You mightiness not person heard of Israel Adesanya's grooming spouse - but his sanction volition surely get your attention.
Mike Mathetha overmuch prefers to spell by his nickname Blood Diamond - to the constituent wherever he's listed connected the UFC's authoritative website arsenic such.
He moved to the southbound land of New Zealand from Zimbabwe erstwhile helium was 13, backmost successful 2003, and past moved to Auckland to survey architecture astatine university.
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"I didn't bask it and I recovered myself being astatine the gym much than being successful class," helium told Wide World of Sports.
"I was 21 and I inactive had radical picking connected maine - I'm fundamentally an big and I'm inactive getting picked connected similar I'm a precocious schoolhouse kid," helium laughed.
"But astatine the aforesaid clip I was rather big, astir 110 kilos. So I knew I needed to get successful signifier and larn however to support myself.
"I suck astatine running, I hatred moving - truthful my options were to larn however to fight, oregon to get bushed up."
An casual determination led him to instrumentality up kickboxing.
Now, he's the latest disconnected the City Kickboxing accumulation enactment - founded by Eugene Bareman and Doug Viney successful 2007, and increasing into 1 of the astir formidable stables successful combat sports.
When helium returned from Asia, wherever helium plied his commercialized arsenic kickboxer and developed arsenic a fighter, the options successful that athletics successful regards to full-time enactment were beauteous slim.
"I came backmost to New Zealand and Eugene was trying to get maine immoderate fights and helium said 'man, if lone you knew however to bash MMA, there'd beryllium truthful galore fights' and that's erstwhile I decided to springiness it a go," Diamond told Wide World of Sports.
He was enamoured with the athletics - and the gym - immediately, offering to expanse floors oregon bash different chores to warrant his rank arsenic a student, with precise small money.
CKB's estimation is astir mythical astatine this stage, boasting not lone Adesanya, but besides Australia's featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski, arsenic good arsenic different UFC standouts Kai Kara-France, Dan Hooker, Shane Young, Brad Riddell and Carlos Ulberg.
"They usage our strengths and weaknesses and bring them unneurotic - and everyone determination has antithetic skills, and that's different happening that brings america together.
"There's nary pridefulness successful our gym - everyone is unfastened to learn. It doesn't substance what level you are, everyone's consenting to larn thing from anyone other who's there."
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He'd braced himself for a agelong slog done the amateur ranks and perchance a fewer fights successful smaller nonrecreational organisations - but aft conscionable 3 fights, helium finds himself successful the UFC.
"Eugene conscionable told maine the things I request to know, and I've learned not to perpetually question him," helium said connected the daze of uncovering retired his archetypal combat would beryllium a nonrecreational one.
"When helium puts you successful a fight, it's due to the fact that he's assured successful you being successful. He's not conscionable going to propulsion you into the heavy end, helium knows your ability, truthful I've learned to spot that."
Diamond said a narration of communal spot was key.
"All my coaches, they cognize us, they cognize our abilities, our capabilities, our limits - that makes it easier for america to turn up arsenic a fighter."
The welterweight volition marque his UFC debut astatine UFC 271, connected the undercard to that much-anticipated rematch betwixt Adesanya and Robert Whittaker, with Ulberg besides featuring.
"The peculiar happening is the information that me, Iz, and Carlos - we've each done king of the ring, won it astatine antithetic value classes.
"It's conscionable the 3 New Zealand combat kings coming successful unneurotic and going to conflict connected the aforesaid show."
He doesn't retrieve precisely who bestowed the nickname upon him aboriginal connected successful his warring career, but helium embraced it - to the constituent that cipher volition telephone him thing other astatine training.
"Especially astatine the gym, I'll ne'er respond to Mike - they indispensable beryllium talking to idiosyncratic else!"
But astir importantly - has helium seen Blood Diamond?
The reply is yes - helium saw it alongside his parents erstwhile it was released, the trio taking large joyousness successful Leonardo DiCaprio's efforts to represent a Rhodesian mercenary.
"His accent wasn't bad. Man, it didn't dependable similar the achromatic Zimbabweans I cognize but I'm similar 'OK, you tried'.
"Props to him, helium did a bully job."
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