Kiwi MMA maestro Ev Ting's return to the cage this weekend at ONE Championship: Pinnacle of Power in Macao will complete a rather surreal full circle.
Six years ago, in the very same city, Ting and his Auckland contemporaries, which included UFC lightweight Dan Hooker, announced their arrival on the elite tier of combat sports as part of the Legend FC promotion.
Headlining the event that night was Japanese sensation Koji Ando (12-6), the very opponent Ting will find standing across from him when the cage door clinks shut come Saturday night (NZ time).
"That was where we all first got our break," Ting (15-4) told Newshub of that fateful evening in 2012. "He was a legend, the champion of that promotion at the time.
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"He's never been finished since then. He's no joke, definitely one of the toughest guys I've faced in my career."
Legend or otherwise, you won’t find any sense of reverence from ‘ET’ at his opposition's pedigree. Ting, himself, is a whole different proposition in 2018.
Fresh from an impressive decision win over Ariel Sexton, one of the toughest lightweights within Asia's premier striking organisation ONE Championship (it's not just MMA anymore), the 28-year-old has never felt more confident in his own powers.
"[Sexton's] a top contender. He's a tough a guy, and I just proved to myself that I belong at the top and can hang with anyone, so long as I train right and execute my gameplan."
He's not looking for marks in the win column - he's looking for genuine tests.
"I've never had an easy fight and I want the best out of all these fighters," said Ting. "I can handle anyone in the world."
Undefeated since a razor-close decision loss to then-champion Eduard Folayang in 2017, Ting has earned a seat right the top of the class in ONE's heady lightweight division. All he needs now is for the teacher to pick him.
Australian Martin Nguyen's successful quest to become a two-division champion has created a logjam of contenders who are all waiting for the natural bantamweight to put his strap back on the line.
But Ting isn’t one to die wondering, instead preferring to solidify his contender status by chasing a third consecutive victory.
"I thought after the Sexton fight, I'd be there, but I wasn't going to turn down a fight. I've never turned down a fight in my life.
"Absolutely he's got to defend that title. He can't just sit around and wait… he's got to defend or vacate it eventually, it's a matter of time.
"I've just got to focus on my task at hand with Ando. You'll see me make noise afterwards."
Ando, known as ‘The Commander’, hopes to get back on track after a pair of decision losses against testing opposition.
The 33-year-old is renowned for his relentless approach, something Ting and his Auckland MMA team claim they're well prepared for, aiming to draw the Japanese fighter into their own deep waters.
"He's really aggressive and likes to push forward, so it's about creating angles, hitting him and not getting touched," noted Ting.
"His top grappling game is really good too. I'm working to try and stay on my feet, and pick him apart with my striking game.
"I know my conditioning and I'm really confident in my abilities. I feel like I can pick him apart and whatever energy output I can produce is going to get him tired."
Maybe it's the extended periods of training in Bali or simply a result of experience, but Ting's outlook towards the often-unforgiving fight game has evolved to something much more holistic.
"It's all about the future generations, leaving a legacy behind… proving to myself that I can do this, rather than just trying to please everybody and put on exciting shows.
"I'm trying to prove to myself, everyone in my gym and people I train with that if you put in the hard work, you can reap the rewards. It’s a more balanced development process for me now."
More motivated than ever, from both within and by his peers among a New Zealand MMA community thriving on a global scale, it appears a tough night awaits Ando in Macao this weekend.
"I'm going to be the first person to finish him. I'm going to be looking for it every second of the fight.
"Everything is good to go, the engine is firing on all cylinders. I'm going to make a statement."
Newshub.
You can stream Ting vs Ando live on ONE Championship's new mobile app on Saturday from 10:30pm (NZ time).
