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It was March 2019 when mixed martial arts (MMA) Heavyweight prospect Aaron Bush was sitting inside his car with a loaded gun, ready to pull the trigger to end his 26-year-old life. He weighed 350 lbs and gained 80 lbs from his once athletic Heavyweight frame. In addition, he was depressed, unmotivated, and just flat hated himself.

“I went nuts. I had a full-on Tyson Fury-like episode where I gained a bunch of weight and had to lose it. I almost killed myself,” Bush told MMA Mania in a recent interview. “When you’re a fat slob like that, and you’re not the baddest dude walking- that kind of messes with your head a little bit, you feel like a bitch. I didn’t like that. So like, it just kind of spiraled, everything compounded on everything, you know, and got to the point where I was like, I can’t do this anymore. And man, I was in my car loaded gun ready to pull the trigger.”

Thankfully, a random life-saving phone call from a friend was all that was needed to save Bush.

“It was my homie David that saved my life,” Bush said. “He shot me a call and was like, ‘hey what are you doing?’ And I was like, ‘I’m about to kill myself.’ He’s like, ‘you know what, buddy, don’t do that. Maybe you should just come on over here.’

It was that phone call that made Bush put the gun down and continue to live. Shortly after that dark night, Bush promised to give himself a chance again.

“I kind of made a deal with myself that like, alright, if you do everything right, and you get in really good shape, and you fight again, and you still want to kill yourself, then it’s probably just what you should do,” Bush said. “I know, that’s a weird, weird, morbid way to think about it. But I was so far gone that it is what made sense at the time. But it worked, and I’m here talking with you today.”

All of this misery stemmed from a loss to former Ultimate Fighter alumni Chandler Cole in the main event of Valor Fights 51. Bush was undefeated at the time and was a highly touted Heavyweight prospect. He lost the fight via first-round stoppage.

“After I lost to Chandler Cole, especially the way I lost to Chandler Cole, because if you watched that fight, all the way up until I lost that fight, I was, in my opinion, busting his ass up,” Bush said. “So then, when I lose to somebody I thought I was better than and still think I’m better than- that was pretty disheartening. I kind of threw a temper tantrum, to be honest with you. I was just like mental weakness, and I threw a tantrum. I was like; I’m never gonna do this again; this sport is stupid. After that fight, I gained a bunch of weight. And then, you know, the further I got away from fighting, the less happy I became.”

The 80 pounds that he gained was from gas station food and fast food every day.

“I‘ve always had an issue with food, to be honest with you, like, my whole family does. So when I decided I was done fighting. I just ate and ate and ate, and I wasn’t working out at all. I probably gained 70 to 80 pounds from August to December. So I put on weight substantially very quickly. And I’m talking about not good foods, either. I’m talking gas station honeybuns, large sodas, and fries. I was eating fast food two to three times a day. Like it was nothing for me to eat Taco Bell two to three times a day during that point. So, I gained all that weight. Obviously, I’m an athlete. I’ve been an athlete my whole life. So to look at myself like that, all I had to say was, ‘you fat slob, I hate you.’”

Three months after almost committing suicide, Bush got back in shape and found his passion again. He returned to action nearly two years later. He could have returned sooner, but the 2020 pandemic shut down the MMA regional scene. Nevertheless, after a four-year hiatus, the 30-year-old picked up another first-round finish in his return fight by submitting Kelvin Fitial at B2 Fighting Series 157.

Bush was supposed to return to action five months later against top-prospect Austin Green in the main event of B2 Fighting Series 175 for the vacant Heavyweight championship, but he tore his groin.

After sustaining such an unfortunate injury and losing out on a title fight, his dark thoughts and suicidal tendencies did not return.

“You know, coming out of all that stuff. I feel like I just woke up from a weird dream. I look back on that time in my life and wonder, did that happen? It’s hard to even recall the memories from that period,” Bush said. “I feel like I woke up, and I can’t even imagine feeling like that again. Like, I can not even imagine going back to that place ever again. A lot of it has to do with, like, you know, just appreciating what I have. And not worrying so much about the things I don’t have and worrying about what I can control. I can appreciate coaching my kids. My son wants to win a state championship in wrestling. He won the NUWAY Nationals up in Lansing, Michigan. So like, I got a lot of enjoyment out of helping him and coaching a team of six-year-olds to keep the techniques and everything fresh in my mind. It definitely helped me stay positive and in high spirits about fighting again.”

Bush returns to action in the biggest fight of his career thus far at LFA 160 on June 16 from inside Owensboro Sportscenter in Kentucky. He feels like with a win, he will get a call for a big promotion, something he feels is inevitable with a clear mind and a new passion.

Episode two of “Embedded” has dropped ahead of this weekend’s (Sat., June 10, 2023) UFC 289 pay-per-view (PPV) event, which is locked and loaded for Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

Women’s Bantamweight and Featherweight champion, Amanda Nunes, will put her 135-pound strap on the line against Mexican-born sensation, Irene Aldana, who stepped up to the plate to fill the void left behind by Julianna Pena.

