King in the Ring: City Kickboxing’s Eugene Bareman on the next wave of combat sports in NZ
Eugene Bareman admits he never expected to be this busy.
When athletes he trained at his Auckland gym City Kickboxing started to get noticed and signed by the UFC, the world’s leading MMA promotion, Bareman assumed there would be an uptick in interest.
What has followed over the past five years has gone above his expectations, with interest and participation in martial arts continuing to build up gradually.
It’s not just the increase in numbers on the mats that Bareman has taken note of, but the talent that is being uncovered. And with most of the big names in the sport now in their 30s and heading into the latter stages of their careers, Bareman said it bodes well for the next wave continuing to put New Zealand on the map.
“That crop of guys going through now, they all started MMA, bar a few of them, in their early to mid-20s,” Bareman said.
“These guys coming in ... they’ve started as teenagers, like 13, 14. So they’re getting to the same stage that Dan [Hooker] and Israel [Adesanya] were in their mid-20s, but they’re only 18.
“It’s crazy. They’re all highly developed professional fighters well versed in wrestling, well versed in stand-up, well versed in jiu jitsu. It’s amazing to see because that is a generational thing; it didn’t used to happen. You know, I remember a day when that never used to happen.”
This Saturday’s King in the Ring card reflects that. In a rare occurrence for the country’s premier kickboxing show, the eight-man elimination tournament around which the card is built will only feature fighters from around the country who have never taken part in a King in the Ring eight-man before.
There will also be some talented young fighters just starting to make their way in the sport in the non-tournament bouts on the card, including 18-year-old Nixon Suddens, who takes on 20-year-old Daniel Brown.
Suddens is among a host of fighters training at City Kickboxing who are 21 or younger, but have long since committed themselves to combat sports. Speaking to the Herald, he said while competing in the Olympic Games in wrestling was once his goal, that scope has since shifted, and he sees King in the Ring as a vital platform for launching the next generation.
“I’m super grateful to have this opportunity so young in my career to compete on a show of this calibre. It’s been a great show for people to launch their careers and eventually become stars; Israel, Dan Hooker, Nav [Navajo Stirling], everyone started on King in the Ring,” Suddens said.
“We’ve got a bunch of young talent in this gym who are all striving towards the same goal of making a career out of the sport.”
There have been talented young fighters make their names on the King in the Ring stage already such as Arshia Ebadi and Nikora Lee-Kingi, who won King in the Ring titles at 19 and 20 respectively.
Speaking on the consistent growth of martial arts, Bareman said young people were starting to see it as a viable pathway upon which to pursue a career as a professional athlete.
“Young people now, seriously, in New Zealand of all places, one of the furthest corners of the on the Earth, young people are now seeing MMA and combat sports as a viable option next to rugby, cricket, soccer, netball,” Bareman said.
“Many of them, for the first time ever, are choosing not to pursue those sports. They’re choosing to come into combat sports, which is amazing. There’s never been a time like that in New Zealand martial arts history that I know of.”
While success on the world stage has been a big driving factor in the popularity of the sport, Bareman says shows like King in the Ring and Shuriken Fight Series play a massive role in bridging the gap between the local scene and fighters moving on to bigger things.
“Every gym and every training coach in the industry, without the local promoters like King in the Ring, like Shuriken, like all of these people, all of these local promoters, without their work, we couldn’t do what we do and the sport wouldn’t progress in the way it’s progressed in New Zealand,” Bareman said.
“You need that grassroots level input from those guys that are brave enough to put on promotions and get the fighters opportunities.”
Christopher Reive joined the Herald sports team in 2017, bringing the same versatility to his coverage as he does to his sports viewing habits.