Never Say Never 2023

The film opens with a stark image: a video of two young boys clashing in a mixed martial arts bout. In a quick shift to 2011, Xiang Tenghui, once a promising MMA fighter, is arrested and held for interrogation, his past actions casting a long shadow over the present.

Flashing back further to 2001 in Longshan, Sichuan, Xiang runs a sand mining business with his friend Wang Feng. One night, their convoy is ambushed by bandits—a gang of boys. Instead of selling out, Xiang seeks a different path. He approaches local entrepreneur Wang Jingfu, securing backing to build a children’s fight club intended to produce champions and to help promote Wang’s new product. With calculated resolve, Xiang and Wang recruit the group of boys who attacked them, offering food and shelter in return for training. Among the earliest recruits are two of the oldest fighters, Ma Hu and Su Mu, who quickly become central to the team.

Trouble soon follows when Wang Jingfu is arrested for peddling fake goods, cutting off the club’s funding. Xiang’s initial skepticism gives way to stubborn determination as the kids insist on training, driven in part by the knowledge that Su and Ma have a sister who cannot walk due to paralysis. Their poverty adds urgency to the dream of a better future. Xiang agrees to keep teaching—but only for stage combat at first, to keep costs down while the club is under pressure. A deal is struck with local bar-owner Li to stage a steel-cage performance, drawing paying crowds. Ma and Su perform, but the audience catches on to the “fake” nature of the bout, and a screaming confrontation follows. Xiang pushes them harder, and the show slips into a real fight, drawing in more and more spectators. The club’s popularity grows, and a bigger opportunity appears: a chance to perform in the provincial capital.

Danger returns when thugs disrupt a fight between Ma and Su, insisting the bout is fake. A real brawl erupts; Ma nearly harms a thug, and Wang helps Xiang escape but is injured and arrested. Xiang pays Wang’s bail and presses forward, given a new directive: train the boys for real competition so they can become true champions.

Xiang then visits his family home and discovers that his own past as a provincial MMA champion ended in disgrace after a positive urine test for performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs). His coach manipulated him into taking the pills, and Xiang responded with violence, a reaction that landed him in jail for assault. With this painful history laid bare, Xiang resolves to reform the club, shifting its purpose from staged fights to genuine training.

By 2011, the club has grown into something sizable and influential; it even hires teachers to provide education for its members. Yet the film’s old video of Ma and Su fighting as children resurfaces online, threatening the club’s future. Ma and Su rise to fame in the sport and are invited to a national tournament, but the viral video leads to suspensions and scrutiny. Xiang receives an offer from an established MMA club, CJ, to sign Ma and Su so they can compete. When Xiang explains the deal to Ma and Su, they are furious; they feel betrayed, and the tension surrounding the contract threatens the club’s future. The video’s continued circulation prompts authorities to intervene and shut down the operation.

A year later, Xiang has shifted into a silk business and receives an invitation to a talk show to share his side of the story. He declines at first but eventually visits Ma and Su’s sister, who has benefited from the money Xiang helped provide. He discovers postcards from Ma and Su claiming they are touring through China, yet a closer look reveals the same stamp on every card. Intrigued and uneasy, Xiang follows clues to an isolated road at night and becomes involved in a car crash. He learns that Ma tried to rob another car, and Su, who now cannot walk, is living with the consequences of past decisions. Ma and Su’s release from CJ is secured by pressure from outside influence; Su receives a leg surgery and begins to recover, enabling a return to fighting.

Two years pass, and Su steps into a major championship: the FGP World Lightweight title. The bout against the reigning champion, Connor from Brazil, proves grueling in the early rounds, with Connor dominating through superior grappling. In a dramatic turn of events, Su survives a rear-naked choke in the final seconds of the second round and lands a knockout, becoming the new champion. The film’s final image follows Xiang, watching from the stands, smoking a cigar as he walks away in quiet reflection. In the epilogue, the government grants permission for the club to reopen, and Ma, now released from prison, returns to his life as an MMA fighter, signifying a hopeful renewal for the organization Xiang once built.