A pair of exciting Kiwi prospects will be front and centre when the Professional Fighting League makes its return early next year, and they may even have an opportunity to take to a stage on home soil.
The young MMA promotion incorporates an innovative, alternative approach to the prize fighting, with a regular season, playoffs and championship series that runs over a gruelling eight-month span, during which competitors may fight up to five times.
That unique format left them particularly susceptible to the impact of COVID-19, forcing them to completely write off their 2020.
But the rising league now has its sights set on a comeback in April 2021 in Las Vegas, where Genah Fabian and BJ Bland will be flying the flag for New Zealand in the women's lightweight and welterweight divisions respectively.
The season will run until December 31, when each of the six weight-class champions will be awarded an oversized novelty cheque for a $US1 million grand prize at its marquee championship event.
For the first time, the PFL is hunting for an off-shore venue for their pinnacle show, and chief executive Peter Murray admits that New Zealand is in the running to host their first event outside of their traditional Las Vegas base.
"Absolutely [NZ is an option]," Murray tells Newshub. "There's an incredible fan base, and we're really excited about the market down there and new athletes coming from NZ."
Kiwi combat sports legend Ray Sefo is the PFL's president of fighter operations and, unsurprisingly, his voice has been the loudest when it's come to bringing an event to New Zealand.
"Ray wants to get back there and we're excited to stage events outside of the US. He's always looking for a reason to go home and sign new talent," he adds.
"You can expect that from us, and New Zealand is for sure on our horizon."
Despite having lived in the US for the past 25 year, the six-time world champion kickboxer still has his finger on the pulse of the burgeoning MMA scene in New Zealand, and remains heavily invested in promoting Kiwi interests within the organisation.
"It's something that the team and I have talked about," Sefo tells Newshub. "Peter and I have discussed it.
"Because there are so many warriors coming out of that part of the world, the talent pool there is endless, and being that it's on the other side of the world, the pandemic hasn't affected them as much.
"To bring a show down there and have a presence in NZ is very important to me, because that's home."
Sefo has ears on the ground with City Kickboxing trainer Doug Viney, who he helped coach to victory at the K1 World Grand Prix in 2007, and is hopeful of adding more NZ fighters to the PFL roster before the new season kicks off.
"We know each other really well. He's a brother and he knows what's happening in New Zealand - who's coming up in the talent pool and who's available.
"In the next few months I'll be exploring and finding out what new talent is available right now and then go from there."
Light heavyweight Sigi Pesaleli was another fighter who represented New Zealand in the 2019 PFL season. But after struggling in his three bouts, Sefo confirms they've asked him to get some more experience under his belt and he won't be returning next year.
That said, Sefo is highly encouraged by what he's seen of his current crop of Kiwis, particularly Fabian, who fought her way through to the playoff round in her debut season last year.
In just her second and third professional MMA bouts, the 2018 WMC Muay Thai world champion showed plenty of promise, and Sefo believes her decision to relocate to live and train full time in Auckland with City Kickboxing should translate to more success next year.
"She has a very promising career," he says.
"I'm glad that she's decided to move back to NZ and train with the boys. I think she has a really good support system there, so I think we're going to see some big things from her in 2021.
"We haven't seen the best of her yet."
Robbed of his debut this year, the hard-nosed Bland - who Sefo says "always brings the game" - will get a well-deserved chance to shine under brighter lights, after years of grinding on the New Zealand regional fight scene.
The Taranaki native goes by the moniker of 'Quicksand', and he does exactly what it says on the tin when it comes time to enter a cage, dragging his opponents into deep waters with a suffocating, high-pressure style.
NZ combat fans will be able to watch all of the action live via the PFL's new 'OTT' app, which offers a full fight archive and will stream all of its events live.
"We've had a great couple of years, growing our audience 100 percent around the world, "Murray adds. "We had three million fans engaged on our live season-ending event.
"I would say the PFL is the toughest MMA league in the world… we can't wait to get back."
Sefo is as equally enthused about his promotion's future as he is the combat sports boom back "home" in NZ, and bringing a show back would be yet another contribution to the scene of which he was a bonafide pioneer.
"It'd be amazing to put on a show within my homeland," Sefo says with a smile. "That's definitely a goal and a passion project of mine
"NZ has always been on the fight sports map at a certain level. But to see its development as a mainstream sport there, it warms my heart."
