UFC 293: The Kiwis on the card

With the main event and middleweight champion Israel Adesanya needing little introduction, Jonty Dine runs through the other Kiwis on the card at UFC 293.

Follow RNZ's liveblog on Sunday for all the updates.

Justin Tafa- Heavyweight.

29 years old. Born in Auckland, Fighting out of Queensland.

Nickname- Bad Man.

Record- 6-3-1.

The "Tafa gang" is taking over the UFC. Justin "The Bad Man" and his younger brother Junior "The Juggernaut" are turning heads in more ways than one in the heavyweight division with their incredible power. Born in Avondale, Tafa spent his youth playing rugby league and even signed with the Melbourne Storm before injuries curtailed his career. With his grandfather a national boxing champion, MMA was in his blood and began calling. Tafa lost his UFC debut but has since picked up three wins, all by first round knockout. At UFC 293 Tafa will run things back with American Austen Lane after their first fight in June ended in a no contest just 29 seconds in. Lane poked Tafa in the eye, which caused him serious damage, and saw him unable to continue. The heavyweight powerhouse said there was a reason for it.

"He was uncomfortable in that cage, he was jumpy. If anyone's had a hiding from their parents, you know you flinch when they smack you. I belted him, and he flinched, and that's where the eye poke came from," he told UFC press.

Tafa revealed he was batting illness prior to the bout.

"I was bed ridden for five weeks but I still went there to bang on. I think I was doing well, I got into hs face early, I don't think I did too much wrong."

Tafa said he has limited his sparring in training as a result of the eye injury.

Though he harboured no ill-will toward his opponent, he was carrying a grudge into the cage.

"He's a good dude, he made a mistake. His coaches started talking s**** that's the only reason why, you're gonna cop the result of them."

Tafa spent time in the CKB camp training for the Sydney card.

"I got to upskill, there is a lot of good talent there and a lot of hard work."

He said he has evolved as a fighter.

"I've learnt not to chase the knockouts, the knockouts come."

However, he was hopeful of a performance bonus on Sunday afternoon.

"Anything less than 50k will disappoint me, I've been shunned a few times. My heart is saying go to war, I'm happy just to entertain the crowd."

An emphatic win in Sydney could see Tafa in line to face a ranked opponent.

"I want to start knocking on that top 15 door, I think I deserve to be up there."

Prediction for main event- "I think Izzy is going to win by KO. We did a few sparring sessions, and his striking and his cardio and his mentality is on another level."

Carlos Ulberg- Light Heavyweight.

32 years old Born in Auckland, Fighting out of Auckland.

Nickname-The Black Jag.

Record- 9-1.

Ulberg had a difficult upbringing, bouncing between foster homes in South Auckland. He would find success through sport, playing for the Counties Manukau development rugby team before he was banned for fighting in a match. His father represented Samoa as a boxer at the Commonwealth Games and combat sports was a natural fit for Ulberg. Also a model, Ulberg was rumoured to be the 2017 Bachelor, but he opted to break faces instead of hearts on a different reality tv show. Making his way into the UFC via Dana White's contender series, Ulberg made his UFC debut in 2021, losing to Kennedy Nzechukwu by knockout. Since then, Ulberg has picked up four wins on the trot, three of them by first round knockout. The featured prelim before the UFC 293 pay per view begins, Ulberg faces Da Woon Jung who is looking to rebound from back-to-back losses.

"Although he's on a losing streak at the moment I've always looked at him as a dangerous opponent coming up into the ranks. He's still young. He's a complete martial artist so won't be looking past that. It's going to either be a bloody war or an easy night in the office for me."

Ulberg believed that very soon he would to be climbing the ranks into the top 15.

"I've done my study on the division. I feel like I'm in the right place at the right time. I finish this fight, and I get this fight out of the way, we're going places."

Ulberg will be one of six fighters in Sydney proudly representing City Kick Boxing.

"We are all hot at the moment, we are on fire, everyone seems to be on point focussed and ready, we feel like we are home."

