and I mean family, this is what I'm talking about.

We can.

ALL: We will!

RYAN: We can!

ALL: We will!

RYAN: We can!

ALL: We will!

RYAN: One, two, three.

(team shouts) (clapping and applauding) ANNOUNCER: WFC 111, the first fight of the night, the heavyweights!

Ladies and gentleman, South Lake Tahoe!

Here we go.

CHRIS: This is about you taking home what you worked hard for.

Nobody works as hard as you, (slapping sounds) not just as an athlete, but as a leader, you work hard to set the example for everybody every day.

And you still train for fights.

ANNOUNCER: Ladies and gentlemen, it's time to introduce our next fight of the night.

The current heavyweight title holder, weighing in at about 230 pounds, South Lake Tahoe title winner!

Coach Ryan "The Champutee" Wallace!

(crowd cheering) (crowd cheering) RYAN: To me like being in the ring, it almost feels like another plane of existence.

That five minutes or six minutes that you're out there, is unlike any of the other hundreds of hours that you spend in the world.

ANNOUNCER: Lake Tahoe, here we go.

(bell chimes) (crowd cheering) CHRIS: That's it.

Be strong Coach, let's go!

MAN: Let's go Ryan!

(supportive cheering) (supportive cheering) CHRIS: Hey, block his head, Ryan, pull that out now.

Pull that out, now.

Watch your leg.

Watch your leg.

Ryan, sit back, sit back.

Sit- argh.

(clapping) ANNOUNCER: Referee John Tole stopped the fight.

The winner by TKO via toe hold.

CHRIS: You good?

RYAN: Something got hurt.

CHRIS: I can see.

It's all right.

RYAN: Two bucks lock horns and fight, and the one who was the strongest gets to throw his weight around and be the boss.

One person comes out with a win and one person comes out with a loss and being brave enough to go out there is kind of the big thing.

Dude, I felt better than him, too.

CHRIS: Yeah, well.

It's that techy- techy jujitsu stuff.

RYAN: I can't stop his foot action.

ANNOUNCER: Ladies and gentlemen, that's gonna do it for WFC 111.

Have a good evening.

Goodnight.

(dog barking) RYAN: Rosy, what the heck?

(barking continues) Oh yeah, she got her spot.

(dog barks) (Ryan laughs) You know, a lot of people are telling me like, oh, it's bad news that you lost or that kind of thing.

To me, it's not bad news.

To lose that match, even though it was disappointing because now I've practiced having a better perspective on life and better perspective on things like that, it's made it so yeah, I'll just be a good example of keeping enthusiasm, despite a disappointment.

And despite getting beat up a little bit.

Losing this thing is not a real-life problem.

It's- it's just a practice for when a real-life problem happens.

(crowd noises) (crowd cheering) The fight doesn't mean anything.

It's a simulation.

We're trying to simulate adversity.

'Cause there's gonna be really big problems that hit us.

You have no idea when.

COMMENTATOR: Cocores is losing the fight.

Absolutely.

CHRIS: I feel like my whole life, the card's have been stacked against me.

And it's just my job to persevere.

(snowblower revs) RYAN: We are buried in snow and we are social distancing.

The wrestling season, which was in full swing is canceled.

So is school because of the coronavirus.

All the times where I explain to the kids why we're doing hard things is so that when something sucky happens, we're ready for it.

So, then it sucks because I have to practice what I preach and handle it the right way, instead of being a baby about it.

CHRIS: It's kind of a crazy time.

A lot of people are out of work.

We're out of training.

Our gyms are closed.

It's like an ice rink.

Finally, after two years I signed a contract with WFC for August 22nd.

And then, of course, we get hit like this it's- it's crazy, but it's just another fork in the road and it's nothing that I'm not used to at this point.

So, I'm gonna stick to the plan and keep training.

My opponent, whoever that is, is working right now.

So, that's what I need to be doing to make sure that I'm staying on top of my game.

RYAN: Captain's log, day 25 of quarantine.

Getting ready to do a little Beach Body on demand.

Got the mat out, got the dogs ready to bother me.

CHRIS: There's a lot of fear that's going on right now.

And I've been trying to just focus on what I have control over like my body and just kind of, you know, be the light that shines through the cracks of a situation like this.

RYAN: Captain's log, day 26, quarantine.

I don't know when sports are gonna come back.

I don't know when I'm gonna be able to coach wrestling again.

CHRIS: I do get worried that the fight's not gonna happen, but you know, when it's my time, it's my time and I'll be ready.

(Ryan grunting) RYAN: Quarantine day 27.

Change of venue, I'm in the garage, just getting the workout in today, trying to get these biceps sweet.

