Think #KiwiUFC and two blokes probably popped into your noggin' automatically in Israel Adesanya and Dan Hooker. In almost two years, Adesanya has not only taken over his middleweight division, he's also emerged as one of the brightest stars on the UFC roster and that swift ascension is a wee bit different to Hooker's situation. While Hooker's been battling away on the UFC roster since 2014, he won both his fights in 2019 and like Adesanya, winning all fights against the best opposition in 2019 has lifted the ceiling on what our #KiwiUFC troopers are capable of.

Adesanya's now lining up a title defence in what will be one of the biggest fights in 2020 and Hooker's rise now has him headlining the UFC's return to Auckland in a couple of months. Neither is fighting this weekend and yet UFC 245 in Las Vegas is shaping as massive #KiwiUFC fight card considering what is at stake. It's also the perfect way to wrap up this year, especially as a showcase of what Auckland City Kickboxing is all about.

Alexander Volkanovski will challenge for the featherweight belt in his fight against Max Holloway, which is one of three title fights on the card. Volkanovski is as Aussie as they get and prior to chasing the Mixed Martial Arts dream, he was apparently a rugby league prop despite his relative short frame. At 168cm, we can assume that as a rugby league prop, Volkanovski was short and stocky, the type of frame that lends itself to power in the octagon.

So why am I so interested in Volkanovski's challenge against one of the best UFC fighters ever in Holloway? Volkanovski spends a fair amount of his training time at ACKB and while Joe Lopez is still his overall head coach, Volkanovski's dramatic rise through the featherweight ranks in recent times has come with Eugene Bareman and the ACKB coaching stable getting amongst the funk.

Things get funkier when we consider the connection between ACKB and Tiger Muay Thai in Thailand. Volkanovski and much of the ACKB UFC's crew spent time at Tiger Muay Thai, while recently Tiger Muay Thai's head coach George Hickman has spent time with ACKB working with the stable in Auckland. Australian light heavyweight Tyson Pedro is set to fight on the UFC Auckland card and will apparently move to Auckland to spend time with ACKB as well.

Now we aren't just looking at ACKB dominating with kiwi fighters, the tentacles are spreading across the ditch and that's understandable considering the vibe/culture at ACKB. Take Bareman and his coaching staff for example, as the have fitted in nicely with Volkanovski's team and the humility of ACKB allows them to integrate seamlessly in what could otherwise be an awkward situation.

As always, Luke Thomas has done a beautiful breakdown of Volkanovski's striking...

After paying respect to all that Volkanovski has built without ACKB, it's clear that some heavy elements of the ACKB style are present in how Volkanovski goes about his business. Thomas has done this type of breakdowns previously, specifically as Adesanya has risen through the ranks and I've done my best to consistently share these to educate kiwi fight fans. The fakes, faints, patience, accuracy and a growing level of grappling of those fighting out of ACKB has led directly to success and Volkanovski is our next example to enjoy.

Anyone who is part of the ACKB whanau, is part of the #KiwiUFC whanau. To be part of the ACKB whanau, you have to adapt to a strong culture, you have to fit into the morals and values in place at ACKB and while I wasn't quite aware of it at the time, in reflection it has been lovely to see Volkanovski fit in, even helping other kiwis fighters; elevating himself and AKCB.

I'm not sure how the fight vs Holloway will go, because of how slick Holloway is. Regardless, I can't see Vokanovski getting smoked and I'm fascinated to see how Bareman's tutelage stacks up against someone like Holloway. In Volkanovski we have a case of the ACKB camp coming up against a legit monster in Holloway and as fans, we are guaranteed to learn more about ACKB's ways.

This will also be on show with Kai Kara-France, who fights Brandon Moreno in the flyweight division. In doing pre-fight media, Kara-France outlined how a rough patch in his career led to a tighter focus with AKCB under Bareman's guidance and well, Kara-France is on an eight-fight win streak, 3-0 in the UFC. Moreno's last three UFC fights have seen him suffer two defeats and then a draw, presenting Kara-France with a fabulous opportunity to sneak into the top-tier.

Kara-France has also stated that he believes flyweight champion Henry Cejudo, will stay in the bantamweight division where he is also a champion and not drop down to defend his flyweight belt. Whatever Cejudo does in the immediate future, it's hard to see him cutting down to flyweight as he gets older and this presents all sorts of opportunities for Kara-France to set up shop near the top of the rankings if he can continue this win-streak.

If all goes well, ACKBwill have Kara-France, Hooker and Adesanya in the top-tier of their respective divisions as kiwi UFC fighters, as well as Volkanovski; two champions in Adesanya and Volkanovski would be bonkers. This is the perfect way to wrap up 2019 for ACKB as the coaching will be on full display via Volkanovski and folks will be given greater insight into the stable of fighters coming through with Kara-France breaking his way into the top of the flyweight division. Perfect to wrap up 2019 and set the platform for 2020.

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Peace and love 27.