Cobra Kai: Under the Cobra Emblem

"Did you invite that girl who couldn't stop staring at you at the party?" Devon, who was practicing her kicks, asked Max as if she couldn't believe her friend might be interested in a girl.

"Well, I didn't think she'd accept…"

"What made you think she wouldn't?" Devon looked even more confused.

Max smirked slightly and replied, "Well, she doesn't seem like the type to care about such trivial things."

"Sure, whatever you say. Just make sure she's not playing you."

"I'll leave her to you if she is."

As Max was about to resume his training, someone called him. "Max, they're looking for you in the coaches' office."

…

Johnny, who was in the office, quickly introduced the man beside him. "Max, this is Georges St-Pierre, a former mixed martial arts fighter and a living legend who's interested in representing you."

Of course, Max knew the legend standing before him.

He was aware that throughout his career, Georges had defeated several UFC champions, including Sean Sherk, B.J. Penn, Matt Hughes, Matt Serra, Carlos Condit, Johny Hendricks, and Michael Bisping. He had also bested champions from other organizations like Strikeforce, such as Nick Diaz and Jake Shields.

But what Max wondered was: why was this recently retired legend seeking him out?

"Max, he wants to prepare you for the big leagues," Johnny said, raising his eyebrows and glancing at Georges, who, truth be told, was a beast in the ring—someone easily considered a legend.

"Max, only sixteen? That's incredible."

In the office, Georges was looking at Max's complete data card and was surprised to see his date of birth.

"Don't you think so?" Max, eating a citrus-flavored lollipop, raised his eyebrows and smiled as if he found the situation amusing.

"Haha, it's not about your looks or age. Younger fighters tend to be more flamboyant on stage, openly showing their emotions. But you've always kept what you can really do largely hidden, acting with a very calm demeanor. I thought you were older because of that, but now I see I was wrong," Georges said, looking intrigued.

Max smiled faintly. He didn't consider himself calm; he just didn't think it was worth bragging about defeating a few people. There was no need to get overly excited about a minor accomplishment that didn't seem remarkable to him.

If he had beaten a current tournament champion, fulfilling his desire to face strong rivals, he would have roared with excitement.

"Mr. Georges, I have a history of unsportsmanlike conduct in fights. Will that affect my amateur competitions if I decide to accept your proposal?" Max pointed to the unsportsmanlike conduct section on the data card, listing infractions from competitions he had participated in abroad.

These were past mistakes that still haunted him with regret and nightmares—the guilt of knowing that wasn't really him, but his insatiable anger.

Max acknowledged his error in devoting time to a sport where aggression was the medicine. He thought that if he made his body suffer, he wouldn't have time to think about more serious matters, like abandoning this unjust world.

Of course, the most satisfying path would have been revenge, but taking that road was impossible until he turned eighteen, and even then, achieving anything would be hard.

Georges looked at him, also somewhat surprised. He had thought Max was a good kid, but seeing his record from previous fights made him sigh, realizing appearances could be deceiving.

"It won't affect amateur competition, but if you achieve notable results later, those records will be exposed by the media, adding some scandals to your name."

"Scandals are fine. Notoriety is still fame," Max replied indifferently, unconcerned about how fame might affect him. Then he said, "So, I plan to continue with mixed martial arts competitions and enter the big leagues when I turn eighteen. What do you think about that?"

"That's appropriate. I'll focus on your training during that time, and we'll start building your name on social media," Georges said. He didn't think it would be hard to make Max famous—after all, he was already well-known in the Middle East.

"Hold on a minute." Johnny, who thought all of this was perfect, turned to Max and asked, "Do you want to dedicate your entire life, as much as you know of it, to martial arts? I thought you'd be more interested in going to school than this…"

"Mr. Lawrence, I understand what you mean. But to be honest, there's nothing I'm better at than hitting." Max wasn't going to change his mind.

