After six years, Dawg Fight premiers on Netflix
Film director Billy Corben: “The three most prominent reasons we got for rejection was that it was too urban, too violent and too real.”
Film director Billy Corben started work on “Dawg Fight,” a documentary on the bare-knuckle fighting subculture of South Miami, six years ago. Best known for his directing roles in “Cocaine Cowboys” and ESPN’s 30 for 30 film “The U,” Corben was unable to secure a distribution deal, and has just self-released it on Netflix.
Brett Okamoto has the story for ESPN
“Nobody would buy it,” Corben told ESPN.com. “Everybody watched it and loved it. They thought it was some of our best work. But they wouldn’t buy it.
“The three most prominent reasons we got for rejection was that it was too urban, too violent and too real. To us, that was like a woman turning you down because you’re too tall and too handsome.”
The project began simply enough in 2009. Corben was familiar with the story of Kimbo Slice, also known as Kevin Ferguson — a backyard brawler who generated enough views on YouTube to manufacture a professional career in mixed martial arts. His interest in doing a film on backyard brawls began, however, when he learned of a fighter/promoter by the name of Dada 5000, aka Dhafir Harris, who not only staged this type of illegal activity, but did so in an almost-professional manner.
Dada 5000 is considered the “Don King” of South Miami’s backyard brawling scene. Courtesy Rakontur
“Kimbo’s deal was to invite a few dudes over,” Corben said. “But this was like a block party and Dada 5000 was like [boxing promoter] Don King — and that was fascinating.”
The film found the ending Corben was looking for in 2010, when Dada 5000 made his professional MMA debut on the regional circuit. The film was essentially finished years ago, but was buried on Corben’s hard drive, waiting to be picked up by a distribution partner.
Although Corben (apparently) didn’t have something he could sell during that time, he did have what he had set out to accomplish creatively — a film that actually went into the individuals who were stepping inside the makeshift ring.
The film doesn’t necessarily have strong ties to the sport of MMA, though there are some. In addition to Dada 5000’s MMA contest (he would ultimately fight only twice professionally), some of the other men went on to fight pro. Current UFC bantamweight Alex Caceres is shown in one old fight.
Dada 5000 has gone on to found Backyard Brawls Extreme Fighting Series, which will promote its first pay-per-view event on June 8. According to Corben, the premise of the league is to host unsanctioned fights in unsanctioned waters off the Miami coastline, on board a cruise ship.
“It finally got to a point where the rejection galvanized us and we said, ‘F— this. We’re going to spend more time and more money releasing it on our own,'” Corben said. “So far, it’s been to great effect. Fortunately, from a financial standpoint, Netflix saw it very late in the game and loved it.”
DAWG FIGHT trailer from rakontur on Vimeo.