CHRIS: We don't know what's gonna happen six months from now.

Right now, my next fight is getting through tomorrow with a smile on my face.

RYAN: In crisis, revert to one's core values, adaptability, mental toughness, and determination.

This is the actual type of thing we've been preparing for.

P.S.

You guys seriously hit the coach jackpot.

Obviously they did.

(Ryan laughs) JAMISON: Like that's landing four, that's when it's always out, our chest and arm point that way as well.

And then the foot that's leaving the ground, that leg is cornering.

CHRIS: Okay.

JAMISON: That's where we need to corner you a lot.

All right, relax.

Hand behind the back and go to your neck articulations.

CHRIS: Whenever you set out to do something great, you're gonna be going through a jungle.

I'm trying to stay focused on what's in front of me, but there's a lot of internal battles that people just don't really recognize.

I mean, I don't even know if I expressed this to coach Ryan, but I was like pretty much hooked on medication well into my recovery, even to- as far as signing the contract for the WFC fight.

And I just felt like, you know, that was- that was- for me, that was one of like the losses that I was consciously taking in life because my body had gotten so beat up that they had put me on all these painkillers to the point where I'm six months in and I don't know how to live without 'em.

And I had never dealt with addiction in my life and it wasn't up until a month and a half prior to what was supposed to be my comeback fight, and I just said, I'm gonna torture myself and get off of this stuff.

And it was like the last stop for me.

I did that in, you know, solitude.

That was something that I never even expressed, 'cause I felt so like embarrassed, you know?

COMMENTATOR: Coco's got an incredible story, not just for combat sports, but for the ultimate combat in life himself.

RYAN: Successful people, you only see the glittery part but you don't see all the sacrifices and the grinding they did.

(exhales) CHRIS: When you wanna be the best in the world at something, fear cannot pass through your mind.

COMMENTATOR: Everything he's persevered through, he's an inspiration.

Yes.

CHRIS: I've almost died, I've been close to death.

What is left to fear?

(water splashing) Hey Mom.

Miss you.

It's been a long time since I've seen you.

Man, been through a lot.

Just want to thank you for being there with me through this whole process.

Thank you for getting me out of that car and giving me my body back and giving me everything that I had before the wreck again so quickly and more.

Um, you know, I think about you every day and I'm doing this for you.

I'm trying to be a reflection of who you are and who you were and carry on your legacy.

So, thank you.

Appreciate you for everything.

Love you, Mom.

All right guys we're at one week out from showtime, flying to Wyoming to fight for Sparta co-main event.

Super excited.

This is gonna be my first fight back after three years.

(traffic noises) Because of the pandemic, no shows are able to operate.

There's no fights happening.

We had to really dig deep to find this one.

I just want to go fight.

I want to go get hit and I want to go hit him.

And I want to experience the most out of this nine minutes that I have in there, you know.

(door closes) (phone ringing) Yo.

RYAN: Hey.

CHRIS: Is this the pre-fight speech or is that for later?

RYAN: No, no, that's later.

CHRIS: Okay.

RYAN: This- this is just a... CHRIS: Say what's up?

RYAN: Pre-fight speech, pre-phone call, pre-fighters meeting.

CHRIS: Pre-speech speech?

RYAN: This is a pre- speech speech.

CHRIS: Cool.

RYAN: First of all, don't waste any energy projecting what's about to happen or any of that.

CHRIS: Okay.

RYAN: Just think of how unbreakable you've already proven you are.

Just tell yourself good things.

CHRIS: Alright.

Well, I appreciate you man.

RYAN: All right, see you in a bit.

CHRIS: All right, coach.

RYAN: Stay calm.

CHRIS: All right, we'll talk to you soon.

What up?

How you doing man?

MAN: Good, good, how are you?

CHRIS: Glad you made it safe.

WOMAN: Hi.

MAN: Cool.

COMMENTATOR: This is everything that a sports fan can root for.

Coco's got an incredible story.

He was on the doorstep of doing very great things.

Tonight, he makes the long awaited return after all that, it gives me goosebumps just thinking about it, Todd.

(indistinct chatter) RYAN: Suffering is guaranteed for all of us.

We're all gonna have setbacks.

What is also a guarantee, is that everyone who sees what you did, will know that it can be done.

This was never about what happens in the cage.

This was always about who you are when you step in.

Have fun proving once again, with the lights on you this time, that there is nothing in this world, inside a cage or outside of it, that can break you.

CHRIS: Thank you, coach.

(bell chimes) ANNOUNCER: Ladies and gentlemen, it is now time for your co-main event of the evening.

Introducing first, Joseph Garcia.

MAN: Stay loose, you're looking good dude.

ANNOUNCER: And his opponent, please welcome, Chris Cocores.

