As both a human being and a fighter, UFC welterweight Blood Diamond is far from conventional.
Once described by City Kickboxing teammate Brad Riddell as a "strange, strange man", the quietly quirky Zimbabwean-Kiwi boasts a fighting style that is as impossible to pigeonhole as his personality - an amalgam of anime-inspired striking, surgical accuracy and complete unpredictability.
"My fighting style is like rolling a dice," Blood tells Newshub. "You never know what's going to come up.
"I guess it's just the way I am, just different. There's nothing normal about me - it's random."
On Sunday (NZ time), that dice will be rolled in an Octagon, as the two-time 'King in the Ring' champion begins his career on the sport's biggest stage in his promotional debut against Jeremiah Wells at UFC 271 in Houston.
And yes, you read correctly, the name is Blood Diamond. Not Mike Mathetha, not Mr Blood Diamond... just Blood Diamond. Or to his friends and teammates - Bloods.
It speaks perfectly to the 33-year-old's nature and dedication to the sport that he insists he goes only by his combat moniker, inside or outside a ring or cage.
The request left UFC staff a tad flummoxed, but announcer Bruce Buffer seems prepared to make the unprecedented introduction.
For Blood Diamond, it's more than a name - it represents his evolution from a culture-shocked immigrant from Harare battling with bullies in Blenheim to a certified combat machine.
"It's basically like the birth of something new," he explains. "Me as a fighter, me as a person.
"That a scared kid who used to get picked on, I guess, is now someone people can look up to and get inspiration from."
"[The UFC] were just like, 'huh? Why?' I'm guessing initially they're probably thinking Blood Diamond, conflict diamonds and all that, but from my knowledge, I think they are going to make it that way.
"Well, we'll find out on the weekend."
Blood Diamond's father brought his family to New Zealand to escape the worsening political situation in Zimbabwe, where riots had become a daily reality.
Forced to adapt quickly, Blood soon discovered he had much bigger problems on his hands than grasping the local lingo, as he started his new life in a land where he was suddenly a minority.
"The first year wasn't great," he recalls. "It wasn't great at all, but fortunately, I went to college with my younger brother, so we always had each other's backs.
"That is what made things easier and made it more bearable… just looking out for each other.
"It was just one of those things, man, it just never felt good, and I guess also me living in a small town and coming from a big city in Zimbabwe, it felt so weird."
That sense of suffocation led to a shift north to Auckland, but while he found the cultural diversity he sought, the harassment continued through his days at university.
Eventually, Blood Diamond decided to act on both his lifelong fascination with martial arts movies and his desire to defend himself, and mustered up the courage to check out his local gym.
City Kickboxing.head trainer Eugene Bareman immediately recognised his physical gifts and natural affinity for striking, and soon had him lined up for his first official bout.
While training at the Eden Terrace gym, another African fighter also caught his eye across the mat - the start of a 'special bond' with now-middleweight UFC champion Israel Adesanya.
The pair quickly found common ground in their shared experiences of bullying and dealing with life as immigrants, and began training closely together and traveling to China for kickboxing bouts.
Eight years later, Blood Diamond is sharing a pay-per-view UFC card with 'The Last Stylebender', who'll defend his crown in a rematch with Robert Whittaker in the main event.
"[Adesanya]" may be younger than me, but he's like a big brother," he says. "The energy he gives... he's very supportive to all other fighters and is obviously a very selfless, confident person.
"That's the thing - people get confidence and arrogance confused. The man is confident, not arrogant, but when you see things like [Adesanya's success], it inspires you."
After returning from one of his countless trips to China and faced with limited local opportunities, Blood Diamond decided to try his hand at a few mixed martial arts sessions.
Bareman remembers marveling at his student's innate grappling prowess, an area that typically brings a steeper learning curve for traditional stand-up fighters.
"He surpassed my expectations from the first day that he trained MMA, to be honest," Bareman tells Newshub.
"I quickly figured out that he was much more of a natural kind of MMA, wrestling, grappling fighter kind of athlete than he was a kickboxer."
Answering an SOS from his coach, who was in need of fighters at his weight class, Blood Diamond made his victorious pro debut on a regional card in 2017.
He's since racked up three convincing wins in the cage, while continuing to progress at a rapid rate on the mat. Often the bane of a kickboxing convert's existence, Blood Diamond has embraced the jiu-jitsu aspect of the sport, traveling to California to hone his skills under black belt Colin Oyama at the Team Oyama gym.
"All the reviews from my teammates make me feel comfortable and confident," he says. "You don't need to be like a black belt in jiu jitsu or the greatest wrestler, you just need to be alright… you just need to be efficient.
"Every fight starts on your feet, so it's going to be a hard one for them to take me down."
Showing the patience that's become trademark with his fighter development, Bareman has no doubt Blood is primed and ready for the big stage, and admits to a touch of deja vu with the path he's walked with his latest UFC graduate.
Blood Diamond's progression resembles that of his most famous student.
"I'd have to say Bloods is probably a much better MMA fighter than Israel was at the same stage in their career," admits Bareman. "Bloods has a natural talent... it's quite amazing really."
His debut represents no stroll in the Octagon for Blood Diamond, who's been thrown in the deep end as a bookies' underdog against an injury replacement riding the momentum of an emphatic knockout win in his own UFC debut last June.
But Bareman knows what Blood Diamond is capable of and has every confidence his mould-defying fighter will deliver a unique spectacle befitting the occasion in a way only he can.
"Craziness," says Bareman, when asked what he expects. "Stuff that I don't understand myself.
"When you've had over 100 fights, you've developed your own style. There's stuff he's doing that I've never told him or can't be taught, and that he's just learnt through sheer volume, and through sheer trial and error over hundreds and hundreds of hours fighting.
"He's led himself, so you'll see stuff that goes against normal convention, but somehow he makes it work.
"That's what's so exciting, because it's not normal… it's not like how everybody else fights. I love it."
Undaunted by the pressure, Blood Diamond is experienced enough to realise MMA's fickle nature. One step at a time is the message he'll carry with him along with his Zimbabwean and New Zealand flags, as he makes his entrance this weekend.
"My prediction would be it's going to be one hell of a fight and I'm going to enjoy every second of it," he grins.
"Like I've said before, this is a new chapter. It's the same story, but a new chapter in continuing my journey and building my legacy.
"I never imagined myself doing some of these things. I just have to credit it to hard work and perseverance, and just never giving up.
"I'm just taking it as it comes, embracing it and making the most of it."
Join us from 12pm Sunday for live updates of UFC 271 - Adesanya v Whittaker
