Bodies pack into a run-down industrial warehouse in Los Angeles. Graffiti coats the walls. Exposed metal beams and scaffolding are visible everywhere. Everything is lit by a red hue from strips of crimson mood lighting. Rave music pumps out of gigantic speakers, reverberating throughout the crowd. People sway and bump to the music as a DJ stands on a platform, working a turntable.
No one is looking at him.
All faces are turned toward the large metal combat cage at one end of the warehouse, surrounded by bleachers full of people and a crowded open floor space.
A man enters the cage, dressed in what appears to be traditional Chinese garb. He speaks to the crowd, microphone in hand. Something about a contest of warriors, represented by nations across the world.
This is Sundown 002: Street Fighter Edition.
Located in the industrial flats of Boyle Heights, near the downtown Los Angeles arts district, I arrived early and found parking outside another warehouse a block down. The weather was immaculate for Southern California, roughly 68 degrees, and I wore a light jacket. Walking up to the venue, I saw a line outside and cars littering the street, signaling a strong turnout. I had purchased a VIP ticket for roughly $125, and immediately saw the first benefit of having one: a separate, much smaller VIP line. My ID was checked, my ticket was scanned via an app I had to download, and I was given an orange wristband and waved through.
I previously asked whether Sundown 002 was actually affiliated with the Street Fighter movie. I received hints of the answer almost immediately: two metal Street Fighter posters for the movie, stylized to look like video game art, stood at the entrance. Sundown, I later confirmed, was officially partnered with Paramount Pictures for this event, and the rest of the night made that hard to miss.
A Mexican food truck was parked outside the warehouse, just past the entry lines, but I skipped it for the moment and headed through the large opening to the right. The first thing I reached was a wall meant for group photos and selfies, with the Street Fighter and Sundown logos hanging in neon red. In fact, blood red was the theme of the night, as I would soon come to find out. I made my way farther in, passing more food and drink stands set up to my left and a row of Street Fighter arcade machines, and soon hit the entrance to the VIP area. Exploring it, I found a row of fancy porta-potties that were more like airplane lavatories than actual porta-potties, a private bar, and a raised viewing area. When I climbed the stairs and walked to the railing, I found myself looking down on the back of the DJ, who was on a lower level of scaffolding, already pumping out tunes. The entire warehouse lay before me, with the fighting cage in the background.
I wanted to get a sense of what things looked like closer to the cage, so I left the VIP area to explore. Two big trucks were parked parallel to the cage, one on each side of the warehouse. The white sides of the trucks served as canvases for projections of live fight footage, matchup info, and branding. I moved closer to the cage and took a seat on a bleacher. I had already missed the first preliminary bout between Nathan Silva and Jose Francisco Palomera, which Silva won by decision, moving to 2-0. In front of the bleachers closest to the cage was a reserved seating area for VIP tables, and on the other side, people stood pressed as close as possible in the general admission section to view the action.
From my vantage, I spotted the co-founder of Sundown, whom I recognized from social media: Brandon Soo Hoo. He is a lifelong martial artist and actor, taking on his first Hollywood role at age ten. But his breakout role came in Ben Stiller’s comedy Tropic Thunder, where Soo Hoo played Tran, the child leader of the Flaming Dragon gang. Soo Hoo holds a black belt in Taekwondo and has trained extensively in other martial arts, including Muay Thai, Karate, Wushu, Wing Chun, Boxing, and traditional weapons. Training in a combat sport like Muay Thai inspired Soo Hoo to start the Sundown promotion with his co-founder, Jared Jue. Soo Hoo became interested in bringing art back into martial arts and saw success with the promotion’s first event, Sundown 001.
Shortly after this, I ran into EPIC Fighting’s CEO and owner, Jason Stewart, who said he knew Soo Hoo and chatted with me about Soo Hoo’s Tropic Thunder breakout. One thing I’ve consistently seen in the regional MMA scene is how closely promotions track and support one another’s work. So seeing Stewart at this event wasn’t even a surprise. SoCal can brag about a robust combat sports economy.
