It’s been an amazing couple of months for Whakatāne MMA members.

Three teenagers from the club went to the WKA Muay Thai K1 Pacific World Championships in Kuta, Bali, and performed outstandingly well, not only putting Whakatāne MMA Centre and East Coast BJJ on the map, but showing other countries and fighters they need to take notice.

Kyrus Richmond, 15, won two gold medals and a silver, James Whitcombe returned with a gold and silver while Nathan Garner managed two silvers and a gold.

Fighting against people from different countries was a great way to test where the Whakatāne trio were at.

“It was an awesome opportunity; I enjoyed it,” Kyrus said.

“It was pretty special to win medals over there. I was going over to give my best and to win two golds and a silver, I am super happy with that.”

He said they spent two weeks in Bali, and he had six fights.

“My last fight was pretty special; it was my second gold. We were both very tired.”

Kyrus said it was an “amazing experience” and one he would happily repeat.

He is grateful to Alpha Pipelines and Drain Tech, whose support enabled him to compete.

Kyrus, a year 11 student at Whakatāne High School, picked up the sport about four years ago after his dad took him to the MMA gym.

“I love it. It’s the best club ever, I reckon. It’s like a little family.”

James also enjoyed competing in Bali, despite the testing conditions.

“It was super-hot, but cool to fight over there.”

“We got to do some stuff together and went on a few rides.”

He said the level of fighting was challenging, but awesome to experience.

“I was aiming for a bronze, so I am pretty happy to have won a gold and silver. I thought they were going to be tougher. It was still a good challenge.”

He picked up the sport a couple of years ago through a work mate, who gave him a nudge.

“I love getting to hit people. It’s full of adrenaline. I never thought I would be fighting like I am. I just thought I’d be training.

“The club is full of awesome people.”

Despite narrowly losing on April 5, James was still happy with his effort against an older and more experienced opponent.

Whakatāne MMA coach Brad Kora is proud of the trio, who trained hard in the lead-up to the event.

“They ran 60-kilometres a week, did countless sparring rounds and physical training. They deserve all their success,” he said.

“Everyone has been going superbly. I am super proud of all our fighters and how they have been performing. All the hard work everyone is putting in, is paying off.

“We’ve got a really strong stable at the moment with a really good number of high-level guys,” Kora said.

“They have been doing a lot of training. To beat City Kick Boxing, one of the best gyms in New Zealand, shows we are doing something right.

“Eastern Bay has always had the athletes, but they just haven’t had the opportunity.”

Ōpōtiki’s Jesse King recently won a New Zealand title as he fought his way to an impressive victory to be crowned The Shuriken MMA New Zealand Middleweight Champion.

Two others who have been performing superbly include Genesis Raukawa and Jack Connor.

All three represented New Zealand at the World GAMMA MMA World Championships in December and returned home with a medal each. Connor managed to win the GAMMA K1 title with a first-round knockout win over his opponent to snare gold, King won silver and Raukawa bronze.

They will be representing team BZ in Brazil in June.

Several of the club’s junior members have also shone recently, bringing home a swagger of medals from the Bay of Plenty Grappling Series.