His nickname of ‘BeyBlade’ after the popular anime from the 2000s in which spinning tops are used for battles suggests his is a style to win over fans; with plenty of unpredictable, spinning strikes in his arsenal.
“I think if I wasn’t fighting, I’d probably be doing acting or something. I was the kid in school doing the school plays and doing the talent quests and stuff,” he says.
“I just think this is the perfect platform for me just to put on a show for people and entertain them. So, it worked out well.”
But it was the Core MMA lightweight’s complete skill set that earned him the biggest win of his young professional career this month when he claimed a submission win on the One Championship Friday Night Fights series in Thailand.
One of the biggest stages in combat sports, One Championship’s Friday Night Fights series is becoming an alluring pathway for budding young Kiwi fighters. Fellow Waikato athlete Titus Proctor and Auckland MMA’s Viet Anh Do have both had successful appearances under the same banner over the last year, while Kings Academy’s Arshia Ebadi had also lined up a bout in the series in January but it ultimately fell through.
For Brockett, it capped off a big 12 months in which he made his professional debut, subsequently building a 3-0 record, and cornering US-based Michelle Montague, New Zealand’s first female UFC fighter and Brockett’s Core MMA stablemate, in her debut on the biggest stage in MMA.
Speaking to the Herald leading up to that bout in September – which she won by unanimous decision – Montague credited Brockett’s fight IQ and the way he saw the sport.
“That experience kind of lit a fire in me almost because I’m like, ‘this is what you’ve got to look forward to,’” Brockett said.
Ethan Brockett (left) cornered Michelle Montague in her successful UFC debut last year alongside Core MMA head coach Carlo Meister (right). Photo / Getty Images
“If you put the work in, these are like the rewards you get. I’m really thankful that she brought me along to that.”
As for his goals in the sport, Brockett has set his goals high.
“When I look across MMA and the landscape, I think there’s like a lack of stars,” Brockett says.
“For me, I want to be the biggest star in MMA. I don’t care what promotion that’s in, whether it’s One Championship or UFC, I want to become a household name and I want to entertain as many people as possible.
“My ultimate goal would be pound for pound number one. When I sat down with Carlo [Meister, Core MMA coach] a few years back and we said what’s like the end game, I told him that and he was like, ‘all right, I think you can do it.’
“So that’s probably the main thing, but yeah, I’m not too fussed on what promotion I end up in. As long as I can put on entertaining fights and get my name out there, I’m happy.”
Christopher Reive joined the Herald sports team in 2017, bringing the same versatility to his coverage as he does to his sports viewing habits.