I watched four more prelims before the opening ceremony, and each one started with the same touch of fan service: the announcer’s voice from the Street Fighter video game booming over the speakers, “Round one, fight!” The bouts: featherweights Octavius Parker vs. Eduardo Vizcaino, unanimous decision win for Parker; strawweights Victoria Pascual vs. Carli Lombardo, unanimous decision win for Pascual; bantamweights Ethan Richardson vs. Max Gonzalez, second-round submission win for Richardson; and lightweights Adam Bashandy vs. Heyaw Meteke, split decision win for Bashandy.
Then, a bald man in a traditional-style Chinese martial arts garment climbs into the cage with a microphone. It’s dark now, and the warehouse is packed and glowing red like something out of a futuristic video game. He speaks about a contest of fighters from around the world, each representing their countries and displaying the style of their own martial arts. It feels like the intro to the Street Fighter video game, and it’s meant to evoke it.
The main card kicked off, and I made my way back to the VIP area. Everyone with a VIP wristband was now packed onto this raised platform and the surrounding scaffolding, with the DJ playing continuously in between the action. I managed to find a sightline to the cage from my vantage point to watch the next two bouts: featherweights Reno Navarrette vs. Kunimasa Onji, a second-round submission win for Navarrette; and flyweights Veronica Mendoza vs. Kimberly Padilla, a majority decision win for Mendoza.
The next moment of the night showed me why Sundown bills itself as a showcase for the art in martial arts, as people took to the cage with no intention of fighting. Male and female karate practitioners gave solo demonstrations before a troupe of shirtless drummers filed in, joined by dancers flipping and tumbling across the cage. Then, a female contortionist set up on a side stage and performed for the crowd before the evening’s surprise: the entire cast of the new Street Fighter movie came out to the crowd’s applause.
Then came the one bout I knew about coming into the night: John McCain vs. Callum Bisping. Yes, THAT Bisping. Callum is the son of former UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping, who worked his corner. The bout between McCain (1-0) and Bisping (2-0) was for the California Amateur Mixed Martial Arts Organization (CAMO) state title, and these heavyweights (officially contested at catchweight) came out to bang. It was sloppy, as one would expect from an amateur fight, and McCain looked lighter on his feet, while Bisping chased him around the small, round cage. In the second round, McCain caught Bisping against the cage and dropped him with a punch to the chin. A follow-up shot earned McCain the TKO, bringing him to 2-0 and dropping Bisping to 2-1. It was an upset, to be sure, as 98% of Tapology users picked Bisping for the win. If only lineage could transfer prowess as it does in a video game.
In the co-main event, featherweights Josh Valdez and Pedro Moreira fought for another CAMO state title, with Valdez taking a unanimous decision. In the main event, strawweight Lexxi Moncada beat Nancy Quidachay by unanimous decision. A rave dance party closed out the night, continuing the dancing that had filled the gaps between bouts.
Toward the end of the night, I grabbed a bowl of spicy green chicken curry and noodles from one of the food stands, to go with the non-alcoholic cocktail and steady supply of water that had carried me through the evening. When I finally left, the traffic had eased: the drive that took two and a half hours on the way up took just two on the way home. The night air was cool, and the city looked beautiful as I drove through the arts district.
I attend a lot of MMA shows across the Southwest, regional and major alike, and Sundown 002 was unlike any of them. It was an experience, not just a fight card. The atmosphere and supporting acts didn’t distract from the fights; they brought the beauty of the fight game into sharper focus. They were a reminder that MMA grew out of ancient traditions from cultures around the world, and that the sport, at its best, is a fusion of those traditions and a love letter to them.
This is fantastic. These are the venues I loved. Growing up in Manchester during the MMA boom there’s a historic venue called The HMV Ritz. There was a show called UCC Manchester that had fights. It was such an intimate venue, your pictures and story reminded me of it. Loved reading this!