Mike 'Blood Diamond' Mathetha attempts a flying knee during a King in the Ring tournament. Photo / Photosport
Mike 'Blood Diamond' Mathetha attempts a flying knee during a King in the Ring tournament. Photo / Photosport
It might be a hometown fight, but when Mike "Blood Diamond" Mathetha steps into the ring on Friday night it will be the online audience that is more familiar with the Kiwi kickboxer.
Mathetha will square off against Wang Aogang as part of the first ever King in the Ringsuper fight series, pitting four former Kings against champions from Chinese promotion Em Legend – which is expected to be streamed across China.
It's been about two years since the king of the 2014 middleweight tournament has fought on home shores, fighting at least six times since then, including bouts in Australia and China.
It's a similar story for New Zealand's elite combat sports athletes, having to look offshore for opportunities to demonstrate their craft.
"The biggest kickboxing show in New Zealand is King in the Ring, since it's the biggest we need more; we need more so that New Zealand fighters are put out there," Mathetha said.
"The thing is, New Zealand combat is growing really fast. Before it was just like 'oh yeah, we've got the All Blacks' but now we have an actual UFC World Champion. It's growing, but I guess it just needs more support. That's been the major problem."
Mike 'Blood Diamond' Mathetha was crowned King in the Ring in 2014. Photo / Photosport
UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya and fellow UFC fighters Dan Hooker and Brad Riddell have all competed at King in the Ring over the years, with Adesanya crowned king three times, and Hooker crowned once.
But with the Kiwi UFC contingent now performing on the biggest stage in mixed martial arts the world has to offer, the interest in the local combat sports scene is again growing.
"A lot of good fighters are coming from New Zealand. Tell me which New Zealand UFC fighter is not worth watching? They all are. And at the same time it's inspiring a lot of people to want to get into it. The gym has been growing; we're getting more people interested.
"It's starting to grow again but it requires more support, not only kickboxing, not only MMA, not only boxing, but everything. If we can get more supporters it will grow more."
Mathetha said that started with people coming to shows.
In recent years, as the scene has continued to develop, the King in the Ring platform has evolved being a dedicated kickboxing show to including boxing, kickboxing and mixed martial arts fights on their cards.
It now provides a platform for local fighters across various disciplines an opportunity to make a name for themselves, with the Super Fight series being the latest part of the promotion's evolution.
"If it wasn't for King in the Ring, not many people would know who I was. People need to come to the shows. Fair enough it's televised on Sky, but we need more people to come support and see people in action to help it grow even further," Mathetha said.
"Just being part of the atmosphere is quite exciting. People should experience it a bit more, and it encourages fighters to want to work hard and get onto these stages."