In the co-main event of the evening, former Lightweight champion, Charles Oliveira, will attempt to get back to the big dance when he battels Beneil Dariush, the dark horse of the division, who is eying a shot at the top prize himself if he can collect his ninth straight win.

Each of the main players are wrapping up the final details during the always-hectic fight week, and as always the ever-present cameras of “Embedded” are on hand to give you a behind-the-scenes look at all of the madness.

From the official YouTube description:

Charles Oliveira changes his look. Beneil Dariush and champ-champ Amanda Nunes travel with their families. Nate Landwehr readies for fight week. Irene Aldana introduces her cats.

To see episode one click here.

UFC 289 will also include Eryk Anders taking on Marc-Andre Barriault in a Middleweight affair, while Chris Curtis takes on Nassourdine Imavov.

Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 289 fight card right here, starting with the early ESPN+ “Prelims” matches online, which are scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. ET, then the remaining undercard on ESPN/ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET, before the PPV main card start time at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+ PPV.

To check out the latest and greatest UFC 289: “Nunes vs. Aldana” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here.

Thanks to his new lucrative deal with Professional Fighters League (PFL), former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UF)C Heavyweight champion, Francis Ngannou, has the opportunity to cross over into boxing to test his skills in the “sweet science.”

“The Predator” has been very open about his quest to score big-money fights against Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua, but says he wouldn’t be opposed to a warmup fight to get his feet wet in the boxing world, first.

According to longtime UFC veteran, Matt Brown, taking that route would be a huge mistake because a loss could derail his chances to score the bag in his first boxing match.

“He needs to go for the big payday,” Brown explained on The Fighter vs. The Writer (via MMA Fighting)“It sounds like he wants to be a serious professional boxer maybe, if he’s talking about doing a warmup fight to get into it. I guess that’s a different path but now you’re taking a risk. Maybe you’re not that good. You don’t know.” he added.

“You haven’t f****** boxed, bro. You weren’t in the Olympics. You didn’t do an amateur career. You don’t f****** know. When you don’t know, go for the payday. Go for the f****** payday. What are we doing here? Quit f******* around here. Get the payday and be done with it.”

Eddie Hearn agrees.

While Dana White and Jon Jones are trying their best to lure Tyson Fury away from Ngannou, Anthony Joshua has also distanced himself from a potential boxing match against “The Predator.” That’s because the former Heavyweight champion of the world isn’t interested in “gimmick” fights.

But should that fight come to fruition down the road, Brown says people shouldn’t be too quick to discount Ngannou’s chances against a boxer who has shown to have a suspect chin.

“He probably has a better chance against [Anthony] Joshua than I think people give him credit for,” Brown said. “I think Joshua is 10 times a better boxer, he has the experience [but] he’s a little chinny. He does not like getting hit. That is his flaw that he’s dealt with for a long time.

“He does not like getting hit, and if Francis actually shows him that power, even touches his gloves hard, Joshua might start cowering down a little bit. It probably comes across like I’m putting him down or something. He’s absolutely an amazing fighter, and I have the utmost respect for him, but that’s certainly the knock on him is his chin and his ability to take shots.”

In Joshua’s defense, he has only been knocked out once in his decade-long career, losing to Andy Ruiz Jr. via technical knockout (TKO) in June 2019 (video replay here). While Ngannou does possess devastating power, he has yet to prove he has the skill-set to be competitive in a full-on boxing match.

Love him or hate him, Jake Paul has turned his social media and YouTube presence into a flourishing (and lucrative) career that includes taking the boxing world by storm. Now, “The Problem Child” is further adding to his resume as he turns his attention to Hollywood.

According to Variety, Paul is set to make his feature film debut after scoring a starring role in an upcoming combat sports drama from Mandalay Pictures and Wonder Street in which he will portray a small-town kid rising up the ranks through combat sports.

Per the article:

“Jake continues to make an indelible imprint on today’s youth with his exuberance and business savvy. He is the blueprint of the new breed of entrepreneur, using social media as a platform to bring his brand to global audiences,” says producer David Zelon. “Like many other superstar content creators, Jake cracked the code to attract an audience that generates hundreds of millions of dollars of revenue while also delivering his story in a way that connects directly with audiences of all ages.”

According to Paul, this next step in his flourishing portfolio is something he’s had his eye on for awhile now.

“I’m thrilled to be partnering with Mandalay Pictures and Wonder Street on my first feature film project,” said Paul. “Both companies have proven track records of producing high-quality content that resonates with audiences, and I couldn’t be more excited to work with such talented and experienced teams. As someone who has always believed in pushing boundaries and taking risks, I can’t wait to bring this unique story and my brand to the big screen.”

Since turning his attention to the combat sports world, Paul has racked up a a 6-1 boxing record with wins over former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) contenders and champions such as Ben Askren, Tyron Woodley and Anderson Silva.

While “The Problem Child” also has his eyes on a mixed martial arts (MMA) fight inside the Professional Fighters League (PFL ) SmartCage, he is currently training for his upcoming boxing match against Nate Diaz, which is set to go down on on Aug. 5, 2023, in Dallas, Texas.

To check out the latest and greatest boxing (and Jake Paul)-related news and notes click here.