King in the Ring: Dominic Reed reflects on twice fighting teammate Nikora Lee-Kingi in final ahead of return

Nikora Lee-Kingi (left) and Dominic Reed contested two King in the Ring finals. Photo / Photosport

There was an element of novelty when Dominic Reed and Nikora Lee-Kingi met in the lightweight King in the Ring final in 2018.

Teammates from South Island Lee Gar in Christchurch under the guidance of Wayne Vaega, the possibility of the pair meeting in the main event of the eight-man tournament was one they would address when they got to it.

They were, indeed, the last two men in the bracket standing and neither athlete held back in the final, with Lee-Kingi taking the title.

Then it happened again in the 2020 tournament.

“It’s not easy to have to do that,” Reed recalled to the Herald ahead of his return to the lightweight bracket this weekend. “It took a bit of time to come right from it, but we’re all good. Between me and Nikora, yeah, we’re all good.

“It’s an uncomfortable like situation for both parties ... me and Nikora weren’t just training together, we were also hanging out as well, our families mix a bit, you know, so yeah, it’s tough.”

Reflecting on the process of training for an event knowing his fighters could square off in the final, Vaega recalled the novelty of the situation.

“We knew it could happen. We hoped it wouldn’t, but as it happened, we had two finals where they both fought. The first one, when they both fought, it was really novel. So they both fought each other and they gave it their all and it was a great final.”

It was the second time they both entered the eight-man tournament, in 2020, that Vaega noticed a shift in training camp.

After meeting in the final once already, Vaega said that both athletes had a feeling they would again have to get through one another to win the belt which created a different vibe in the gym.

“They both wanted to keep everything sort of separate, whereas the first one we all trained together ... The second one had a lot more pressure on both of them. It didn’t have a very good feeling with the second one,” Vaega said.

“They were still close, but you could see the way that they were training and then it was like they were trying to focus on themselves and trying to push the fact that they could be fighting again ... the second one was, yeah, it was a pretty tough one. But I was glad it was all over ... when two of your fighters are fighting each other, it’s hard to describe.”

Vaega watched on from the stands as his athletes indeed met with the title on the line for a second time.

Again, the pair put on a show for the fans and again, Lee-Kingi had his hand raised. After moving north to Auckland’s City Kickboxing and claiming his third title in 2023 – Reed not competing in that tournament – Lee-Kingi switched his focus to MMA.

Now, Reed is out to try and claim the title that has eluded him so far in this weekend’s lightweight King in the Ring tournament, bringing a wealth of experience on the stage into a field stacked with fresh talent.

“Man, the level, well, what can I say? The next generation of fighters are, they’re amazing. They’re really keen and they’re so bloody young,” Vaega said.

“They’re talented, they’ve got power, they’ve got speed, and they’ve got smarts as well. You can see that all in the lineup.

“Dom’s trained really hard. He’s focused on certain things that he needs to do. But he can’t relax with any one of these fighters, because they’re out to be the best. To be the best, you’ve got to fight the best, and that’s what it’s all going to boil down to.”

That was the mindset Reed was bringing into the tournament too, looking forward to the challenge and getting another opportunity to put on a show for those close to him.

“At the end of the night, you see who’s the best.”

Christopher Reive joined the Herald sports team in 2017, bringing the same versatility to his coverage as he does to his sports viewing habits.