Growing up idolising Sonny Bill Williams, Ulberg said he takes his responsibility as a Samoan role model very seriously.

"If I've done it then they can do it. Being a role model is definitely something I am proud of. It means a lot, here were are on the UFC stage representing Samoa. It is a good time to represent our culture."

Prediction for main event- "I feel that Isarel is hot, just watching him do his work is amazing, he may want to express a bit of Jujutsu, it's going to be exciting, Srickland is a strong opponent, but I think Israel is going to make it easy."

Shane Young-Featherweight.

30 years old. Born in Napier, Fighting out of Auckland.

Nickname- Smokin'.

Record- 13-7.

The Hawke's Bay product was just the second fighter after Dan Hooker from CKB to earn a UFC contract in 2017. His introduction to the promotion was as tough as it gets, as he squared off against pound for pound king Alexander Volkanovski. However, he survived all three rounds with the featherweight champion, losing by unanimous decision. He followed this up with wins in 2018 and 2019 before Covid stalled his progress. Young was now riding a three fight losing skid, his most recent a UD loss in February. Young takes on Gabriel Miranda who was coming off the back of a loss in his UFC debut.

"This is a new territory for me being on a three-fight losing stint, and it feels like do or die for me with this fight."

Young conceded that ring rust was a factor in is last fight.

"When I got taken down in the first round it just felt so foreign it was just that ring rust. My mind was just blank for two minutes, that's ring rust."

He said the pandemic has been hard on his career, but he was looking for a resurgence.

"It was hard for me to fight more than once a year, that's the big change just staying more active."

He said he may look to make things ugly against Miranda.

"I've fought lots of guys like him, my old game an used to be sprawl and brawl so just going back to my roots a bit."

The 30-year-old was hopeful that a win on Sunday would then see him in line to fight on the touted UFC card in Auckland.

"I have to be on that card, UFC has been to Auckland twice and I have not fought on either of them, it will be great for New Zealand MMA."

Another CKB fighter, Young said the energy at the gym has been phenomenal.

"We are part of a very special happening in this sport Im here to witness the greatness from all my teammates."

Prediction for main event- "I think it's going to be a lot like when Izzy fought Paulo Costa. Basically that.

Mike Mathetha-Welterweight.

Born in Zimbabwe, Fighting out of Auckland.

Nickname- Blood Diamond.

Record-3-2.

Pressure builds Diamonds, and the New Zealand-based Mathetha was under plenty of it. Diamond came to the UFC in 2022, but lost fights to Jeremiah Wells and Orion Cosce in his first two appearances. At UFC 293 he has a shot at redemption when he takes on Charlie Radtke making his UFC debut. Diamond moved from war-torn Zimbabwe when he was 10, he said his nickname was symbolic of his fighting style and the ensuing violence. City Kickboxing coach Eugene Bareman said no one else has been through more struggles than Diamond, who lived for a year underneath a cage in the gym. Regarded as one of the best training partners at CKB, Diamond has long been touted for greatness by his fellow fighters.

"We feed of each others energy, some days you just don't feel great and you just feel a bit down, but you've got five more other people supporting you and just encouraging you."

Diamond said he has learnt from his mistakes in his first two UFC losses.

"The last couple of fights, I was too fixated on my opponents, and now I just focus on myself. It's my time to shine now. I wanna showcase my striking. Show them I can stand with these guys but I have also been working on my wrestling and grappling."

Diamond said he has been working with featherweight champ Volkanovski.

"Going to Volk's camp, I was picking his brain, definitely that could help me a lot."

The 35-year-old said he was not underestimating Radtke.

"He's a great opponent, he's in the UFC for a reason, focus on what I can do. I just want to take each round as it comes, I get to do what I love and I feel very blessed."

Prediction for main event- "I'm a big fan of punishing people for a long time. If he knocks him out, he knocks him out. It is what it is. To be honest, Israel's been sharp and scary this camp."

UFC 293 gets underway at 1030am NZT with the main card from 2pm.