On the surface, combat sports can seem like a lonely and individualistic pursuit - jetting to far-flung lands, and putting your short and long-term health on the line, often with catastrophic results.
But behind every fighter is a dedicated gym full of dedicated coaches, sparring partners and friends - brothers and sisters from other mothers. It's more of a team sport than you may realise.
And when three of their star pupils - Israel Adesanya, Dan Hooker and Brad Riddell - head into the Octagon at UFC 243 in Melbourne on October 6, they'll do so with the weight of an entire community behind them.
It promises to be a landmark day for central Auckland's City Kickboxing. Two of its fighters occupy the headline acts in front of a potentially record-setting crowd of 60,000 at Marvel Stadium, where Adesanya could walk away as New Zealand's first UFC world champion in a deafening crescendo for the burgeoning gym.
"I'm immensely proud of them," co-founder and head trainer Eugene Bareman told Newshub. "But also of all of the people behind the scenes that don't quite get the coverage that I do or some of the boys do.
"There's a mountain of people behind these guys that help them out, so I'm tremendously proud of that too."
In a matter of years, City Kickboxing has forged a reputation as one of the world's pre-eminent gyms, nurturing a roster of elite fighting talent that also includes UFC flyweight Kai Kara-France and featherweight Shane Young, not to mention heavyweight boxing prospects Hemi Ahio and Junior Fa.
A recent unofficial ranking, calculated by results, has it sitting third among the world's best fighting gyms, only behind the iconic American Top Team (San Jose, California) and American Kickboxing Academy (Coconut Creek, Florida).
The surge in recognition has resulted in a surge of new clientele that's forced Bareman to relocate to larger premises - albeit just around the corner - to accommodate demand.
Few people have a better perspective on what makes the gym so special than John Vake, a veteran kickboxer, who both trains and doubles as a coach there.
"It's family," Vake told Newshub. "Before anything else, you have to have family and I think it's the centre of our culture.
"Just like in any family, it's wrapped around respect. As all of these guys have gone on a tear, it always comes back to family, which is respect.
"I believe it's what sparked up this environment of growth."
The gym's longest-tenured UFC fighter - lightweight Dan Hooker - has sampled other training camps around the world, experiences that helped open his eyes to the quality on offer in his own backyard.
"It's just the coaches we have here," Hooker said. "It's an incredible training group that they've created and they've created a very strong culture.
"It's different than any other gym I've been at before. Most gyms, a guy will have his fight then go away for a couple of months, until he gets another fight and comes back. Here, you're expected on the mats that next week, because your teammates have fights and they all need your help.
"It's more of a family unit here as opposed to individuals working towards a similar goal. We're all here to see each other succeed and help each other succeed."
Alongside Bareman comes the coaching talents of striking savants Doug Viney (another co-founder) and Tristam Apikotoa, while former Olympian Andrei Paulet has taken the wrestling standard to new heights.
Those resources have attracted fighters - including Hamilton's Luke Jumeau, another Kiwi who'll feature in Melbourne - from across the country and abroad, hoping to tap into that genius and spar with elite opposition during their own pre-fight preparation.
The most prominent of those is Australian UFC contender Alexander 'The Great' Volkanovski.
He's been a regular visitor to Eden Terrace, as he's torn through the featherweight division on his way to booking a title shot against Hawaiian phenom Max Holloway at UFC 245 in December.
"The calibre of fighters you have here, the coaching staff… it's just another level," Sydney-based Volkanovski points out. "I'm pretty much one of their own now.
"Back home, I don't really have that sort of competitive training. There are so many high-level kickboxers here.
"You go out and you spar guys that aren't even fighting - they literally do it as a hobby - and they're absolute beasts."
That culture is set by those at the top. You'll still see Adesanya - one of the most recognisable UFC stars on the planet - spraying down mats after training.
No one fighter is greater than the group, which is an approach that's made all the difference, according to trainer Mike Angove.
"It's retained a distinctly New Zealand flavour in terms of its attitudes," says Angove. "Nobody is bigger than the collective family itself.
"Yes, we have some rock stars here, but they're still training alongside your average Joe or Jane coming into the gym.
"It works from a point of view of creating an open environment of sharing techniques, sharing knowledge. Egos that you often see in individual sports athletes aren't allowed to flourish in a negative way, but are encouraged to work in a more positive and welcoming way."
For UFC debutant in-waiting Brad Riddell, the environment comes back to the ethos Bareman established from the outset.
"Leadership without fear is a big thing," Riddell says. "He's just led us the right way.
"He's created a culture here that is very unique, where everybody uplifts each other. We're all trying to level each other up and push each other to go further.
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And like any family, their support is needed as much during the lows as the highs.
"If we have a bad day at the office, we always come back here and lick our wounds, and our mates pick us back up," says Riddell. "These guys get in the trench with me daily, and our trenches are deep and they're hard to get out of.
"Home is home. We come back here and put our feet on these mats, and go back to work."
Should the team's trio have their hands raised next week, the gym's profile will explode, which can only mean good things for New Zealand mixed martial arts. The credibility they've established through their fighters' performances will ensure the UFC continues to keep a close eye on mats across Aotearoa for rising talent to recruit.
Though its come quicker than he thought, it's nothing the the unapologetically ambitious Bareman hadn't foreseen.
"What I wouldn't have believed is that it would happen so soon," Bareman said. "But I would've believed that it would eventually happen, because I've always thought that."
You get the sense that things are about to get even busier at the converted office space in Mt Eden.
Join us on Sunday October 6 for live updates of UFC 243: Adesanya v Whittaker
Newshub.
