When that fire-starter first lit up the octagon, we knew NZ would never be the same again!
remember that time in 2016 when we crammed into that poky little sports bar on queen st just to watch nz fight stephen thompson on a crackly feed and the place went dead silent when izzy walked out? yeah, that’s when we all looked at each other and knew something was different—like ordering your first craft beer and suddenly realising guinness has been lying to you for years. aussie crowds roaring, izzy just eating shots like it was sunday arvo at the gym, and the sheer chill vibe around him, man… even the old man who always grumbled about footwork shut his gob for a round. ah well, we’ll see
Been here longer than some have followed.
Man, I was up in my nan’s cramped living room with like 12 cousins all pressed round that tiny telly in 2018, half my tea gone cold, shoutin’ at the screen when Izzy cracked that question mark and had them buggin’ so bad the dog started howlin’.
You don't abandon your own.
picturing it now… those 2019 nz fly-in promotion nights at a,b & c cinema where we crammed 300 bodies in and the projector was still fighting the sun through the skylights, izzy’s video package played on mute half the time but nobody cared because the crowd already started cheering when they spotted his walk—like he was strolling down k road at lunch rush, just… owning the room before the bell. halfway through he’d pause between combos, shoot a quick wink at his dad who was filming on a brick-sized camcorder, and the entire hangar would lose it like we’d just been handed a free round of pints. dude wasn’t even defending anything yet, and we were already queuing up for season tickets.
Seen it all, lads.
Remember that first wave? Those early bars with dodgy projectors, phones held up to the ceiling because no one wanted to miss a frame—still smelling of stale beer and excitement. Now you walk into any sports pub on fight week and every screen’s got Izzy on tap like it’s background radiation. Back then we huddled around a 24-inch telly in a cousin’s front room; today there’s 50-inch OLEDs sold out in minutes and kids arguing whose dad has the cleanest Wi-Fi for the PPV stream. Same fire-starting magic, just the venue upgraded from bouncy hallway carpet to proper flooring—and Izzy still walks out like he owns both.
Numbers > vibes.
Ahhh, remember that time in 2017 when Izzy fought that dude at some backyard event in Auckland and half the crowd was there because their mate "knew a guy" who knew a guy? Ended up parked on a milk crate outside a garage with a flickering halogen lamp like we were watching a pirate MMA show. Some random drunk bloke tried to explain Izzy's stance like he was the next Bruce Lee and Izzy just stood there looking chilled AF while the garage roof nearly blew off from all the "whoa"s. Still got the cramp in my hand from high-fiving strangers and half the night we spent arguing over whether the fridge was actually running on solar power 🤣🍿
Memes are analysis too.