UFC champion Israel Adesanya and several of his teammates have decided to turn their Auckland gym into a new home, creating a bubble so they can compete again in the coming weeks in the Middle East.
They're staying on track and away from Covid-19 inside the City Kickboxing bubble, where New Zealand's top MMA fighters went into their own lockdown as soon as community transmission hit again
"We just said look for this to happen we've got to get together fast, make sure we get everybody in here before that deadline of midday," City Kickboxing coach Eugene Bareman told 1 NEWS.
Four Kiwis, including superstar Israel Adesanya, have booked big money fights at UFC 253, likely in Abu Dhabi.
This bubble will make sure they get there.
The whole gym was quickly set up to house all of the fighters for an entire fight camp, which will see them through to the event which starts late next month.
Out in the carpark, a makeshift kitchen was even set up and plenty of meals being cooked on the barbie/
"It's beautiful because right now we're all together, locked down, at the gym and this is literally, I can say this for a fact, the best training camp I've been having," Adesanya says.
It's an atmosphere where everyone pitches in, with the dishwashers soon to be back on the world's biggest stage, flying our flag in front of millions.
Bareman says they know just how big of an honour it'll be.
"We're even more acutely aware of how important that is when there's no one else representing us internationally, no All Blacks going, no netball, nothing."
With that in mind, this bubble of 10 will be securely locked away for at least another five weeks.
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