When Johnny seemed ready to give more advice, Max raised his hand to stop him and said, "I have over a hundred official fights, plus the underground ones I've participated in. I've trained in China and Japan, and I'm familiar with South Korean karate."

"That sounds impressive, but karate won't mean much inside a cage." Georges thought for a moment and decided that this arrangement might work.

If Max managed to maintain a good reputation over the next six months, it would prove he had enough self-control to handle professional fights. Staying in the amateur circle would be a waste, but considering his age, it was the best they could do.

Still, Georges doubted Max would remain undefeated for six months, and once Max stepped into a professional cage, he'd realize just how many skilled fighters were out there.

"Alright, I'll make the arrangements for you to join amateur competitions as soon as possible. Use this time to train hard." Georges had his own connections and would ensure Max's fights were accounted for.

Max nodded firmly.

Mixed martial arts competitions are divided into amateur and professional categories.

Both amateur and professional competitions are further classified into weight categories, which remain consistent regardless of the organization managing the contracted fighters.

Professional competitions primarily refer to matches organized and regulated by international MMA organizations.

The four leading MMA organizations with the most skilled fighters in the world are the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), ONE Championship, Professional Fighters League (PFL), and Rizin Fighting Federation.

There are also other organizations with slightly less impact, such as AMC Fight Nights, Bellator MMA, Cage Warriors, and Fighting Network Rings.

Each professional MMA organization has its own rules, regulations, and competition formats.

Amateur competitions are supervised and managed by event sponsors, while professional events are regulated by professional MMA organizations.

Additionally, a clear difference between the two lies in their commercial involvement.

Amateur competitions are not heavily commercialized, and fighters usually compete for honor and to begin making a name for themselves.

However, professional MMA is highly commercialized, involving extensive promotion and publicity before the fights, ticket sales, and pay-per-view revenue during the event, as well as post-fight advertising. Everything is part of the business operations.

The competition among fighters is mainly driven by monetary rewards; honor becomes secondary.

Any fighter at the top or even slightly above your level will rarely fight you unless you have the money to challenge them.

When a fighter starts earning money, concepts like honor or discipline often take a back seat, and the only thing that matters is the money.

MMA promotion companies take their profit-maximizing mindset to the extreme: without money, no one should even dream of competing against their fighters. This approach is also why the MMA scene might face some decline.

Johnny stared at Max, knowing he was rushing decisions that would change his life forever.

...

"Ryan, are you alright?" At the gym, Max was wrapping his hands again, preparing to practice his punches. When he suggested sparring, Ryan volunteered to be his partner.

Ryan mentioned that Max's punches were quite strong and asked him to wear a helmet for protection.

Ryan's pride was wounded, so he insisted he didn't need it, confident he could take it. He invited Max to hit him with full force.

But it wasn't long before Ryan was sprawled on the floor.

"I'm fine; I can handle this." Ryan shook his head to clear it, struggling to get up, his knees nearly giving out as he almost collapsed again.

Max realized something else was going on and asked, "What's bothering you?"

"Nothing, buddy, I'm fine."

That look, those movements—Max knew his friend was distracted. He stopped trying to fight him and instead sat down on the floor. "Come on, tell me."

"It's about her…"

"Your ex-girlfriend?"

Ryan nodded slightly and said, "Someone took her from me. I know all that crap you always say about how we don't belong to anyone is true, but I can't stand that idiot mocking me to my face. You understand?"

"Was it that guy you fought at that party? The one who attacked his coach... Max pictured who Ryan was talking about and also understood that, as a friend, he needed his help.

Ryan was a very proud guy, so Max, being a good friend, said, "You've got my help, buddy. When do we do this?"

"I don't need you to beat him up. I know how to get him to come to one of our parties." Ryan had an idea to provoke the guy.

But Max, who was trying to build a good reputation, told him, "Don't make mistakes, don't lose your head, and just fight."

"Of course, bro..."