All of the lights COMMENTATOR: And Chris Cocores has got a story.

This is his comeback fight.

MAN: Yeah, Chris.

COMMENTATOR: It's such a heart-wrenching story for this young man.

(cheering) Turn up the lights in here, baby Extra bright, I want y'all to see this Turn up the lights in here, baby You know what I need Want you to see everything Want you to see all of the lights Fast cars, shooting stars All of the lights, all of the lights CHRIS: Making it out of the hospital bed and making it through the surgeries, through three years of doubting myself and wondering if this is still me.

COACH: I believe in you Coco.

Hold that water in your mouth until you touch gloves.

MAN: Coco, go!

MAN 2: Here we go, Coco.

CHRIS: This is where I belong.

This is what I've been working for.

You did it.

You know, you're back.

RYAN: Coco, go!

ANNOUNCER: Ladies and gentlemen, let's meet our fighters.

First, from Lakewood, Colorado, Justin Garcia!

(crowd cheers) And his opponent from South Lake Tahoe, California, Chris "Coco" Cocores!

(crowd cheers) REFEREE: All right, gentlemen.

We went over the rules earlier, expect to clean fair fight, listen to me at all, protect yourself at all times.

COMMENTATOR: Garcia with the red tape, Cocores with the blue.

Cage door is locked.

Here we go.

COMMENTATOR: This'll be interesting.

Both these guys are gonna roll, wow.

Garcia is rolling to it quick.

Cocores has there before.

RYAN: Oh my God.

MAN: Breathe Coco, breathe.

COACH: Bottom legs out, bottom legs out.

MAN: There you go, Coco.

(indistinct chatter) (body slams) COMMENTATOR: Oh, the big dump by Garcia.

Well done.

COACH: Get up, up, up.

COMMENTATOR: Cocores in that defensive position right now, Garcia came out smoking.

(indistinct chatter) RYAN: Feet on the wall.

COMMENTATOR: Garcia in control.

Cocores just doesn't have the opportunity to get up, yet.

(indistinct chatter) (bell chimes) Cocores just getting into the fight at the end of it.

It'd be interesting to see how much Garcia spent in that.

COACH: That's as bad as it's gonna get.

You're fine, look at me, you're good.

I believe in you.

Do you believe in you?

Alright?

Yeah, long jabs.

COMMENTATOR: Round number two in our co-main event of the evening, this 155 pound MMA fight.

(bell chimes) COACH: Nice, patience, patience, patience.

COMMENTATOR: Cocores hit a great shot, but then Garcia comes back.

Garcia's gonna jump on him.

RYAN: No, no.

COMMENTATOR: I think Cocores wanted to keep that fight on his feet a little while longer.

Unable to do so.

COACH: Coco, you gotta try to get up buddy.

COMMENTATOR: Cocores has gotta do something to kind of get up off his back and mount some kind of an attack.

Garcia can't do any damage, but Cocores is losing the fight.

COMMENTATOR 2: Absolutely.

COMMENTATOR: So, he's gonna need a finish in this third round.

There's no out there, seconds are out.

CHRIS: I don't know what giving up feels like.

COMMENTATOR: Even getting into the ring at this point is a win.

CROWD: Coco!

Coco!

CHRIS: I'm blessed and I'm ready to keep it moving.

COMMENTATOR: Let's see if we keep this thing on the feet a little bit longer.

COMMENTATOR 2: Cocores has his hands way down early.

COACH: Get the under hook, Coco.

COMMENTATOR: And Cocores knows he's losing the positional battle once again.

RYAN: Come off the wall.

No, no throw.

COMMENTATOR: Cocores has turned in there.

Well done by Cocores and then the knee, that's what he wanted.

Cocores taking a couple shots there, but then giving it back too.

And a nice shot to the ribs.

COMMENTATOR 2: Yeah, Garcia ate a couple.

RYAN: There we go.

COACH: Hands up, Coco.

COMMENTATOR: Cocores is almost trying to bait him in.

COMMENTATOR 2: Absolutely.

COMMENTATOR: He's trying to bait him in so he can try to hit him with the shot.

MAN: Come on, Coco.

COACH: Hands up.

Box him up, Coco, box him up.

COMMENTATOR: Less than a minute to go here.

Cocores needs to be working offensively here.

Not waiting.

COMMENTATOR 2: Cocores coming back in and Garcia's not gonna fall for it much.

He took a couple of good shots.

Cocores, he's kept it up on the feet for most of his third round, but I don't know how much he's got left.

COACH: Ten seconds!

Go!

(crowd cheering) COMMENTATOR: Oh, wow.

COMMENTATOR 2: Cocores!

