City Kickboxing is a

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting combat sport, sport based on strike (attack), striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-s ...

training gym based in

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

. The gym features professional fighters who have competed in many major promotions, such as the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC),

Bellator Bellator, warrior in Latin, may refer to: * Bellator MMA, a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United States * Bishop Bellator of Sufetula (5th century) Taxonomy * ''Bellator'' (fish), a fish genus in the family Triglidae (sea robins) ** ...

ONE Championship ONE Championship, formerly ONE Fighting Championship (ONE FC) until January 2015, is a Multinational corporation, multinational combat sports Promoter (entertainment), promotion founded on 14 July 2011 by Chatri Sityodtong and Victor Cui. Origi ...

, and Dibella Entertainment (Boxing).

History

Eugene Bareman and

Doug Viney Douglas Ma'afu Hawke, better known as Doug "Vicious" Viney (born 20 November 1976) is a Tongan-New Zealander heavyweight boxer and kickboxer. He is the K-1 World GP 2007 in Las Vegas champion, who also represented Tonga as a super heavyweight ...

founded City Kickboxing in 2007. The duo hoped that having their own premises would allow them to focus more on their training but quickly found the economics of running a gym was all-consuming and soon after transitioned to training professional fighters.

Notable students & alumnae

MMA

Israel Adesanya Israel Mobolaji Temitayo Odunayo Oluwafemi Owolabi Adesanya (born 22 July 1989) is a Nigerian-New Zealand professional mixed martial artist, former kickboxer and boxer. As a mixed martial artist, he currently competes in the Middleweight di ...

- Former two-time UFC Middleweight Champion *

Alexander Volkanovski Alexander Volkanovski (born 29 September 1988) is an Australian professional Mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Featherweight (MMA), Featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where ...

- Current two-time UFC Featherweight Champion * Robert Whittaker - Former UFC Middleweight Champion *

Kai Kara-France James Kaiwhare "Kai" Kara-France (born 26 March 1993) is a New Zealand professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the flyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of 5 December 2023, he is #4 in the UFC f ...

- #4 ranked UFC flyweight fighter *

Dan Hooker Daniel Preston Hooker (born 13 February 1990) is a New Zealand professional mixed martial artist and former kickboxer. He currently competes in the Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Hooker was the King in the Ring ...

- #6 ranked UFC lightweight fighter *

Shane Young Shane Young (born 31 July 1993) is a New Zealand mixed martial artist (MMA) who competes in the Featherweight division and previously competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Background Young was born in Napier, New Zealand, an ...

- Former UFC featherweight fighter *

Brad Riddell Bradley Stephen Riddell (born 30 September 1991) is a New Zealand mixed martial artist and former kickboxer, currently competing in the Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Background Riddell played rugby union thro ...

- UFC lightweight fighter *

Carlos Ulberg Carlos Sao Murry Ulberg (born 17 November 1990) is a New Zealand professional mixed martial artist and former kickboxer. He currently competes in the Light Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of March 25, 2025, ...

- #3 ranked UFC light heavyweight fighter *

Tyson Pedro Tyson Pedro (born 17 September 1991) is an Australian former professional mixed martial artist who competed in the Light heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Background Pedro is an Australian of American Samoan h ...

- Former UFC light heavyweight fighter *

Kevin Jousset Kevin Jousset (born 2 May 1993) is a French professional mixed martial artist, who competed in the Welterweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), receiving a 2-2 record in the promotion. A professional competitor since 2019, J ...

- UFC welterweight fighter and former HEX two-division champion * Navajo Stirling - UFC light heavyweight fighter * Champions and rankings as of March 29, 2025

Boxing

Junior Fa Uaine Fa Junior (born 19 October 1989) is a New Zealand former professional boxer. As an amateur he represented Tonga at the 2010 Commonwealth Games, winning a bronze medal in the super-heavyweight division; he also represented Tonga at the Oce ...

- former WBO Oriental interim & New Zealand national (NZPBA version) Heavyweight Champion * Hemi Ahio - current WBC Middle East, Former IBO Oceania, two time New Zealand national (NZNBF & PBCNZ version) Heavyweight Champion * Baby Nansen - former New Zealand national (PBCNZ version) & South Pacific (PBCNZ version) Super Lightweight Champion

Awards

After both Adesanya and Volkanovski claimed UFC championships in 2019, Bareman and City Kickboxing were named as the Coach of the Year and the Gym of the Year, respectively, by

MMAJunkie.com MMA Junkie is a news website that covers the sport of mixed martial arts (MMA). It was founded in 2006, and has been owned by Gannett Company since 2011. The site and its content have been featured in ''Time'' magazine, ''ESPN The Magazine'', ''Th ...

. *

MMAjunkie.com MMA Junkie is a news website that covers the sport of mixed martial arts (MMA). It was founded in 2006, and has been owned by Gannett Company since 2011. The site and its content have been featured in ''Time'' magazine, ''ESPN The Magazine'', ''Th ...

**2019 Gym of the Year **2019 Coach of the Year ( Eugene Bareman) *CombatPress.com **2019 Gym of the Year **2019 Coach of the Year (Eugene Bareman) **2020 Gym of the Year **2020 Coach of the Year (Eugene Bareman) **2021 Gym of the Year *

World MMA Awards The World MMA Awards are awards presented by ''Fighters Only'' magazine to honor exceptional performance in various aspects of mixed martial arts. Winners are presented with the ''Fighters Only silver statuette''. The World MMA Awards are divided ...

**2022 Gym of the Year **2022 Coach of the Year (Eugene Bareman)

References

External links

* {{MMA Team List Kickboxing training facilities Mixed martial arts training facilities Organisations based in Auckland Sport in Auckland 2007 establishments in New Zealand