Otakiri Fight Department is launching a new event in the Eastern Bay this weekend, which it hopes will become an annual showcase.

Tojo’s Combined Fight Department Fight Night takes place at Racecourse Park in Te Teko on Saturday, with 16 fights lined up featuring fighters across various age grades and levels.

Otakiri Fight Department trainer Renee Leabourn-Black is looking forward to introducing a new fight event in the region.

“It’s exciting for Te Teko and our area and to showcase our young fighters. There are people from lots of different gyms coming and it should be an awesome time.”

“It’s something neat and different for our community – a chance for our young ones and fighters to fight at home in front of their special ones and that means a lot.

For Leabourn-Black, the event is also a way to honour her late father, Tojo Dickson.

“He passed away last year and was a big deal in New Zealand martial arts when it comes to Muay Thai,” she said.

“He comes from a gym called Balmoral Lee Gar in Auckland. A lot of champion fighters have come from that gym and there’s lots of umbrella gyms that came from out of there.”

She said “fight department” was a name gifted to them by her dad.

She and husband James had a gym in Papamoa called Papamoa Fight Department then, when they moved to the Eastern Bay about six years ago, they started Otakiri Fight Department.

When her father passed away, others in the fight community asked when they were going to hold a memorial fight show.

They decided the best place to do it was in Te Teko because there were a lot of young fighters in the area.

There will be two titles up for grabs on Saturday that will be officially sanctioned by the World Muay Thai Federation. Liam Whitbrock will be fighting for a title as will Murupara’s Gabriell Anderson.

Other fights will vary from undercard junior fighters that are padded up to fights with less padding and full Thai rules. Fourteen are Muay Thai fights while two are kickboxing.

Leabourn-Black said they were excited to see how it goes.

“We really want to make this an annual event for our area, so we’re hopeful that it goes well.”

She said ticket sales had been good so far and she hopes for a few more sales on the day.

She’s thankful to trainers and coaches from other gyms who have been helpful in the lead-up to the event, including Whakatāne Fight Club’s Carl Cowley, who will referee some of the matches.

“Carl has been amazing and been happy to help. He runs the Whakatāne Fight Night and does a great job with that and was super keen to help us with ours in some way.”

Leabourn-Black puts the rise of MMA down to the exposure provided by the likes of Dan Hooker, Israel Adesanya, Kai Kara France and others and its accessibility on free-to-air television.

“People get right into it and really give it their all.

“There are just many more pathways.”

Gates open at 2pm and fights begin at 3pm.

Tojo’s Combined Fight Department Fight Night

■ Where: Racecourse Park, Te Teko

■ When: Saturday, September 26, 2pm to 9pm

■ Entry: Adults $60, under-12 $30, under-five, free