Ev Ting isn’t a name familiar to most Kiwis. But the Malaysian-born, Auckland-raised, young MMA star is a title contender in one of the largest Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) organisations in the world, ‘One FC’. During his two and a half years in the promotion, he’s amassed an impressive six wins with just one loss. Ev insists that while the sport is violent, on closer inspection, there are a number of benefits, including physical fitness, mental health and a form of spirituality unique to the sport. Ev uses MMA to promote his sense of being a ‘global citizen’, his disdain for division and a promotion of togetherness. All things which seem to contradict commonly held stereotypes of a blood-thirsty cagefighter.