City Kickboxing are giving MMA fans a glimpse into the inner workings of the gym in the new series Relentless. Photo / TVNZ
City Kickboxing are giving MMA fans a glimpse into the inner workings of the gym in the new series Relentless. Photo / TVNZ
REVIEW
The road to the top is full of challenges.
And after walking that path in the mixed martial arts world, City Kickboxing head coach Eugene Bareman is opening his doors to show some hopeful prospects a glimpse of the map.
In the new series Relentless, which premieres on TVNZ+ on April 9, six budding mixed martial artists from around Oceania join City Kickboxing to train alongside the likes of Israel Adesanya, Dan Hooker and Kai Kara-France for eight weeks. At the end, one of the six is awarded a one-year scholarship to join the gym as a fulltime fighter.
With City Kickboxing emerging as one of the best MMA gyms in the world over the last few years, it’s a golden opportunity for a fighter – but one they’ve got to work for.
As Bareman emerges behind the ring to meet the six candidates vying for a place in the gym’s team of MMA professionals, he gives a quick chuckle as if to say the hopefuls don’t know what they’ve gotten themselves into.
Relentless also shines a light on “the very unique martial arts community in New Zealand”, with the gym emphasising the importance of knowing where you’re from and respecting those who have come before you.
City Kickboxing’s ethos is all about hard work; you put your best on the mats in the gym so you can put your best on display in the ring or cage. There’s no going easy, no feeling out process.
Bareman says 9.5 out of 10 times, the fighters will lose on the mats, but it’s that .5 of a time that they should take away and try to harness.
Israel Adesanya trains with Kasib Murdoch, who is one of six fighters hoping to claim a fulltime spot with City Kickboxing. Photo / TVNZ
“I asked my veteran fighters to make sure they’re always with one of them and not to go easy. I asked them to go as hard as they can,” Bareman says.
Cue sparring footage of the hopefuls getting a shock introduction to the gym courtesy of Hooker and his teammates.
In exploring the backgrounds of the fighters, viewers are also introduced to some key figures in the sport around the country such as Whakatāne MMA Centre’s Brad Kora – better known for his work with Kiwi bands Kora and L.A.B - and Wayne Vaega of Christchurch gym South Island Lee Gar, which welcomes the viewer to explore more of the community element of the sport on top of what they do at City Kickboxing.
For those with a fleeting, or non-existent, interest in the sport, Hooker will come across as something of a bully on the mats in the opening episode. One of the key coaching figures throughout the series, the UFC’s No. 9-rankled lightweight is seen dropping 30-year-old Ōpōtiki fighter Jesse King with a front kick to the liver. Later, 21-year-old Christchurch fighter Alisha Burtt recounts Hooker telling her she should start considering packing her bags.
“Dan is a very hard-nosed individual,” Bareman says. “He believes for you to be successful you have to go through a little bit of fire.”
Hooker would know. He has been a pioneer for the sport in New Zealand, breaking into the UFC in 2014 and so far having 21 fights with the top promotion in the sport, working himself as high as No. 4 in his division.
Viewers are thrust straight into the deep end with the hopeful fighters from the outset but are taken beyond the four walls of the gym to explore the fighters themselves and wider elements of mixed martial arts. It’s an intriguing glimpse into the inner workings of one of the country’s top teams, the No. 8 wire mentality they’ve adopted to get to the top level, and just what it takes to make it in a sport that is fast on the rise.
Bareman says Relentless is about more than fighting. “It’s about creating culture, family and a strong mental game.”
Relentless contestants
Kasib Murdoch (Otago Fight Centre, NZ) - International MMA Federation [IMMAF] featherweight amateur world champion 2022
