MMA: No holds barred as Kiwi fights Korean champ

Brandon Ropati will take on Doohwan Kim in the drawcard fight at Genesis Fight Night at ASB Stadium on Saturday.

An undefeated Kiwi fighter and a Korean grappling champion will go head-to-head in the first fully-sanctioned mixed martial arts (MMA) tournament in Whangarei.

New Zealand's top light heavyweight MMA fighter Brandon Ropati will take on Korea's top light heavyweight and grappling champion Doohwan Kim in the drawcard fight at Genesis Fight Night at ASB Stadium on Saturday, hosted by Lion's Den Ministries.

"It should be a real good fight considering Brandon is undefeated, and both are ranked highly in world rankings, as well as the fact both are strong standing as well as on the ground," promoter Ryan Anderson said.

MMA is a full-contact combat sport that involves striking and grappling techniques, standing and on the ground, and is conducted inside a cage.

The sport has gained popularity in recent years with the internationally-televised Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).

Saturday's fight night will be the first time the cage has been used in Whangarei, and the first fights in the region to be governed and refereed by NZMMA officials.

The tournament features 12 fights, including eight amateur MMA bouts with three, three-minute rounds, two professional MMA fights with three five-minute rounds and two kickboxing fights.

Nine Northland fighters are taking part, with the rest from Auckland and Hamilton.

Alongside Ropati v Kim in the professional bouts, Anderson is up against Auckland-based MMA fighter Zaan Buchanan.

"It's been quite a mission organising an event as well as fighting in it," he said.

Both pro fights will have rules similar to that of the UFC - no holds barred.

"My aim is to keep it standing, have a good stand-out slugfest with my opponent and come out with a win."

Anderson has been involved in martial arts since he was 4, but he has focused on MMA since he started running Lion's Den Ministries three years ago.

The charity runs free MMA classes for youth, among other initiatives.

"The classes have been growing steadily - the sport's definitely growing in Whangarei," Anderson said.

He's hoping 1500 to 1600 tickets will be sold.

"For us as a charity this is a way to raise funds to keep putting those classes on for free."

In the future he aims to hold two to three fight nights a year.

• The Genesis Fight Night starts at 5.30pm on Saturday at the ASB Stadium, Western Hills Drive, Whangarei.