STITCH: From the Fields to the Garden
From the Fields to the Garden is a feature-length documentary chronicling the remarkable journey of Jacob “Stitch” Duran — a Chicano cutman who went from laboring in the agricultural fields of California’s San Joaquin Valley to becoming one of the most recognizable and respected figures in combat sports.
Directed by Dr. Rudy Mondragón, assistant professor of Chicana/o and Latina/o Studies and Sport Studies at Loyola Marymount University, the film examines the intersections of labor, dignity, and dissent within the high-stakes of boxing and mixed martial arts.
As a child of migrant farmworkers influenced by the United Farmworkers (UFW) movement, Stitch made a vow never to be exploited again — a promise that would guide his rise in combat sports and his courageous stand against the UFC’s 2015 outfitting policy. Through interviews with Michael B. Jordan, Tyson Fury, Wladimir Klitschko, Cain Velasquez, and other combat sports figures, the film reveals how one man’s refusal to stay silent exposed the precarious nature of labor in the fight game.
By weaving together Stitch’s story with the director’s own journey as a scholar advocating for fighter welfare, From the Fields to the Garden becomes a meditation on the ways we fight for justice — in the corner and in the classroom.
Official Trailer Coming Soon