COMMENTATOR: Oh wow!

COMMENTATOR 2: They stopped it.

COMMENTATOR: Right hand by Cocores came through.

COMMENTATOR 2: Wow!

COMMENTATOR: He's still kind of out.

Man, look at Cocores buzzing with emotion.

(clapping) RYAN: Wow.

COACH: Hey, hey, hey, beautiful.

COMMENTATOR: What an unbelievable fight and what an unbelievable comeback.

CHRIS: That was for you (indistinct) ANNOUNCER: Ladies and gentleman, declaring your winner by TKO, Chris "Coco" Cocores.

MAN: Congratulations, Mr. Cocores and his team.

My goodness, what a storied comeback.

CHRIS: It's been the longest three years of my life.

I'm tired, I'm exhausted.

It'd be hard to wrap it up in a few words, but I have just the greatest team in the world.

COACH: You never gave up on yourself.

CHRIS: I had an army behind me to get here.

Three years to get here.

I had to shake some rust, but I'm back.

COACH: Be proud of yourself.

ANNOUNCER: Ladies and gentlemen, one more time for your winner, Chris "Coco" Cocores!

(cheering) COACH: I'm proud of you, brother.

I'm proud of you.

CHRIS: We'll get cozy and we'll sit together, how about that?

RYAN: Okay.

Oh, together is perfect.

CHRIS: Your big ass cheek can fit next to mine.

RYAN: So... CHRIS: Fire away.

RYAN: So, Chris always thanks me for time and energy that I put into him, but actually I owe him a tremendous debt of gratitude because he's validated the biggest part of my life.

Okay, all right, time.

Everybody come here, catch a breath.

Okay?

So, first thing we're gonna do, try to get an over hook.

The biggest part of my life is coaching.

And I'm gonna rotate.

And the majority of my coaching has nothing to do with the take downs, sprawls.

It's all about times are good.

We need to prepare ourselves because something tough is gonna happen to you because that's what happened to me.

Good, nice.

All right, Andrew.

Now, use that to get in on the legs.

That was perfect.

The fact that this story was exactly what I had been preaching to him before it, and that I've preached to every kid that has got on the mat with me, has made me know that the hours that I'm volunteering are worth it.

I could never repay this guy for the times that I can tell the next generation of kids, look at what he did, he did it.

I'll see you on Thursday.

We gotta get these dudes ready.

I just really owe this person a lot for validating the biggest part of my life.

Right?

CHRIS: Love you, coach.

RYAN: Love you too.

Aw, that almost made him cry.

That almost made you cry.

I came from the mud There's dirt on my hands Strong like a tree There's roots where I stand Oh, I've been running from the law INTERVIEWER: What part of your story are we at?

Are we in the beginning?

Are we at the end?

CHRIS: Ah, we're always in the beginning man.

Today is day one.

Let's go.

Try to catch me howling at the moon Try to catch me howling at the moon RYAN: So, for the camera say right now that that wasn't fixed.

CHRIS: The fight?

Ryan: Yeah.

CHRIS: It wasn't fixed.

RYAN: That was definitely fixed.

CHRIS: It was not fixed.

RYAN: 100% that was Disney Channel fixed.

CHRIS: No.

RYAN: I'm giving a pretty good team speech.

Should I do the speech before we go?

You missed the speech.

It was a good speech.

MAN: That was good stuff, man.

RYAN: Thank you.

You missed the freaking life-changing speech.

See?

Ask them how much they paid.

CHRIS: I would not put myself through all of that.

Just for a documentary.

RYAN: No, I'm talking Gettysburg Address, whatever the next best speech is, and then that one.

MAN: What up coach?

RYAN: What up, how are you?

Yeah, if this scene doesn't make it into the final cut, I'm not going to the after party.

(laughing) (motorcycle revs) Try to catch me howling at the moon Try to catch me howling at the moon ANNOUNCER: This program is made possible by The Marcella Foundation.

A non-profit with a mission to think big and make a difference in South Lake Tahoe and beyond.

We believe in the power of great people and ideas to inspire change and make a lasting impact.

Learn more at MarcellaFoundation.org Additional support from the Tahoe Arts Project, whose mission is to provide cultural enrichment and diversity for the South Lake Tahoe community through the arts and education with a particular focus on youth.

Find out more at TahoeArtsProject.org And the Lake Tahoe Documentary Film Festival, a multiday event held in South Lake Tahoe.

This festival is designed to entertain, enlighten and inspire through the power of film.

More information available at LTDFF.com A complete list of supporters is available on our website MomentumDocumentary.com Bring momentum and our tailored resources to your community, school or gym to inspire and empower.

Explore more at MomentumDocumentary.com or scan the QR code.